Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

Ju ne, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 83

Wavves

You’re Wel c om e

Ghost Ramp/Inertia★★★

Indie-punk relishes in creative

freedom–alittletoomuch

From no-fi bedroom noise to Fat

WreckChordshangover,from

indielabelstomajorsandback

to self-released. Such is Nathan

Williams’ decade-long parab-

ola path, arriving at album six

near where it all began, with the

experimental, cassette-warped

vignettesthatwerestuffedbe-

tween songs on Wavves’ debut

demosnowservingastheback-

bone of his adopted paint-by-

power-punk approach. At best,

theseshardsofshitgazeand

cut-and-paste weirdness recall

his early work’s raw disposabil-

ity(“NoShade”,“MillionEne-

mies”), while the flipside, such

as the near-untouched sample

on “Come to the Valley”, are bor-

derline unlistenable. J.N.

Justin Bernasconi

Barefoot Wonderland

Rocket★★★½

Melbourne blues-folk singer-

guitarist releases second album

Barefoot Wonderlandis right:

Bernasconi is so laidback here

youcanseethesolesofthose

bare feet. While kicking back

he’s picking his way through

Kentucky mountains folk and

lowland blues on his Harmo-

ny Sovereign acoustic or Dan

Robinson parlour guitar, pick-

ingupa1936Gibsonormaybe

aMartin7-stringalongtheway.

Luckily for people who wouldn’t

knowaGibsonfromagibbon,

Bernasconi can write a tune

almost as well as he plays this

array.“CarrieSwoon”islight

and amused, and the instru-

mental “Box Of Birds” skips

along, but there’s wistfulness in

“Melatonin”’s bent strings.

ANDRE B RAKIM

ToeToToe

Rise UpGolden Robot ★★★½

Sydney hardcore pioneers keep

the fires stoked

Toe To Toe’s rage hasn’t dimmed

in 25-plus years, and the world

in 2017 gives the Sydney punk

legends plenty of ammunition.

Their breakneck hardcore is

particularly beefy on Rise Up –

imagine a Danny Green pum-

melling in musical form – and

they’re reliably great at taking

the pissy, political and person-

alandgiveeverything a univer-

sal relatability that avoids slo-

ganeering: vocalist Scott Mac’s

raspy growl on “My War, My

Way” could inspire the pope to

run through a brick wall. But

they’reattheir best taking the

ragged punk edge of cuts like

“First Sin” and “DTOM” and in-

fusing them with a refi ned sense

of melody and bodies-in-the-air

brutality. JAYMZ CLEMENTS

Hazel English

Just G ive In/Never Going

Home Pod/Inertia ★★★½

Soft-focus pop bridging the

Pacifi c Ocean

Sydney native Hazel English

is ready for her close-up. Now

based in Oakland, California,

she’s bundled last year’s debut

Never Going Home EP with a

newer EP made in collaboration

with Day Wave’s Jackson Phil-

lips. It’s a tidy introduction to

both her stylised sweetness and

soft-focus dream-pop, warm-

ly evoking the Drums and Wild

Nothing. Airy vocals and del-

icate, chiming guitars thread

through nearly every one of

these 11 tracks, striking an ever-

green balance between breezy

uplift and melancholy under-

tow. The songs can sound a bit

too much alike, but otherwise

the sparkling ingredients are all

there. DOUG WALLEN

Sydney outfit Bliss n Eso have

made a successful career out of

big, ballsy hip-hop that showcas-

esablendofpartyanthemsand

socially conscious jams. Their

sixth record has every right to be more of the

same, but instead the foray into self-reflection

makes for a more mellow and mature new di-

rection.

ThreeyearsofftheboozeforEso,parent-

hood, marriage, years of touring and just plain

gettingolderareallmirroredinthelyricsfrom

thepairofemcees,andtheyshinewhenthey

goinontheintrospection.It’sreflectedintheir

soundtoo,whichretainstheirfamiliarstylistic

gymnasticsfromtracktotrack,buttakenalto-

gether has a gentler, almost gospel edge com-

pared to their earlier work.

Tracks such as “Believe”, “Dev il On My Shoul-

der” and “Blue” display it best, all choirs and

melancholy hooks, but old-school fans will still

fi nd a few bangers. For all the maturity on dis-

play there are a few hints the group might not

have gone completely straight edge, and joints

like “Tear the Roof Off ” and stand-out open-

er “Off the Grid” are safe bets to be menacing

car stereos in the very near future. Older, a lit-

tle wiser, maybe mellowed a touch, Bliss, Eso

and DJ Izm have delivered an assured and wel-

come change of pace that will keep fans happy.

DANIEL FINDLAY

Pumarosa

The Witch

Caroline Australia★★★★

British outfit plunder darkness

on debut album

HailingfromEastLondon,Pu-

marosadubtheirsound“in-

dustrial spiritual”, and it’s not a

baddescription–thecold,The

Cure-meets-Depeche-Mode-

in-a-bar-owned-by-Interpol

vibeofsongssuchas“Priestess”

isoffsetbyamelodicwarmth

andenergythatpreventsthe

albumfromveeringtoofarinto

theinsular.FrontwomanIsabel

Muñoz-Newsome is a captivat-

ing presence, calling to mind a

mixofPJHarveyandJohnette

Napolitano, her voice washing

over the choppy guitar work

of Jamie Neville. Witness the

swirling climax of “Honey”, a

sonicfreakoutthatwillleave

you breathless. TOM WINSOM

Bliss n Eso

Off the Grid Illusive/Flight Deck

★★★ ½

Bliss n Eso

Grow Up

Sydney rappers display maturity

on sixth album

DEAN HAMMER