Best new music in Melbourne

October 3, 2014 11:23 am 13 comments Views:

Prince’s two new albums are both are wildly, effortlessly funky. Picture: AP Photo/NPG Records
Source: AP

PRINCE returns to Warner Brothers and does the very Prince move of releasing two new albums: both at once.

He’s been biding his time to release new music. The return to Warner also means he has control over his back catalogue — the issue he once fought for.

Art Official Intelligence is whatever passes for a standard Prince album, while PlectrumElectrum is a collaboration with his female protoges, Third Eye Girl. Both are wildly, effortlessly funky.

Clouds, as well as pointing out that ladies like an unexpected kiss on the neck, sees Prince remark: “If it ain’t on the stage I don’t think it really matters in this brand new age.”

Proving his ears still work he taps British singer Lianne La Havas for guest vocals on both Clouds and What It Feels Like.

Indeed, Prince is up to date with references. He mentions “hashtag” in the oh-so-Princey Gold Standard (it also requests concertgoers leave their phones in their bags) and This Could Be Us rhymes “this could be us, but you be playin” with “just sayin”.

Mind you, he invented text language. with his Us and 4s.

Stunning ballad Breakdown could slip easily on to his best ’80s albums, while U Know is modern Prince, a haunting space-age mantra. However, the dubstep stabs in FunkNRoll don’t work quite so well.

Over on PlectrumElectrum Prince wants to remind you of his prowess with the guitar. Mission accomplished. He also notes “a girl with a guitar is 12 times better than another crazy band of boys”.

Now he’s in charge of his incredible body of work, let’s hurry with that vault-emptying, rarity-heavy, 30th anniversary reissue of Purple Rain please.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK: ART OFFICIAL AGE/ PLECTRUM ELECTRUM, PRINCE

RATING: 3.5 stars

SOUNDS LIKE: Vintage Prince.

IN A WORD: Funky.

Dan Snaith’s new album Our Love is salubrious.
Source: Supplied

OUR LOVE, CARIBOU

RATING: 4.5 stars

Imagine all your molecules and ions swimming in the picture on this page, taking a kaleidoscopic dip where everything is possible and you can start off writing metaphysical 4.5 star album reviews that don’t even talk about the music.

The pool, pillow talk is apt, Dan Snaith had no idea how much everyone would dive head first into his last album Swim and so he’s followed up with a Daphni-tinged love-fest that makes you a compassionate human, a cordon bleu chef and an incredible dancer as soon as you hear it.

Thrash it, put it on 10 times in a row and the titletrack, Mars, Can’t Do Without You and low-slung joints like Dive will help you reach nirvana. Silver’s last 82 seconds!? My word.

SOUNDS LIKE: Sunbaking on a waffle drizzled with honey

IN A WORD: Salubrious

Weezer‘s new album may have a rubbish first single, but it is also one of their most melodic releases.
Source: Supplied

EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT IN THE END, WEEZER

RATING: 4 stars

It has been tough sticking up for Weezer of late — by hanging with rap stars, dance producers and movie stars, frontman Rivers Cuomo was undoing all his great work. Thankfully Everything … drops the dodgy collabs (apart from their best yet on the Pinkerton-esque Go Away with Best Coast’s Beth Cosentino), to team with original producer Ric Ocasek for a power pop record to rival The Green Album. It’s heavy but also one of their most melodic releases. Ignore the rubbish first single and you’ll find some of Cuomo’s best work on the crunching Ain’t Got Nobody, Lonely Girl and The British Are Coming while Davinci sees the geek rocker finding his seemingly misplaced lyrical form. A huge relief.

SOUNDS LIKE: Ric Ocasek has driven them back home

IN A WORD: Surprising

Augie March’s new release, Havens Dumb, is resolute.
Source: Supplied

HAVENS DUMB, AUGIE MARCH

RATING: 4 stars

Augie March aren’t half-ass. The quintet were always going to put out a finely lacquered — not over-thought — “comeback” record. Their fifth album, a 14-track pearler, has as much space and confidence as the Hawks in the AFL GF. They trounce the opposition on lifting waltz Hobart Orbit. Glenn Richards, now a Taswegian, sings about two of his dogs dying and the wicked hounds of the afterlife going after his deceased pup Billy. Richards and co. deal with an Australia crumbling like a Marie biscuit left too long in a cuppa: cowardly murder, creeping crow’s feet and leaders who do anything but that. The Faking Boy is almost too much to take. In all the confabulation of modern life this is a haven.

SOUNDS LIKE: Wise not wizened, a definitive history

IN A WORD: Resolute

The Peep Tempel‘s new album Tales is gold-star worthy.
Source: Supplied

TALES, THE PEEP TEMPEL

I think this guy wants to fight me. His name is Blake Scott and he’s the lead singer of The Peep Tempel. Crazed larrikin, insightful romantic and everything in between, it’s like watching a mate start off well, get hammered, then come up with shards of wisdom like this assurance in Gettin’ On By “All these little things are superfluous in the grand old scale of thiiings.” It’s a punk rock rebuttal to how we all sigh and think “First world problems” when something bugs us. Untitled is, ahem, well titled, but once you hear it I bet you just CAN’T wait to sing along to it live. Carol is a cracking whip, there aren’t many like Big Fish in the sea and let’s heap kudos to Arts Victoria for giving them a grant too. Gold star.

SOUNDS LIKE: A shiner that’ll lead to a purple patch

IN A WORD: Patriotic/patronising

RATING: 4 stars

Originally published as Best new music in Melbourne
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