Rolling Stone Australia September 2017

Just as the first track on the War on Drugs’

third and breakout album signalled an ur-

gentnewpathlitbySpringsteenandanalog

synthesisers, “Up All Night”, the opener onA

Deeper Understanding, leapfrogs the band’s

previous heart-stirring efforts. It sneaks up on you with

bagpipe guitars, club-ready percussion summoned from

Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” and Adam Granduc-

iel’s tobacco drawl communicating a kind of wearied op-

timism: “I’ve been through it, I always have/paranoia, but

it wouldn’t last.”

The song and entire record mark a perhaps unintentional

shift towards arenas, bold but safe in Granduciel’s perfec-

tionistic hands, whether he’s coming over all Rod Stewart

on the Mellotron-warm “Pain”, sending scorching guitar

solosskywardsin“StrangestThing”orsteering11-minute

fuzz-bath“ThinkingofaPlace”.Andon“InChains”hegets

as close as anyone ever has to recording the sound of fall-

inginlove.Itwouldhavebeenagreatsongevenwithout

the left-field bliss hit of vibraphone at the 4:14 mark, but

here and throughout Granduciel amps up hisLost In The

Dreamtrick, bestowing already brilliant songs with stun-

ning gear shifts. His heartbreak, too, has been tempered

with newfound resolve and hope: “be the writer of your

own story, let it turn you onto love again”. ANNABEL ROSS

Young Lions

Mr SpacemanBedlam★★★★

Heady concept record from

Brisbane heavy rockers

On their third album, Young

Lions extend the strides they

made on 2015’sBlue Isla,deliv-

eringaconceptrecordthatex-

plodes their sound into heady,

arena-readyterritory.“Burnthe

Money”and“DestroyMe”are

apairofemotionallywrought,

heavy-alterna-rock burners

withadeftsenseofmelody

–Muse-lite,ifyouwill,orCold-

playiftheypossessedanystones

–whiletheisolationistparanoia

of “Better World” is a definite

highlight.Theirapproachiswrit

large in moments like “Head-

space” and “Freedom”, though,

as electronic-flourishes tinge

their muscly rock chops with a

weighty atmospheric air, pro-

viding a depth that’s surprising,

and welcome. JAYMZ CLEMENTS

Dead Cross

Dead CrossIpecac★★★★

Punk-metal royalty collaborate on

a skull-smashing debut album

Too often supergroups sound

good on paper but end up being

an excuse for normally great

artiststoeaseoffthegasinthe

hope that their high profile band

mateswillpickuptheslack.Not

so with Dead Cross. Mike Pat-

tondeliversinarangeofvocal

styleswehaven’tseensinceFaith

No More’sAngel Dustover rag-

inghardcorecourtesyofSlay-

er’s Dave Lombardo and Re-

tox’sJustinPearsonandMichael

Crain.It’sfuriousbutnotrelent-

less,asPatton’sdeliveryinjects

melody, humour and brutality

inequaldoses,makingforan

albumthatnevergetsstale.If

you were expecting an arty van-

ityproject,you’llbedisappoint-

ed–thisisamotherfuckerofa

hardcore punk record.MATT COYTE

Turnover

Good Nature

Run For Cover Records/Cooking Vinyl

Australia★★★½

More dreamy melodies from

evolving Virginia outfit

Recent visitors to Australia in

supportof TouchéAmoré,Turn-

over’s earliest output and DIY

approach to touring has long

seen them lumped in with the

punk scene. 2015’sPeripheral

Visionwasasonicstepaway,

and so it continues on their third

LP.AustinGetz’ssleepyvocals

mesh with the Virginia outfit’s

dreamy mix of chiming, reverb-

laced guitars to create a sound

that never sets the pulse rac-

ing,butinsteadwashesoveryou

likeawarmbathofmelodyand

mood. Perhaps lacking the en-

ergy ofPeripheral Vision,Good

Natureis nonetheless another

interesting step in Turnover’s

evolution. ROD YATES

Sarah McLeod

Rocky’s DinerKobalt★★

Firstsoloalbumin12yearsfor

Superjesus singer

Forsuchanostentatiousback-

story – the Superjesus-sing-

er-turned-solo-rocker-turned-

EDM-bandwagoner shipped

herselfofftoanicyNewYork

winterforthreemonthsiniso-

lation, simultaneously finding

inspiration in Stallone’sRocky

franchise – you’d expect Sarah

McLeod’s new album to be a

touch more engaging. Instead,

after a promisingly sweet open-

er(“Rocky’sReprise”),theNine-

tiesrocktropes(“Giants”),coun-

try pop tropes (“Bad Valentine”)

andpowerpoptropes(“Hurri-

cane”) are catchy yet oddly one-

dimensional. Despite her excel-

lent,raspyvoice,thefamiliar

talesofloveandlossofferlittle

by way of meaning or memora-

bility. LAUREN ZIEGLER

The War on DrugsADeeperUnderstanding

Atlantic★★★★★

The Drugs

Do Work

Adam Granduciel delivers Americana synth-

rock masterpiece on album four

September, 2017

Reviews

86 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com