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REVIEWS MUSIC

We take a studied gaze into the latest vinyl reissues available, in-store and online (while stocks last)!

Missy Higgins The Sound of White: 20th Anniversary Edition (2004)

mash of Daft Punk and Jeff Lynne. Its chorus – the repeated, breathy phrase ”sexy boy” – is interspersed with harmonic verses in French (which, to this day, we don’t need to understand to know are absolutely perfect).

Air Moon Safari: 25th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Pack (1998)

At the tail end of the ’90s, there was a sizeable group of music fans who were begging to be beamed up into a new cloud of sound – one which didn’t have its roots in skate culture, or a ’semi charmed life’, or any other practical, terra firma-bound existence. French duo Air – comprising Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel – heard the call, and launched their lo-fi masterpiece Moon Safari in 1998. It offered a dreamlike cocktail of ambient, electronic, and pioneering down tempo beats, leaning on a collection of electronic keys instruments which included Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Minimoog, and Korg synthesizers. The album immediately captivated listeners, who discovered that its sounds lowered a bell jar of chic, seductive charm over the world. Moon Safari wasn’t inaccessibly experimental; it was humorous, with one hand in its pocket and the other one signalling the stars. Its sauntering first single was the oddball Sexy Boy , a mesmerising

Six years ago when Missy Higgins was releasing her first greatest hits album, we spoke to the revered artist about her most treasured song from her six-time ARIA-winning debut The Sound of White. It’s the perenially gorgeous The Special Two, and it’s also the song she said had grown on her in ways she couldn’t have imagined when she wrote it as a teenager. ”I wrote that initially for my sister, when we were having a feud over a boy we both liked,” Higgins smiled. ”It’s so embarrassing to think back on because it was such a trivial thing to fight about, but it broke my heart because she’s always been my best friend and we’d never fought before then. I think so many people have adapted that song to their own lives and made their own meanings out of it – it’s become more of a love song. It’s a kind of universal song, about dedication, and forgiveness, and unbridled love for someone that they’d do anything for. So, it’s beautiful, because the fans have changed that song for me.” The Sound of White – featuring The Special Two, Ten Days, and Higgins’ breakout single Scar – arrives next month in a 20th Anniversary Edition. (Universal) ZKR

Next came Kelly Watch the Stars , a similarly pulsing gem whose lyrics consisted of its title’s four words, grated through a sparkling vocoder. It wasn’t until the third single that the penny dropped for many casual listeners: Air weren’t just in it for the obscure japes. With the contemplative All I Need – which featured an astonishingly sensitive vocal performance by Beth Hirsch – the band’s status as masters was sealed, and the song has never wobbled from its pedestal amongst the cream of the decade’s entire crop of singles. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Air’s Moon Safari, Warner have put together this 2CD + 1 Blu-ray package, which includes a Spatial Atmos audio version of the album, a bevy of previously unreleased track versions, and the 1998 documentary film Eating, Sleeping, Waiting & Playing by director Mike Mills, which follows Godin and Dunckel on their first ever tour to New York, London, and Paris. (Warner) ZKR

The iconic gorilla from Air’s Sexy Boy clip (1998)

Sure, Aussie singer-songwriter Sia had seen success before her sixth album – but her most commercially impactful tracks had been those she’d penned for other artists, such as Rihanna’s Diamonds (2012) and Beyoncé’s Pretty Hurts (2013). But in March 2014, the Adelaide-born talent released the lead single from 1000 Forms of Fear and the world’s collective hair was blown clean off its head. Chandelier possessed a thudding electropop beat and powerful aerial melody, visceral lyrics about the despair of addiction, and a video featuring 11-year-old Maddie Ziegler delivering a solo dance performance in a style of movement we’d never quite seen before. Reaching top five status around the world, Chandelier was nominated for four Grammys and won an ARIA for 'Best Video'.

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Maddie Ziegler in the clip for Sia’s Chandelier (2014)

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