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Isabella Manfredi izzi

Parkway Drive Darker Still

FEATURE ARTIST

Seasons change: so states Isabella Manfredi, as she embarks on a new phase in her career. After a decade fronting The Preatures, Manfredi has struck out on her own, delivering her debut solo album. Half of the record was co-produced by much-loved American artist Jonathan Wilson. Manfredi told him she wanted to sound ”like Bruce Springsteen was in an all-girl group in the early 2000s … Atomic Kitten meets Tom Petty”. Mission accomplished. The result is a record that’s bright and breezy, but not afraid to address some heavy issues, including ambition, jealousy, the fickle nature of fame and the loss of love. Isabella Manfredi still wants it all – ”I mean, I can be the mother, and I can be the friend/ I can be the lover and I can take you there” – and izzi shows she’s more than capable of getting it. (Island) Jeff Jenkins

A question to ponder: Has Australia produced a bigger and better metal act than Parkway Drive? The Byron Bay band is a behemoth worldwide, and with Darker Still they’re shooting for their third chart-topper in a row. Their seventh studio album opens with what sounds like a music box. It’s a sweet introduction, as singer Winston McCall confronts ”the fights, the falls, the scars and broken bones”, before the album explodes with thundering drums and blazing guitars. It’s a stadium-filling sound: epic and commanding. There are moments of melody, but for the most part, Parkway Drive remain ”the harbinger of all dark matters”, singing ”the hymns of nevermore”. Closing in on their 20th anniversary, they’re at the peak of their powers. As McCall sings, ”If you don’t stay sharp, then you just get cut.” (Parkway Records) Jeff Jenkins

Meg Mac Matter of Time Some records don’t take a predictable path. At the start of 2020, Megan McInerney – who’s better known as Meg Mac – believed she had completed her third album. But then she had second thoughts. She scrapped the recordings and retreated to Burrawang in country NSW. And she managed to get her mojo back. The reworked record opens with

Is It Worth Being Sad , an Adele-like piece of dramatic pop about bouncing back and taking control of your life. ”Finally, I got away from everyone,” Mac sings. ”A great escape.” In the next track, Only Love , she asks: ”Is it worth all the noise, is it worth all the pain?” The answer? ”I would do it again.” Later, in the piano ballad Letter , Mac admits: ”I’ll feel better when I tell you the reason I had to walk away.” It’s a stand-out song on a confessional collection that’s raw and vulnerable. ”I lay it on the line,” she states simply in On Your Mind , a powerful slice of neo-soul. Over the course of ten tracks, Mac searches for understanding, endeavours to accept her mistakes and tries to move on. In the end, she has confronted a crisis of confidence and emerged renewed and stronger. Listening to Matter of Time reveals that this has obviously been no easy road. But Meg Mac is back on track, and here to stay. ”No, no, no,” she declares, defiantly. ”I won’t go.” (EMI) Jeff Jenkins

FEATURE ARTIST

Creedence Clearwater Revival At the Royal Albert Hall Originally recorded on April 14th 1970, this previously unreleased live album – now available on CD, cassette and colour variant vinyl – came at a time when Creedence Clearwater Revival were experiencing an unparalleled period of creativity. That epoch included a headlining spot at Woodstock, and a constant flow of hits that have become part of the Great American Rock ’n’ Roll Songbook, all written by the band’s singer guitarist John Fogerty. Fifty years after their acrimonious break up, Proud Mary, Down on the Corner, Fortunate Son, Have You Ever Seen the Rain and more are still played on radio stations and playlists around the world; this live show’s tapes, meticulously restored, depict the group in rollicking, top-shelf form. (Craft Recordings) Billy Pinnell

Halfway On the Ghostline, With Hands of Lightning Halfway are Brisbane’s best-kept secret – but for those who know them, they’re masterful Aussie storytellers. For their eighth studio album, they team up with Grammy winning Canadian producer Malcolm Burn (Emmylou Harris, Midnight Oil, Archie Roach). But he hasn’t toyed with the band’s trademark sound. Halfway still sound as if they’re toiling away at the end of the bar sharing stories, or accompanying you on cassette as you embark on a road trip. The bittersweet slice of nostalgia, 1994 , ”by the Passion Pop light”, is the album’s centrepiece. Much of the record is about memories and how we process them. ”If only things could be the same today,” John Busby laments in One Dreamer Down . Indeed, Halfway sound like a band from another time. But that doesn’t mean they’re any less potent. (ABC) Jeff Jenkins

Oliver Sim Hideous Bastard ”I’m ugly,” are the first

words we hear Oliver Sim’s deliciously deep, honeyed, reverberating timbre

croon during this record’s stunning opener, Hideous. A gently pulsing beat and quivering strings usher in the transcendental pipes of Bronski Beat’s Jimmy Somerville – a powerful voice around HIV and AIDS for decades – in the role of Sim’s ”guardian angel”: ”Be brave/ Have trust/ Just be willing to be loved...” Then this song’s closing lines – ”Been living with HIV/ Since 17/ Am I hideous?” – marks the first time Sim has spoken publicly about his HIV status. Sim’s The xx bandmate Jamie xx was brought in as producer for the LP, and his occasional, trademark sneaky drops are delightfully unexpected. Sensitive Child opens with a nursery-rhyme piano melody and layered vocals that evoke playground taunts. Instrumentally, Never Here tunes into Radiohead’s frequency, with wonky arpeggiators veering towards discord. Closer Run the Credits features sampled Beach Boys harmonies alongside Sim’s own. ”I haven’t written the record to dwell, but rather to free myself of some of the shame and fear that I’ve felt for a long time,” Sim has said of his debut solo album. So much more than dreamy vocals, intricate beats and exquisite melodies, Hideous Bastard captures the thrill of navigating unfamiliar sonic terrain to unearth Sim’s solo musical identity. Courageous, important work. (Young/Remote Control) Bryget Chrisfield

88 SEPTEMBER 2022

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