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FEATURE MUSIC THIS MONTH?

BILLY’S PICK

BOZ SCAGGS Silk Degrees ROCKET

RAG’N’BONE MAN What Do You Believe In? SONY Rag’n’Bone Man – real

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS Rotten Apples (Greatest Hits) USM

Best known for his 1976 album Silk Degrees , singer/songwriter/band leader Boz Scaggs, who cut his musical teeth in the mid ’60s in the Steve Miller Band, had already built a fanbase recording six previous albums that revealed an authentic fusion of rock, blues, and soul influences. His life changed in 1974 when Motown producer Johnny Bristol agreed to work with Boz on the proviso that he put the guitar down, forgot about a band, and concentrated on his singing. Encouraged by Bristol, Boz brought a new intensity and an increas ing refinement to his songs, discovering a range and flexibility on what would be his next album, Silk Degrees , which boasted some of LA’s finest studio musicians. The nucleus of the band was David Paich (keyboards, arrangements), drummer Jeff Porcaro, bass guitarist David Hungate (all founding mem bers of Toto), plus guitarists Fred Tackett, later to join Little Feat, and legendary session musician Louis Shelton, who now lives in Australia. The album was propelled by four hit singles: It’s Over, Lowdown (a Grammy winner for ‘Best R&B Song’), What Can I Say, and Lido Shuffle . We’re All Alone , the B-side of Lido Shuffle , was covered by Boz’s former backup singer Rita Coolidge, giving her a million-selling single. Silk Degrees would spend 110 weeks on the Australian national chart, peaking at number one.

The Smashing Pumpkins released some of the most thrilling alternative rock of the ’90s. And their greatest hits – released on vinyl for the first

name Rory Graham – broke big with the single Human

back in 2016. On his eagerly awaited third

album, he declares, in his distinctive deep voice: “And if I fall, doesn’t mean that I failed to fly. Failure is only a fail to try.” He’s flying high. SHAWN MENDES Shawn ISLAND Shawn is the fifth studio album for Canadian after Mendes took some time out to focus on his mental health. He opens up on the album, calling it his “most musically intimate and lyrically honest work”, closing the collection with a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah . superstar Shawn Mendes – and he’s only 26. But this is also a comeback record,

time – sounds just as exciting three decades later. We’re talking songs such as Tonight, Tonight, Today, 1979, Disarm, and Bullet with Butterfly Wings . Timeless. THE SMILE Cutouts XI RECORDINGS

The Smile is the side project for Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Yorke explains that the band name is not meant to imply shiny happy

pop. “It’s not the smile as in ‘ahh’,” he says, “More the smile as in the guy who lies to you every day.” Their third album is wonderfully complex and challenging.

Radio legend Billy Pinnell presents Billy Pinnell’s Musical Moments on YouTube.

AUSSIE RELEASES

CONFIDENCE MAN 3am (La La La) I OH YOU “It’s 3am,” says Confidence Man’s Sugar Bones. “It’s never not 3am, and we party all the time.” With their third album, the Brisbane electropop thrill-seekers have delivered one of 2024’s great party records. Their mission? “They want to save you from the dull wasteland of modern mediocrity, pump up the volume and dump you on the dancefloor.” After a show-stopping set at Glastonbury, Confidence Man are ready for the world. Their time is now.

CUSTARD Suburban Curtains ABC As Andrew Stafford observed in Pig City , the bible of Brisbane bands that has recently been republished, Custard could never “be contained by a single genre”. Thirty years after their first charting album, Wahooti Fandango , Custard remain the kings of kitsch, our favourite pop jesters. They can still make you smile – even when they’re delivering a pop tune that’s deceptively dark. Overflowing with riches, this is a 21-track delight. Pull back the Suburban Curtains and you’ll discover a band that’s lost none of its charm.

SKEGSS Pacific Highway Music LORNA VISTA RECORDINGS A decade after they started, there have been a few changes in the Skegss world. The band’s third album is their first since shrinking to the core duo of Ben Reed and Jonny Lani. “It’s so hard to follow your dreams,” Reed sings in the standout cut, Stuck in Cheyenne . “It’s so much harder than it seems.” Yep, a few things might have changed, but the Byron Bay band is still brimming with youthful energy. Recorded in LA, this is Skegss’ first album since their 2021 chart-topper Rehearsal . It’s destined for similar success.

TISM Death to Art GENRE B. GOODE TISM have one of the nation’s most passionate fanbases. Whenever the big questions are asked – Who should represent us at Eurovision? Who should play at the Grand Final? Who should be in the Hall of Fame? – the answer is always TISM. After calling it quits 20 years ago, Death to Art is the biggest comeback since Britney. Age might have wearied them – “ Erectile dysfunction is a given, let’s go to bed with old school TISM ” – but the satire is still savage. And you can’t help but love a band that has a song called Cnut, the Dyslexic King .

Coming in NOVEMBER

SARAH BLASKO I Just Need to Conquer This Mountain (Nov 1)

PAUL KELLY Fever Longing Still (Nov 1)

KING STINGRAY For the Dreams (Nov 8)

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