Rolling Stone Australia - May 2016

White Denim

StiffCreate/Control

★★★

Austin four piece emerge from a

line-up shake-down intact

The departure of original

drummerJoshBlockanderst-

while guitarist Austin Jenkins

inspired remaining members

JamesPetralli(whoatfull-pelt

callstomindtheBlackCrowes’

Chris Robinson) and bassist

Steve Terebecki to take stock

of the band’s existence on their

seventh album. At their best

when belting out ebullient rock

classics,Stiffstarts with an

exhilarating guitar explosion

that sets the tone for what’s

tocome.Thesoulfulfunkof

“TakeItEasy”isasuccessful

divergence, although else-

wheresuchforaysarelessre-

warding(“(I’mtheOne)Big

BigFun”andalbumcloser

“Thank You”). Regardless, as

they enter their second decade

Stifis proof that White Den-

im ain’t done yet. MEL LAKE

TheGoonSax
Up To AnythingChapter
★★★★
Brisbane youngsters deliver
heart on sleeve pop bravado

Whilerifewithreferencepoints
–fromthestraightshootin’
Dick Diver-like delivery to a
sharpening of the Dunedin
pop-jangle –Up To Anything
remains the work of its creators.
Weighted by personal insecuri-
ties, the Brisbane teenage trio
examine the edges of adulthood

• responsibilities, relationships
  etal–withremarkableself-
  awareness, yet smirk away the
  self-deprecating pity tempting
  them into depressive territory.
  Their finest moments (the stut-
  tering lovesick ode “Sometimes
  Accidentally”) feature a clever
  morphing of mundane obser-
  vations and clear thematic fo-
  cus, a fumbling resolve simul-
  taneouslysuitedtoboththeir
  stream-of-conscious songwrit-
  ing structure and post-adoles-
  cent perspective. JONNY NAIL

Violent Femmes

WeCanDoAnything

PIAS America

★★★

Punk-folk heroes show flashes of

their Eighties glory

Wisconsin punk-folk trio Vio-

lent Femmes’ first album in 18

years occasionally summons

the warped whimsy of their

celebrated self-titled 1983 de-

but full-length – only updated

for ruined teens hitting their

fifties.On“Foothills”,pencil-

necked singer Gordon Gano

warbles about rubbing one out

before going to his job, over a

melody nicked from Frankie

Lymon’s “Why Do Fools Fall

in Love”; “Big Car” spazzes out

with predatory glee; and the

title track is demented chil-

dren’s music. Gano shows of

a more refined tunefulness

on “What You Really Mean”,

which recalls understated

Springsteeninitsgrown-up

depictionofconfusedlonging.

JON DOLAN

Santana

Santana IVThirty Tigers

★★★

Carlos reassembles fabled early

Seventiesline-upformixedbag

Andsoitisthat45yearsaf-

tertheylastconvened,Carlos

Santana has reunited with

Messrs.Rolie,Schon,Cara-

bello and Shrieve for another

bash at the rare chemistry that

definedSantana III(1971).

Theydon’tcomeclosetothe

muscular energy of that record,

but they do occasionally hit a

groove (Santana were never

aboutsongwriting)that‘clas-

sicera’fansmightappreciate.

The propulsive instrumental

passages of “Freedom in Your

Mind” and “All Aboard” ap-

proach the vaguely erotic mood

ofSantana’smostinvigorating

guitar noodling. Some insipid

lyrics about world peace are a

shame, and 16 tracks is indul-

gent, but they can largely still

find the sweet spot, however

ephemerally. BARNABY SMITH

WeezerWeezerCrush Music/Atlantic

★★★½

TheWeezercultwillalways
restontheband’s1996over-
share masterpiece,Pinker-
ton.Latter-dayWeezerfans
understandably cherish the
myththatPinkertonwasreviledbytheadult
world,butintruth,nobodyevennoticedit;
therewereloadsofmajor-labelsophomore
flops in 1996 (Weezer’s sold slightly better
than Sponge’s, slightly worse than the Gin
Blossoms’).YetCuomotookithard.Like
a Scarlett O’Hara wandering the burned-
out ruins of the grunge plantation, he shook
afistattheheavensandvowed,asGodwas
hiswitness,nobodywouldevercatchhim
having a feeling again.
Cuomohasbeenaggressivelytrollingfans
ofhisyouthful-sincerityphaseforthepast
15 years – which is five times longer than
his youthful-sincerity phase actually last-
ed. Weezer’s fourth self-titled album is a sus-
tainedBeachBoysparody,withtuneslike

“WindinOurSail,”“L.A.Girlz”

and “Endless Bummer”. Cuomo

begins the opening track, “Califor-

niaKids”,withthesoundofocean

waves and sea gulls, while a guitar

and a tinkling kiddie xylophone re-

callbothBrianWilson’s“Wouldn’t

It Be Nice” and Weezer’s “Pink Tri-

angle”, two classic songs about

clueless Southern California boys

yearning for a happily-ever-after

that can’t come true.

Cuomosayshesetouttorevive

thespiritoftheband’searlydays.He

grew back the beard he had while

writingPinkertonand worked with 5SOS

producer Jake Sinclair, who once played

in a tribute band called Wannabeezer. As

on last album, 2014’sEverything Will Be

Alright in the End,Cuomo plays around

with his Nineties

tropes. “Do You Wanna

GetHigh?”soundsex-

actly likePinkerton’s

“The Good Life”, while

thelyricsevokesnortingpills,closingthe

drapes and listening to Burt Bacharach re-

cords in the dark (a very late-Nineties thing

to do). “Wind in Our Sail” is clearly the work

ofadadwho’sbeenwatchingeducational

TV: “We got the wind in our sails like Dar-

win on theBeagle/Mendel experimenting

with the pea.”

It all ends with the superb “Endless Bum-

mer”,anacousticballadwithoneofCuo-

mo’s most poignant melodies. “Sometimes

IfeellikeI’maghost,”hesings,capturing

a Brian Wilson-worthy pathos. Even when

he’s straining to purge any trace of emotion,

the exuberant yearning of the music means

it sneaks in anyway. ROB SHEFFIELD

Rivers Cuomo’s Nineties Beach Party

Weezer’s fourth self-titled LP
reimagines their classic sound

KEY TRACKS:

“Endless

Bummer”, “The

Good Life”

May, 2016 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 99