Rolling Stone Australia September 2017

September, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 87

Boo Seeka

Never Too Soon

Sureshaker Music★★★

Debut from Aussie indietronica

duo sails safely rather than soars

If one song title on the debut

albumfromSydney/Newcas-

tleduoBooSeekasumsuptheir

overridingMO,it’s“CalmSym-

phony”.Never Too Soonis a rip-

ple-free blend of chill-bro vibes

andslick,ornateelectronicpro-

duction. Ben “Boo” Gumbleton

and Sam “Seeka” Croft certain-

lyknowhowtocraftahooky

popsong,asevidencedbythe

earworm single “Turn Up Your

Light”. They’re adept at inspir-

inggentletoe-tapping,butthe

results are often too airless and

clean. It’s inoffensive indie-tron-

icathat’scatchy,yetremainsa

particular kind of vague and

genericthatmeansit’sboundto

endupsoundtrackinghipcafés

country-wide. JAMES JENNINGS

Iron & Wine

Beast EpicSubPop/Inertia★★★

US folkie flashes back to rivers,

songbirds and country roads

The count-in is a whisper. Acous-

tic strings creak under rough

fingers. The band breathes in

unisonandSamBeamisback,

pretty much, where it all began

sixalbumsago.Theembroi-

dered cover image of beardy

bloke with blindfold describes

the tone of the Carolina farm

boy’s homespun inner visions:

warm times and pastoral images

recalled with gratitude border-

ing on exhilaration. Tender Paul

Simon harmonies grace “About

aBruise”andNickDrakelives

in the rolling fingerpicking and

dancing piano of “Song In Stone”

and the “The Truest Stars We

Know”. The plinking pizzicato

and xylophone of “Last Night”

markstheplayfulpeakofade-

cidedly contented afternoon.M.D.

The Districts

Popular Manipulations

Pod/Inertia★★★

US rockers shift their gaze from

theReplacementstoInterpol

This quartet from smalltown

Pennsylvania built a reputation

on visceral live shows as teen-

agers. 2015’s AFlourish and a

Spoildisplayed a ramshackle

grandeur that drew on beautiful

losers with poetic hearts, from

theReplacementstotheLib-

ertines. Two years later they’ve

polished their act and shift-

ed their gaze towards Interpol

and Arcade Fire. That means

quivering, declamatory vocals

over rumbling drums, storm-

cloud guitars and wailing key-

boards. It also means that while

thesoundhasstadium-sized

ambitions, some songs dip into

a glum stomp, even if frontman

Rob Grote still has a way with

words. BARRY DIVOLA

The Isley Brothers &

Santana

The Power of Peace

Legacy Recordings/Sony Music ★★★

Two legendary outfi ts off er a

spicy and soulful set of covers

If Ronald Isley’s perfect-

ly weathered voice can’t bring

peace to the world do we real-

ly stand a chance? The legend-

ar y singer is in fi ne form on this

collection of covers, bashed out

in four days with his guitar-

ist brother Ernie and Santana’s

latest incarnation. Ernie and

Santana tear through Swamp

Dogg’s “Total Destruction To

Your Mind”, while Stevie Won-

der’s “Higher Ground” is, er,

grounded by a shocking rap

verse namechecking LeBron

James. Drummer Cindy Black-

man Santana brings it home

with a gospel-tinged original,

reminding us that peace begins

at home. Bless. DARREN LEVIN

There’ssomethingfaintlydepress-

ing about reading Tex Perkins’ ex-

cellent autobiography (or, more

accurately, the oral history of Tex

Perkins, as presented to venera-

ble music writer Stuart Coupe): the

Australianmusicsceneofwhichhespeakspret-

ty much doesn’t exist anymore.

Andsure,it’shardtogetnostalgicaboutthe

record company politics leading to his contract-

escaping covers album with his unfortunately-

named Ladyboyz, and no-one yearns to return

toaQueenslandwheregettingbashedbyyobs

orpolicewasanacceptedpriceofanightout.

Still,thesearesnapshotsofamoreinnocent

time when young Australians had the econom-

ic freedom to fart about with instruments and

seeifanythinginterestingresulted,andwhena

weirdo band like the Cruel Sea could still be the

biggest act in the country.

As the chapter-punctuating mini-reviews of

Perkins’ recorded output shows, the man has

made a LOT of records. You know the Beasts of

Bourbon, Cruel Sea, Dark Horses and Tex, Don

& Charlie? That’s not even the half of it.

There are drugs, there are fuckups, and

there’s a never-wavering belief in the power of

music. There’s even a bit about how to bury a

horse. You need this. ANDREW P. STREET

Alice Cooper

ParanormalearMusic★★★★

Legendary rocker continues to

grow old disgracefully

It’s been six years between solo

albums for Alice Cooper, but

the legendary shock rocker

hasn’tbeenidle,whatwithhis

relentless touring, radio show

andworkwiththeHollywood

Vampires.At69,Coopersounds

firedup,hisseasonedbandpro-

viding a platform for this mon-

strousmixofgrizzledDetroit

rock&rollandarena-shaking

anthems. Long gone is the hair

metal sheen of 1989’sTr a s h,

in its place the more fearsome,

classic(yetnolesscatchy)“Fire-

ball”, “Paranoiac Personality”

and eerie closer “The Sound Of

A”. A bonus disc of live cuts and

twonewsongswithhisoriginal

band are welcome additions to

an excellent LP. R.Y.

Tex Perkins with Stuart Coupe

Te xPan Macmillan

★★★★

TheLifeand

TimesofTex

Veteran Australian singer delivers his

first autobiography

Books

TONY MOTT