Rolling_Stone_Australia_October_2017

Fromtheonset,CloudControlhavebeenin

searchofaheightenedstate:seekingouta

Bliss Releaseontheir2010debut;findinga

fabledDream Cavefor their 2013 follow-up.

On the group’s third LP, they’ve discovered

theirZone:anewspacesituatedbetweentriumphandtrag-

edythatseesthemstillkeepingoneeyeonthehorizon,

questing for something greater.

That questing has taken Cloud Control a notable dis-

tancefromthehumblepsych-popoftheirpast.Nowdown

tothetrioofAlisterWrightandsiblingsHeidiandUlrich

Lenffer, the band have spent the four years sinceDream

Cave’s release shaping their sound into something marked-

lydifferent. “Zone(ThisisHowitFeels)”isaboldopening

gambit that summarises Cloud Control 2017: experimen-

tal pop with intricate production (courtesy of Wright) that

walks a delicate tightrope between joy and loss.

As with previous albums, there’s a healthy ratio of pop

perfection(theNewWave-y“Treetops”;atripto“Rain-

bow City”; the future R&B of “Panopticon”; the excellent

butdaftlynamed“Mum’sSpaghetti”)pepperedwithafew

admirablemisses(“LightsontheChrome”and“Lacuna”).

Cathartic closer “Find Me in the Water” sees Wright

searchingouthisnextdreamt-ofdestinationthatpromis-

es a blissful release. ConsideringZone’s ability to unearth

newdiscoveriesinseeminglyfamiliarplaces,youcanonly

hope the questing continues. JAMES JENNINGS

The Belligerents

Science FictionSony★★★★

Superbly spacey debut from

Brisbane psych-pop heads

The Belligerents operate in a

wonderfullyhazybut precise

Krautrock-via-Madchester

universe, mixing synth-heavy

psych-electro spaciness with

swathesofguitar.Important-

lythere’salightnessand real-

life scrappiness grounding their

more esoteric tendencies, pre-

venting the po-faced ‘we’re here

for serious dancing’ that affl icts

so many bands aiming for psy-

chedelic dancefloor transcen-

dence. That shines best on the

psych-sitar disco-punk of “Less

and Less” and “Flash” and the

laser-show disco of “Caroline”.

The MGMT-isms of “It’s Gonna

Get Worse” and “Science Fic-

tion” are terrific fun, underscor-

ing the album’s playful oddness.

JAYMZ CLEMENTS

Willie Watson

Folk Singer Vol.2Acony Records

★★★★

Folk gems from former Old Crow

Medicine Show singer

Willie Watson’s much-loved

Folk Singer Vol.1worked so well

partly because he and produc-

er David Rawlings allowed a

certainunkemptness,a mud-

diness,todrivebothperfor-

mance and production on its

renditions of songs from the

American folk canon.Vol.2 is

the same. The sparseness of

these interpretations, along

with Watson’s winsome vo-

cals, produces an overall sound

startlingly similar to Dave Van

Ronk. At the same time, some

inspired instrumental choices

from Rawlings bring gorgeous

newdimensionstowell-trodden

ground. For song selection, sin-

cerity and passion, Watson has

nailed it again. BARNABY SMITH

Cloud ControlZone

IvyLeagueRecords★★★½

Cloud Control

Keep Searching

Trio return from years in the wilderness

with strange new pop discoveries

they signed off after three of

this century’s finest albums:

the hits-packed 2005 debut;

their grandiose 2007 zenith,

SoundofSilver;themaster-

ful2010farewell,This Is Hap-

pening.ButAmerican Dream

isonthesamelevel.Murphy

digs deep into the wreckage

heseesallaroundhim,both

emotional and political, even

if his message to the country is

thesameashismessagetothe

mirror:“Youjustsuckatself-

preservation.”

Murphy doesn’t go for a

“Drunk Girls” or “North Ameri-

canScum”here–nolightweight

noveltyhittobaitthehook.In-

stead,American Dreamis 10

complextracksinanold-school

CD-size 70-minute electro-

funk rush, stubbornly insisting

that you put in time to absorb all

thetwistsandturns.Itmoves

fromthehushedcrooningof

“Oh Baby” to the extremely 1985

drumflompsof“IUsedTo”.

The heart of American

Dreamis the four-song groove

that builds from “How Do You

Sleep?”to“Tonite”tothetwo

songs already released as a sin-

glelastautumn,“CallthePo-

lice” and “American Dream.”

These songs f low together as

a 28-minute suite on the ter-

rors of adulthood in dangerous

times. “Tonite” is a deceptively

perkydiscosatire,ripping“these

bullying children of the fabu-

lous/Raffling off limited-edition

shoes”. “American Dream” sums

itupinacomicyetbizarrelypoi-

gnantdoo-wopKraftwerkbal-

lad, as Murphy testifies about

howgrowingoldercanfeellike

aconstantdrughaze,running

away from relationships but

runningonempty.

Yetunlikesomeotherrock-

ersofacertainagewecould

mention, Murphy never sounds

likeacrankhunguponhislost

youth–maybebecausehewas

alreadywellintohisthirtiesby

thetimehegotLCDSoundsys-

tem off the ground. There’s an

open-hearted compassion in all

the turmoil here. OnAmerican

Dream,even the most exuber-

antlyupbeatgroovesareloaded

with dread and confusion. But

that’s exactly why they hit home

right now.

Reviews

80 ★★★★★ Classic | ★★★★ Excellent | ★★★ Good | ★★ Fair | ★ Poor Ratings are supervised by the editors of ROLLING STONE.