st228

MUSIC REVIEWS

visit jbhifi.com.au/stack

Angie McMahon Light, Dark, Light Again Like the late, great Sinead O’Connor, Angie McMahon’s voice is all that’s needed to create a mood. And as the title suggests, her second album is a rollercoaster of emotions. These are brutally honest songs about self-doubt, striving to stay positive and trying to find what works. Amidst the ache, McMahon is struggling to find the dance within. “I’m gonna dance every day till I’m old,” she declares in the opening track, Saturn Returning . Then in Divine Fault Line, she’s “starting to dance again”, while in the closing cut, she learns to “dance with nothing to prove”. In the end, just making it through is a triumph: “And you have to carry on, don’t you?” Who knows if Light, Dark, Light Again will find a similar audience to her stunning debut, Salt , but it confirms that Angie McMahon is a great artist. (AWAL) Jeff Jenkins

Jeremy Dutcher Motewolonuwok

FEATURE ARTIST

Kylie Minogue Tension It took a bout three seconds for the thumping Padam Padam to become a club staple (and a queer codeword) when it

Bravely enter a brand new old-world with Jeremy Dutcher, 2018 winner of Canada’s top music award. It’s been five years since he won the Polaris and released his last LP, but he clearly hasn’t been sitting around waiting for parties. Fluent in his peoples' Wolasotqey language, Motewolonuwok is his first album including songs also in English, and he has poetically and seamlessly knitted the two languages together. With lilting operatic tones so smooth that you melt into them, the strength of Dutcher's identity through his music has translated into a fluid genre that’s not easy to define (queer-experimental-Indigenous jazzy-rock-pop?) – which just makes it so much more enjoyable. Pure and large, autochthonic and genuine, Dutcher understands how to tell a story; Motewolonuwok is pure bliss. (Secret City/Remote Control) Trista McConville

arrived in May this year. Its pixiedust isn't just in the loaned elegance of Edith Piaf's OG phrase, but also that wub-wubbing bass. Padam Padam is a banger, but it's also quite mechanised. The rest of Tension is,

by comparison, full of life. On her 16th studio album, Kylie gathers her balloon-strings from all over the dance paddock: Hold On to Now is built on the beautiful bones of Robyn's 2018 diamond Honey , and You Still Get Me High tricks us with a dreamy, Swift-esque opening before gearing up into double-time with palm swaying '80s spirit. Hands and Green Light are adorable mid-paced disco tracks which have a lick of early Doja Cat about them. They're all neat, but Tension gets really good in its title track. "Touch me right there,” robo-Kylie demands, as a cascading Eurodance backdrop spills into a propulsive beat – you'll feel multi-limbed as you move to its rhythms. Peak excellence comes in penultimate track 10 Out Of 10 , featuring Dutch DJ Olivier Heldens. “Body, 10/ Energy, 10/ Touch, 10,” goes the lackadaisical chic narration, giving SUMMER RENAISSANCE energy. The repeated outro refrain which closes the record is the lyric “You wanted my story,” and by the time Tension rolls to a close, you will feel as if you really have traced the tale of everything our most beloved homegrown star is capable of accomplishing. (Liberation/Mushroom) ZKR

Diesel Bootleg Melancholy “I’ve been acting like a pre-teen when really I’m a has-been,” Diesel sings on his 16th album. Later, in Starts With One, he reflects: “Oh, I am old, but not wise.” But don’t believe it for a second. Thirty-five years after bursting onto the scene fronting Johnny Diesel & the Injectors, Diesel has much more to offer, somehow still eternally youthful and managing to capture “the light, the fire, that youth”. Like a Dove is a wry look at stardom. “I’ve been there,” Diesel confides, “and I don’t mind saying that it doesn’t do you any good.” But he’s a survivor. “All these beginnings just wind up as endings,” he laments in Forever. But Diesel is ready to go again: “So, come on and reimagine the dream again.” On Bootleg Melancholy , the vital signs are all present and Diesel

A. Savage Several Songs About Fire Parquet Courts frontman A. Savage has unveiled his second solo release, deviating from the band’s post-punk to lean deeper into the country-rock explorations that informed his first record. Armed with an unmistakable voice and effortless ability to translate wry observations into lyrical genius, Savage’s idiosyncratic style is on full display across Several Songs About Fire . The rollicking garage influenced Elvis In the Army laments time spent on the road, while the stirring bossa nova of Le Grande Balloon is a six-minute surrealist tale that highlights Savage’s versatility. While songs like David’s Dead could easily find a home on a Parquet Courts record, the flourishes of saxophone on My New Green Coat offer a distinguishing new element to Savage’s sound. (Rough Trade/ Remote Control) Holly Pereira

FEATURE ARTIST

The Screaming Jets Professional Misconduct

Some bands never grow up – and that’s a beautiful thing. Gotta love Dave Gleeson’s explanation of the title of The Screaming Jets’ 10th studio album: “Misconduct is frowned upon by polite society. We embrace it and have made it our

profession.” Sadly, this release follows the tragic passing of bass player and founding member Paul Woseen, who co-wrote the record and was rightly proud of the fact the Jets were still flying the flag for rock: loud, cheeky and defiant. Their energy has never dimmed. This is classic Jets, with a couple of curveballs. Second Chance is a superb ballad, while Lying With Her is a dark detour that wouldn’t be out of place on a Tex, Don & Charlie album. But don’t think they’ve mellowed. The guitar interplay of Jimi Hocking and Scotty Kingman sets this album alight. You don’t hear many guitar solos on the radio these days, but the Jets aren’t afraid to let one rip. These are songs for the end of the working week, when “getting through the day is all you’re thinking of” and all you wanna do is put on a record and turn it up loud. The album climaxes with Speed Quack, a blazing ball of energy. “Make a stand, never falter,” Gleeson sings. “You better back yourself.” And that’s exactly what The Screaming Jets have done here. Professional Misconduct is a glorious tribute to Paul Woseen. Forever young. (Rocket) Jeff Jenkins

remains a formidable force. (Bloodlines) Jeff Jenkins

16 OCTOBER 2023

jbhifi.com.au