Latest Album Reviews

June 18, 2015 5:23 am 0 comments Views: 6

Alex Gow from Oh Mercy
Source: Supplied

Did Oh Mercy’s heartbreak lead to good art? Is Active Child sounding stagnant? Does Hudson’s Mohawke stand up under pressure? What’s Leon Bridges got (Sam) Cook(e)ing? And what Of Monsters And Men?

ALBUM OF THE WEEK

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE

OH MERCY

[EMI]

***1/2

Oh Mercy album cover – When We Talk About Love
Source: Supplied

Melbourne’s Alexander Gow is the face, voice, brain and bruised heart of Oh Mercy.

The fourth Oh Mercy album, When We Talk About Love takes a U-turn from 2012’s surprisingly funky Deep Heat.

Gow’s making the kind of lush indie album his heroes The Go-Betweens and The Triffids made back in their respective imperial periods.

When We Talk About Love is a gorgeous record, filled with strings and longing, romance and woe.

Like his heroes, Oh Mercy caters to hearts not charts. That’s not to say this isn’t wholly accessible, it’s just no one’s dumbing anything down.

Particularly Gow, who’s never been more personal or on point lyrically.

Without You finds some sweet spot between Bob Dylan and The Verve. Cool Water sees Gow channel even more of Richard Ashcroft at his most haunting, while the pedal steel is the ideal soundtrack to a man opening a lyrical vein and letting it bleed.

I Don’t Really Want to Know is chiming and charming, Sandy sees Gow shoehorn a skipload of self-loathing into a damn catchy pop song (“I’d rather be dead than be on my own again”) while the brutally raw Lady Eucalyptus is far more touching than the title may possibly suggest.

Gow still knows how to drop jaunty pop – Let Me Be Him could have come from any Go-Betweens album, the beautiful If You Come Around Tonight borrows a bit of bass swagger from The Cure or New Order (same thing, really). See also All Roads Lead to You.

And Can’t You Hear My Body Calling Out For You offers a last hit of desperation. Heartbreak becomes him. / CAMERON ADAMS

SOUNDS LIKE: bachelor kisses

IN A WORD: class

Alex Gow from Oh Mercy
Source: Supplied

Without You – Oh Mercy

MERCY

ACTIVE CHILD

[SPUNK]

Mercy – Active Child (Inertia)
Source: Supplied

That’s a busy cover if you’ve ever seen one. Lots going on. If only New Jersey’s Active Child could have found a few more messy, expressive hues on his musical palette to match that watery warble-croon voice then he’d have a second album we could build a shrine for. Pat Grossi’s follow-up to You Are All I See clicks and hisses like the Junior Boys without the same kickdrum-led oomph to make you say “Oooof.” It’s an exercise in reduction and songs like These Arms enjoy the footroom, sliding about on plaintive piano and themes of devotion. Things get a bit Hillsong on Darling and while the title track has Take My Breath Away hints, it lacks the bravery to masterfully overdo it like G. Moroder. / MIKEY CAHILL

SOUNDS LIKE: a middling stay in a B&B in the forest

IN A WORD: nice

Active Child – New Jersey producer and singer with new album Mercy.
Source: Supplied

1999 – Active Child

LANTERN

HUDSON MOHAWKE

[WARP/INERTIA]

****

lANTERN – huDSON moHAWKE (Inertia)
Source: Supplied

Heavens to Murgatroyd, there’s not much this album doesn’t do. Short of link your iCal to your Bucket List, Hudson Mohawke can give you any mood, any sound you doth require in these frigid months. Very First Breath feat. Irfane is a screechy R&B jump-off, Ryderz is his nod to molten ‘70s soul and samples D.J. Rogers, Kettles has Hans Zimmer shifting uncomfortably in his set, hoping Christopher Nolan never hears it (lest he’s out of a job), it swirls and jingles like ankle bells on a hippy chick’s feet. Scud Books ticks the serious brass box and Deepspace feat. Miguel is a Weeknd-esque heartburn yearn. The missteps are easily skipped, Lantern holds itself up a few metres ahead, guiding you sagely. /MIKEY CAHILL

SOUNDS LIKE: Scotland’s go-to beatsmith getting weird

IN A WORD: stunning

Hudson Mohawke – Scottish producer with Lantern album. Inertia.
Source: Supplied

Very First Breath feat. Irfane – Hudson Mohawke

BENEATH THE SKIN

OF MONSTERS & MEN

[UNIVERSAL]

***

Beneath The Skin – Of Monsters and Men (UMG)
Source: Supplied

Iceland’s Of Monsters & Men crashed into the mainstream with My Head Is An Animal — charming all with their heart-pumping folkloric alt-rock and charismatic dueting vocalists Nanna and Raggi. After landing a song on a Hunger Games soundtrack, they’re back. While the band have hired new producer Rich Costey (Muse, Kimbra), Beneath … represents a continuation. Unfortunately, OM&M’s anthems now sound predictable, any melodies — and magic — vaporised (the single Crystals is atmospheric yet underwhelming). Beneath … only becomes arresting, and conspicuously darker, with the fragile acoustic ballad Organs and volcanically intense epic Thousand Eyes. / CYCLONE WEHNER

SOUNDS LIKE: that difficult second album

IN A WORD: anticlimactic

Of Monsters and Men – Icelandic wide-screen pop band with second album Beneath The Skin
Source: Supplied

Crystals – Of Monsters And Men

COMING HOME

LEON BRIDGES

[SONY]

****

Coming Home – Leon Bridges (SONY)
Source: Supplied

With vintage soul tighter than his high-waisted pants, 27-year-old Texan Leon Bridges could be 2015’s breakthrough artist. Conjuring up the spirit of the ‘50s pre-Beatles pop-soul, it revisits a time when African American singers dominated the airwaves. You can hear the stripped back Chuck Berry and obvious Sam Cooke influence, with a good teaspoon of The Ronettes. He’s mined a great vintage sound like the make-out worthy title track but gets more playful on the swinging Smooth Sailin’ that sounds like a Jack Rabbit Slims dance-off handled by The Temptations. If you need a basic introduction, head to Pull Away and gospel optimism of The River, which pays back his heroes in spades. / SAM KELTON

SOUNDS LIKE: a conduit to the past, present and future

IN A WORD: authentic