Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

Howdoyoufollowuparecord–2000’sRe-

lationship of Command–that’sclosetoper-

fect?AttheDriveIn’sapproachof‘wait17

years, then deliver a pleasingly four-quad-

rantsATDIexperience’isunexpected,asbe-

fits the El Paso band’s unique disdain for anyone else’s ex-

pectations.

Seventeen years between albums also makes for terrif-

ic perspective. At the Drive In’s hyper-paranoiac, anti-au-

thoritarian stance and distrust of corporate-governmental

overlords proved to be (horrifyingly) prescient, with rich,

narcissistic psychopaths more entrenched in the systems of

world power than ever.in•tera•li•a(Latin for “Among

OtherThings”)openswith“NoWolfLikethePresent”and

finds ATDI examining their place in 2017.

They’re older, more mature, and the razor-edge tension

and philosophical weight that fuelled their original fire has

hardened, giving the piercing, kaleidoscopic Omar Rodri-

guez-López riffs and Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s barked pro-

nouncements a darker, more impenetrable edge.

in • ter a • li • alacksRoC’s defining dy namic range, but

their frenetic, pinpoint aggression in the swaggering rum-

ble of “Continuum”, comeback single “Governed By Conta-

gion” and the post-punk catharsis of “Call Broken Arrow”

and “Tilting At the Univendor” show that ATDI’s talent for

mind-bending riffalanches remains unimpeachable.in•ter

a•li•aisbetterthananyonehadarighttoexpect...but

then,17yearson,ATDIstilldon’tcaremuchforexpecta-

tions beyond their own. JAYMZ CLEMENTS

Luke Yeoward

GhostsHalf Way Records★★★★

Former King Cannons frontman

delivers stunning solo debut

After years of fronting Clash-

indebted kiwis King Cannons,

Yeoward’ssolodebutreveals

an impressive musical chame-

leon.It’sarecordthattakes un-

expected turns like a less garru-

lous Father John Misty. There’s

an intelligent, soul-pop song-

writing bent that evokes Elvis

Costello in the simple and spare

rock of “Who Can Save Us Now”,

andGhost’s sunny unpredict-

ability is its strength. When the

woozy island vibes (“Gaines-

ville”, “Cool Water”) with echo-

ing reggae percussion and a

wobbly organ hit, the shift in

tone and energy liftsGhosts to

awholenewlevel.Itequals a

debutthatshowsoffthe myriad

strengthsofaburgeoning, curi-

ous talent. J.C.

Ásgeir

AfterglowInertia★★★

Icelandic megastar hints at a

new direction on second LP

His2014debut(alsoreleased

in English asIn the Silence) is

the biggest selling Icelandic re-

cord of all time, but on the fol-

low-up Ásgeir Trausti Einars-

son – Iceland’s cornier answer

toBonIver–haswisely done

away with some of the more

cloying acoustics and amped up

the synthetic sounds, providing

a far more interesting backdrop

to his angelic falsetto. Some of

it is still overwrought, but there

are welcome surprises, from

“Stardust”, coming over like an

upbeatJamesTaylorifhe start-

ed playing around with synths

(no slight), to the flute-driven

jaunty breakdown of “I Know

YouKnow”.Thebackend lags,

but his new direction is prom-

ising. ANNABEL ROSS

At the Drive Inin•tera•li•a

Rise Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia★★★★

At the Drive In’s

Timely Return

Legendary post-hardcore prog-punks

make their triumphant comeback

news they bring is not good.

“Thesky’sfallin’,baby,”Vince

Staples gleefully sneers in open-

ing track “Ascension”, amid si-

rens and a death-rattle rhythm.

“Is this how it ends?” asks Peven

Everett in “Strobelite”, utilising

hisbestStevieWonderwailover

spacey synths and a disco beat.

With so many voices across 14

tracks on the standard album –

19onthedeluxeedition–it’sa

simultaneously overstuffed and

scattered record. It’s as if Albarn

is soundtracking a sprawling

partythat’sbeingheldtoboth

commiserate and celebrate the

endofdays.Attimestheguests

couldbegivenmorereinand

integrated into the whole Go-

rillaz concept more seamlessly.

GettingthelikesofMavisSta-

plesandGraceJonesonboard

must have been no mean feat,

but their contributions sound

sliced, diced and shoe-horned.

Likewise, Ben Mendelsohn’s

short spoken interludes are

fleeting and don’t provide any

kind of potential narrative. Still,

this is an aural assault and Al-

barn is a curator as much as

songwriter/producer, marshal-

ling everyone from De La Soul

to an uncredited Noel Gallagher

to help create his musical world.

Inaperversemove,thecatch-

iest song is the curtain-clos-

eranditcomesandgoesinjust

overtwominutes–“WeGotthe

Power”isadayglomixofNine-

ties acid house and Sixties sun-

shinepop.Italsocontainsa

messageofhopeinalltheconfu-

sion and bleakness that the pre-

ceding 13 tracks have conjured.

JehnnyBeth,vocalistwithUK

post-punk firebrands Savages,

makes proclamations such as

“Dreams don’t know no fear!”

while Albarn tunefully bleats

“Wegotthepowertobelov-

ingeachothernomatterwhat

happens, we got the power to

do that.” It’s a potent, positive

moment that’s tucked away, al-

most as an afterthought. But if

theworldisreallygoingtohell,

we need more of it.

It’s a simultaneously

overstuffed and

scattered record.

Reviews

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