Rolling Stone Australia September 2017

Septembbr, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 81

Manchester Orchestra
A Black Mile To the Surface
Caroline★★★½
Rich,darkart-popfromAtlanta,
GA, indie-rock survivors

Ontheirfifthalbum,Manches-
ter Orchestra frontman Andy
Hull and guitarist Robert Mc-
Dowell channel their recent
film-score work (on 2016’sSwiss
Army Man), making for a dis-
tinctpivotfromtheband’sexist-
ingoeuvre.Theguitarsarestill
punchy (“The Wolf ”), but deliv-
ered as part of a sedate, thought-
ful examination of modern life.
There are delicate acoustics on
“The Parts”, and gruff melod-
icismon“Lead,SD”,buttheir
biggest weapon remains Hull’s
piercingyetcomfortingvoice.
Hiselegantlyricismstillwan-
ders down existential hallways
with a storytelling verve that
lends their atmospherics an
emotionally rewarding heft.J.C.

The Preatures

GirlhoodUniversal★★★★

Sophomore record is a slow-

burning, considered evolution

The Preatures’ debut capital-

ised on the success of their sin-

gle “Is This How You Feel?” with

34minutesofmainlypunchy

pop-rock in a similar vein.Girl-

hood’scharmsareslowertore-

veal themselves, from the punky

girlpowerofthetitletrackto

“Yanada”, which sees the Indig-

enous Darug language of Sydney

sung by frontwoman Isabella

Manfredi and set to latitudinous

Eighties chords to irresistible ef-

fect. Increased vulnerability is

felt in Manfredi’s voice and lyr-

icsonballadssuchas“YourFan”

and“CherryRipe”,acontempla-

tive Cyndi Lauper throwback,

whileexpertlyplacedpopsof

energy – “Mess It Up” and “Nite

Machine” – ensure a gentle but

undeniable propulsion. A.R.

Gold Class

DrumRemote Control ★★★½

Melbourne post-punks get

punchy with Gareth Liddiard

On Gold Class’ second LP, Adam

Curley is punchy, the music per-

cussive. “We were beaten, but

Istillfeelathump,” he hollers,

amidst Evan Purdey’s knotty

guitar scrawl on the relentless

“We Were Never Too Much”. And

Drumduly delivers a thump,

producer Gareth Liddiard’s

stripped-down setting letting

the propulsive rhythm section

push towards the foreground.

There’s nothing groundbreaking

here,butthequartet boast heart

and wit, sounding committed to

their cause. “Weave the blows/

Like a boxer on tiptoe,” Curley

bellows in “Thinking of Strang-

ers”, recalling Morrissey’s lyr-

ical pugilists as the song drags

Smithsyjangleinto a dark alley.

ANTHONY CAREW

Lincoln le Fevre & the

Insiders

Come Undone Poison City

★★★★

Tasmanian folk-punk prodigy

and band hit home run on LP two

“When I told you that I missed

you, you just stared down at

the fl oor, and you held me like

there’s nothing left to hold any

more,” mourns Lincoln le Fevre

on the enormous, devastat-

ing “Newcastle”. Ouch. When

the Tasmanian isn’t break-

ing hearts, he’s breaking vocal

cords (specifi cally: yours) with

his brand of folk-punk lamen-

tations and celebrations. Come

Undone invokes Ryan Adams-

like songwriting, Frank Turner-

like sensibility and a typically

Australian no-bullshit delivery.

“I should warn you I’m not built

to last,” sings le Fevre on open-

er “Ugly Enough”. Don’t believe

a word of it. OLIVER PELLING

Gang of Youths don’t do things

by halves. Their 2014 debut was

about disintegrating relation-

ships, cancer, and suicide at-

tempts: its follow up is a sprawl-

ing, magnificently realised double album that

poetically explores the human experience in all

its bleakness and triumph, confusion and clar-

ity, heartbreak and joyousness.

It’s a staggeringly cohesive multi-gener-

ational musical piñata: cross-pollinating

Springsteen’s sweeping Americana, the Na-

tional’s piercing truths and the sweaty insis-

tence of LCD Soundsystem, with splashes of

Arcade Fire, War on Drugs and U2 swirling

amid its emotional tornado. There’s the Ja-

pandroids-channelling, punch-the-air final

moments of “Atlas Drowned”; frontman Dave

Le’aupepe’s jaw-dropping “get shitfaced on

you” baritone wordplay during “Keep Me In the

Open”; psyche darkness on “Do Not Let Your

Spirit Wane”; baroque orchestration in “Achil-

les Come Down”; wild horns on “The Heart

is a Muscle”; while its series of instrumental

breathers allow you to be swept away on the al-

bum’s all-enveloping current.

Le’aupepe’s deft lyrical romanticism and

emotional sincerity ties it all together forceful-

ly and elegantly – lines crack like fi reworks one

after the other – defying cynicism and deliver-

ing raw truth-seeking vignettes in unfl inching

fashion. It makes for a remarkable odyssey of

an album that’ll engulf you, leaving a bewil-

dered smile on your face, a tear in your eye and

a heart that’s full. JAYMZ CLEMENTS

Saskwatch
Manual Override
Grow Yourself Up★★★½
Melbourne six-piece strike a
bittersweet balance on LP four

So many of pop’s most compel-
ling songs remain those com-
posed of equal parts light and
shade. Having dabbled with
this dichotomy on 2015’s Sorry
I Let It Come Between Us, here
Saskwatch nail it. “It doesn’t
feel like there’s much diff erence
between love and loss,” Nke-
chi Anele refl ects on “Decem-
ber Nights”, a bubbling pool of
psychedelic pop that draws mel-
ancholy from even its bright-
est moments. “Renoir” is equal-
ly compelling, as is the sparse
“Fortress”. But don’t be fooled;
this is a record for dancing away
a broken heart, not wallowing in
one. SARAH SMITH

Gang of Youths Go Farther In Lightness

Mosy Recordings/Verge via Sony ★★★★★

Gangs’ Two-LP

Triumph

Sydney dreamers deliver a

stunning double-album opus