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FEATURE MUSIC

THIS MONTH?

AUSSIE RELEASES

PROPAGANDHI At Peace ROCKET

Canadian punk band Propagandhi have been rocking for 39 years. At Peace , their eighth studio album, follows 2017’s

GORDI Like Plasticine MUSHROOM Gordi’s day gig as a

ROBERT FORSTER Strawberries UNIVERSAL

I n the UK in 1978 bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, Joy Division, and Siouxsie & The Banshees ruled the charts. As if through an unlocked door, Dire Straits – a quartet fronted by singer, songwriter, guitarist Mark Knopfler, whose influences included Hank Marvin, Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, James Burton, and J.J. Cale; a musician who caressed his guitar strings rather than shredding them – scored a worldwide hit with their debut single, Sultans of Swing , which kickstarted the band’s career. Fast forward to 1985 when their fifth studio album Brothers in Arms , now available at JB Hi-Fi as a 40th anniversary edition, would eventually sell more than 30 million copies. Recorded in less than three months, the album received saturation airplay with songs such as So Far Away, Walk of Life, Your Latest Trick, and the title track. The album’s most memorable song, Money for Nothing , features a guest vocal contribution from Sting. Knopfler wrote the lyrics after observing the reactions of an employee in an appliance store watching MTV. Insights such as “that ain’t workin”, “banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee” and “money for nothing, get your chicks for free” would soon be heard around the world. DIRE STRAITS Brothers in Arms UNIVERSAL BIL Y’S PICK

Strawberries is the sweet new album for Go-Betweens legend Robert Forster. The title track – a duet with his

doctor informs much of her third album. After witnessing a lot of death, she says: “It

Victory Lap , which was their highest-charting album in Australia, peaking at number 26. Singer Chris Hannah says this record “probably reflects more despair than 30 years ago when we had similar perspectives”, adding that they are now singing about a “completely failed society”.

made me think of plasticine – that soft, malleable substance that we can shape and mould in our hands until we leave it to set in place. I thought about all the ways we are like plasticine in life – how forces we can’t control contort us into shapes, stretch us thin and test our resilience. But sometimes, heart wrenching change can be a thing of beauty.” Sophie Payten’s distinctively deep voice brings an emotional depth to a powerful collection of pulsating pop. PRESS CLUB To All Tte Ones That I Love INERTIA It’s time Melbourne Motion , peaked at number 62. It’s crazy that they’re yet to crack the Top 40. The band’s fourth album broods and bristles with an energy that’s raw but infectious. From strange encounters at bottle shops – Champagne & Nikes – to the heartfelt title track, this is a mighty rock record. Singer Natalie Foster says, “I can’t really see a life without Press Club in it. It’s the creative outlet that I think we all desperately need.” And that passion is evident here. band Press Club stepped up to the big league. In fact, it’s overdue. Their 2022 album, Endless

wife, Karin Bäumler – finds Forster at his most playful. “Someone ate all of the strawberries,” Bäumler notes. “Someone could have been me,” Forster admits. It was that moment that sparked Forster’s ninth solo album, which he recorded over four weeks in Stockholm with producer Peter Morén (from Swedish trio Peter Bjorn and John). “Trust and talent is what you need and what I got,” he says of the recording experience. “I was lucky. I received the gift.”

SPARKS MAD! MGM

Sparks – Ron and Russell Mael – returned to prominence via the excellent doco The Sparks Brothers . Now comes their

26th studio album. As the press release states, “Musically there are nods to new wave, synthpop, art rock, and electronic opera – all genres Sparks had hands in pioneering, or straight-up invented.” The opening track is a neat summation: Do Things My Own Way . SUZANNE VEGA Flying with Angels ROCKET Flying with Angels is the tenth studio album for America’s Suzanne Vega, who found fame in the ’80s with Marlene on the Wall, Left of Center, and Luka . It’s her first album of all-new material in 11 years. Vega says: “Each song on the album takes place in the atmosphere of struggle. Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live.”

SURPRISE CHEF Superb ROCKET

Surprise Chef has nothing to do with a TV cooking show. It’s actually the name of a band that’s at the

forefront of Melbourne’s modern soul scene. Their instrumental jazz-funk sound is fun and fresh. It’s like the soundtrack to a strange sci-fi flick. Guitarist Lachlan Stuckey explains that they endeavoured to embrace their spontaneous side on their fourth album – “the unbridled joy that inspired us when we first started making music. Superb showed us that when we’re more relaxed during the process, we get a whole different kind of record.” The aptly titled Superb is also available on cassette.

Coming in

JUNE

JIMMY BARNES Defi ant (June 6) THE DOOBIE BROTHERS Walk This Road (June 6) KILLING HEIDI Reflector (25th Anniversary Edition) (June 20)

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

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