Music Album Reviews
 |
|
Daniel Johns has released his debut solo album Talk.
Source: Supplied
DANIEL JOHNS
TALK
(ELEVEN)
* * * *
Talk – Daniel Johns (Eleven)
Source: Supplied
DANIEL Johns took a four year home holiday to decompress from Silverchair, who he’d been steadily steering away from the mainstream towards their natural end.
He got some unlistenable electronica out of his system as Johns experimented with his next move at his own pace.
This resulting solo debut, 20 years into his career, sees one of our most successful (if reluctant) rock stars transcending rock music. It’s also up with his finest work. What’s going on in Johns’ head right now is a dizzying nocturnal mix of warm electronics, `80s Prince, `90s R&B, deep soul, deeper beats and cloud-high falsetto.
Indeed there’s so many different kinds of voices from Johns on Talk that it’s like a conversation with several new friends, often all on the same song.
Imagination sees Johns channel Prince’s female alter ego Camille from the Sign O’the Times era. Hip hop producer M-Phazes supplies the bedroom soul that soon goes intergalactic
His new collaborators push him in inspired new directions. Melbourne’s underground electronic duo Damn Moroda help create the dramatic Preach, an epic every bit as special as Straight Lines, Emotion Sickness and Across the Night were back in their days.
Too Many delivers melodies and strings with Johns’ voice following them all skyward.
There’s a return to the dream team behind Straight Lines when Johns works with Julian Hamilton of the Presets. The sparse By Your Side moves into (Depeche) mode with electro gloom, while Dissolve is bursting with Presets DNA, slo-mo electro on the early 80s vibe.
Warm Hands sees Joel Little revisit the intricate electronic work he did for Lorde, Styalz Fuego (360, Peking Duk, Seth Sentry) takes Johns down the Frank Ocean future stoner soul path on Chained, with Johns seriously elevating his falsetto to the heavens on the chorus.
Their other pairing, Faithless, recreates the dark string and hip hop beats feel of Rob Dougan’s Clubbed to Death – the bruised vocals from Johns create a bittersweet symphony.
Yes that’s squalling guitar on Going on 16, but it’s more seedy David Bowie disco than Silverchair. New York is stunning, theatrical piano (via Paul Mac) that drops you into a warm bath of fairytale harmonies and baroque pop recalling his mate and mentor Van Dyke Parks.
Good Luck is the anti Tomorrow, squelchy lounge music with Johns duetting with himself in his lowest and highest head voices.
This is going to alienate a lot of people still wanting to freeze-frame Johns in the past, but he’s always opted for art over chart.
Talk reminds you that Daniel Johns gave zero effs before giving zero effs was a thing.
And long may that continue. / CAMERON ADAMS
SOUNDS LIKE: emotion slickness
IN A WORD: bold
Hard at work signing all the TALK album pre-orders for next Friday 
#Talk pic.twitter.com/Z8P2s5DCsD
— Daniel Johns (@DanielJohnsHQ) May 18, 2015
MULTI-LOVE
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA
[JAGJAGUWAR/INERTIA]
* * * *
Multi-Love – Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Jagjaguwar/Inertia)
Source: Supplied
Well well well, look who’s feeling revitalised after a bizarre love triangle! UMO’s frontman Ruban Nielsen and his wife had a rather emancipating experience with a mysterious lady during the recording of the band’s third album (said femme took the pink marshmallow snap on the cover) and boy oh boy does it make for good art. Lead single Multi-Love is UMO’s Paranoid Android, Can’t Keep Checkin’ My Phone is a sentiment we all know too well and Nielsen sounds more alive and present than on second LP II. Think The Muppets recreating the Abbey Road shot. This is the sound of almost-reality TV with guitars, sax and a bunch of synths rebuilt with his naked hands. It’s got funk, it swings, it’s a pet you wanna tickle. / MIKEY CAHILL
SOUNDS LIKE: The cast of The Ice Storm go to The Roxy
IN A WORD: Polyamory
MIKEY CAHILL
on the record there are more references to holograms than polyamory
— UMO (@UMO) May 20, 2015
FATED
NOSAJ THING
[INERTIA]
* * *
Fated – Nosaj Thing (Inertia)
Source: Supplied
How does a cred underground electronic hip-hop producer make his album stand out? Easy. He calls in a cred MC pal — like Chicago’s Chance The Rapper. That’s what California’s Nosaj Thing (AKA Jason Chung) — a less jazzy, more ambient Flying Lotus — has done for this third outing. Chung contributed to Chance’s buzz mixtape Acid Rap. In turn, the rapper guests here on the eerily desolate Cold Stares. Elsewhere, the mysterious Whoarei provides disembodied vocals for Don’t Mind Me — deconstructed R&B. But, ultimately, Fated isn’t about “songs” or even cameos. It’s a collection of abstract, textured and evocatively synthy beats — a secret soundtrack to urban existence. / CYCLONE WEHNER
SOUNDS LIKE: Destiny’s Children
IN A WORD: Experimental
Fated LP
featuring:
@chancetherapper
@Whoarehigh
iTunes: http://t.co/PxQzmxj4qH
Vinyl: http://t.co/iQsuS0XJqk pic.twitter.com/weXNF7Jo1x
— N O S A J T H I N G (@nosajthing) May 7, 2015
THE RULES OF ATTRACTION
TIM ROGERS & THE BAMBOOS
[ATLANTIC]
* * *
Rules of Attraction – Tim Rogers & The Bamboos (Atlantic)
Source: Supplied
They’ll make an incredible biopic of Tim Rogers one day. Poet, Lothario, dilettante, footballer, actor, artist(e) … he gets around. After Rogers and The Bamboos discovered they fit snug-as-a-bug on I Got Burned, a wild tour together followed. Then they hunkered down to record this sumptuous, ever-so-fun 16 track (inc. four bonus cuts) LP of gah-roovy rock’n’soul that nearly captures that initial foray. Lance Ferguson does a mean Benjamin Button, he’s sounding younger and more potent with every record, the axe-master of “chucks” — he feels the funk. The brass on Now and Then sounds needy though and Rogers only rules the roost when he sings true falsetto on Easy, Me & The Devil and the slinky title track. / MIKEY CAHILL
SOUNDS LIKE: Undress me slowly, don’t be in such a rush
IN A WORD: Soaring
Relive @timerogersmusic and @the_bamboos’ killer live set on Round & Round with @sarah_smithie http://t.co/hM8xiB19IL
— Triple R FM (@3RRRFM) May 20, 2015
DARK NIGHT SWEET LIGHT
HERMITUDE
[ELEFANT TRAKS/INERTIA]
* * * 1/2
Dark Night Sweet Light – Hermitude (Elefant Traks/Inertia)
Source: Supplied
Sydney combo Hermitude represent a happy conundrum. They’ve dropped successive overground albums since the early 2000s, scooping the Australian Music Prize (!) with their last, 2012’s HyperParadise. And, while they (now) make “future beats”, they’re linked to a Oz hip-hop. Today Hermitude are bigger than ever. Dark Night … sees them ride the wave of the new Australian electronica, post-Flume, with astronomical festival numbers like the bossa nova trap Through The Roof, feat. MC Young Tapz. Hijinx is blissed-out glitch, verging on chopped ‘n’ screwed. Hazy Love feat. Chloe Kaul is ethereal synthwave. Dark Night … resists crass commercial temptations — admirable. / CYCLONE WEHNER
SOUNDS LIKE: An epilogue to summer.
IN A WORD: Epic
Guuuys! The Buzz is #1 on Hype Machine. Oh my gawwd. Thanks for the ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XuAsIVCJLl
— Hermitude (@HermitudeMusic) May 20, 2015
Follow your intrepid reviewers on Twitter and get into spirited discussions with them about contentious star ratings: @joeylightbulb@cameron_adams@therealcyclone
