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MUSIC REVIEWS

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Gretta Ray Positive Spin “I want to make a change,”

Dan Sultan Dan Sultan

FEATURE ARTIST

The Hives The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons The Hives’ ageless, self-aggrandising frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist declared in a statement announcing this album’s release: “Rock’n’roll can’t grow up, it is a perpetual teenager and this album feels exactly like that, which it’s [sic] all down to our excitement – and you can’t fake that sh-t.” “Like I say, like I say, like I say, like I say…” – opening

Dan Sultan has always been a great performer, with genuine

Melbourne’s Gretta Ray sings at the start of her new album, which follows her 2021 debut. That record was called Begin to Look Around and she did just that, travelling the world, losing love, finding friends, and crafting an impressive second offering. Ray documents her story in Dear Seventeen , a brutally honest letter to her younger self about writer’s block, body image, dating older men, still loving Taylor Swift, and money. “You tour the States with famous mates of yours,” she sings. “Go broke, but it’s the job you held out hope for.” Yep, it’s not always a pretty picture. But Positive Spin is one woman’s journey of discovery, warts and all. “I may never be Joni,” she admits. But the soundtrack to this quarter-life crisis is thrilling, intelligent pop. Gretta

charisma and presence. Now, with his fifth album, he has arrived as a songwriter. Opening track Story is a heartbreaking tale of racism, where a young Dan discovers a note on his family’s door: “We don’t want you around.” The experience shaped the proud Indigenous boy. “And I carry the weight,” he sings. “Now that I’m older, it sits on my shoulder.” This album is the story of survival and resilience. “You can try to bury me with my past, but I’m coming with the wind in my back,” he declares in Won’t Give You That. Dan Sultan's star power was clear from the go. But now he has become an important voice as well, delivering songs that will be ringing – and stinging – in your ears. “It’s true,” he states simply. “This story is mine.” (Liberation) Jeff Jenkins

lead single Bogus Operandi (even their song titles are LOL-worthy!) kicks off with menacing, echoing single strums. Ooft, that key change around the three-minute mark! The Hives are back, baby. Second single and full throttle banger Countdown to Shutdown’ s fuzzy, circular bassline holds our ears hostage: “It's an enigma wrapped in a riddle/ Enshrouded in a mystery.” Howlin’ Pelle is well aware that he’s basically a younger, better-looking Mick Jagger (“You never seen me look this good before”), and – with its swaggering, measured tempo – the happy-clappy Rigor Mortis Radio channels The Hives’ Go Right Ahead (from their previous album, 2012’s Lex Hives ). Elsewhere, Stick Up – featuring bombastic brass, jangly tamba accents, and maximum suave energy – is ‘50s shuffle at its finest, and the Hound Dog Taylor-inspired “Memphis stomp” of Crash into the Weekend presents The Hives as we’ve never heard ‘em before. One of the 2000s rock revival’s most enduring bands, The Hives have threatened The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons “could be the last stuff [they] do”. We sure hope not! Thanks to riffs for days, killer chant-along choruses (see: The Bomb ) and the matchless sticksmanship of Chris Dangerous, this Swedish band’s first studio album release in over 11 years proves – once and for all – that rock’s far from dead. (Disques Hives) Bryget Chrisfield

Ray is on her way. (EMI) Jeff Jenkins

FEATURE ARTIST

Fanny Lumsden Hey Dawn

Minor Gold Minor Gold This Aussie duo is aptly named. Their sound is breezy and understated, but the songs are also lustrous and bright, with lasting value. Tracy McNeil and Dan Parsons have been making music together for a while, though this is their first release as Minor Gold. It’s a potent partnership; their voices meld beautifully, with heavenly harmonies and a glorious simplicity to the presentation – props to co producer Hugh Middleton. This is an album to get lost in. Check out Around the Bend , where Parsons and McNeil both sing about the wish to escape: “Don’t want to pick up the phone, wish the world would leave me alone.” If you loved ’70s soft rock – or were introduced to it by this year’s TV series Daisy Jones & the Six – you’ll dig this record. In a sea of manufactured dross, Minor

Fiddlehead Death Is Nothing to Us Fiddlehead’s music is imbued with an ineffable yearning, which also resists interpretation. At best, the Boston post-metal act's material can be described as a gentle, melancholic desire for things to be different, but there are still traces of hope to be found, and an ease which permeates and reassures. At their essence, Fiddlehead preach a message of belief and resilience. The five-piece never had any intention of making even

We've been smitten with Fanny since we heard Peed in the Pool (from 2020's ARIA-winning Fallow ), but the country-pop talent has now gone astral with Hey Dawn. Lumsden is the bold, playful, dream auntie you wish would breeze in and remind you “the world didn't blow up when you didn't smile that time/ 'Cos there's actually no consequence for crossing imaginary lines” (the brilliant You'll Be Fine ), mixing down-to-earth twang and mischievous femininity into an irresistible potion. Her melodies spring like popcorn in a skillet, and delightfully witty observations sit alongside fragile, disarming ballads of amazing candour ( Ugly Flowers, Enjoy the Ride ). Hey Dawn is a crystallisation of all the sentiments Fanny's capable of touching – and it's a truly stunning kaleidoscope. We love Fanny. (Cooking Vinyl) ZKR

one record. But what began as a modest journey of experimental self-discovery developed into more profound ruminations on grief and consciousness, which they eventually decided to catalogue. Beginning with 2018 debut Springtime and Blind , and follow-up Between the Richness (2021), third album Death Is Nothing to Us completes the trilogy with deeply personal insight into trauma and acceptance, as well as connecting with the very nature of our human condition. It balances the aggressive undertones of their debut with the melodic inclinations of their sophomore LP. Cathartic opening track The Deathlife expels a clamour of shouts and frantic instrumentation; in counterpoint, there's a desperation informing Sleepyhead and Loserman , while Give It Time (II) offers dejected affirmations of hollow optimism. Lead single Sullenboy may be riddled with anxious energy, but it also hints at a brighter outlook, as vocalist Pat Flynn references his children in lyrics both confronting and uniquely compelling: “Their day is young and their future's wide/ And I'll die before I don't help them rise ” . On album closer Going to Die , Flynn encompasses the best of these qualities in one final defiant, resolutely life-affirming anthem: “See you on the other side/ I don’t want to die.” (Cooking Vinyl) Alex Burgess

Gold are the real deal. (MGM) Jeff Jenkins

16 AUGUST 2023

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