Rolling_Stone_Australia_October_2017

FooFightersaretheworld’sbiggestmodern

rockbandformanyreasons:DaveGrohl’s

immense likability; his talent for writing

threeorfourreallygoodsongseveryfew

years;theirkillerlivechops;andoutlasting

competition for the title. They maintain relevancy via chal-

lenges (see: recording to tape in Grohl’s garage on 2011’s

Wasting Light), and the latest (according to the frontman)

is to make “Motörhead’s version ofSgt Peppers”.

A lofty ambition, and one they don’t quite reach. With

AdeleproducerGregKurstin–andguestsPaulMcCartney,

Inara George, Alison Mosshart and Boyz II Men’s Shawn

Stockman – on board, Grohl’s reliably anthemic songwrit-

ing and the usual Foos crispness is cluttered with messy,

overwrought studio fuckwittery. “Arrows” and “Dirty

Water” take Grohl’s delicate/uppercut blueprint and over-

cook it with unnecessary keyboards. Most head-scratch-

ing? Foos writing a constipated string-heavy commercial

rock plodder destined for an all-star Grammy singalong in

“The Sky Is a Neighborhood”.

Foosaretoobigtofail,however,andKurstin’spopnous

adds a hefty brightness to burners like “Run” and “La Dee

Da”,andthechoppyclassicFMrockswaggerof“MakeIt

Right”. TheLed Zeppelin IIIrepose of “Happy Ever After

(Zero Hour)” and Taylor Hawkins’ ragged “Sunday Rain”

add shade and texture. Still, the lack of clarity equals a re-

cord aiming to do many things at once, but only doing a

fewofthemwell. JAYMZ CLEMENTS

The Bronx

VCooking Vinyl Australia★★★★½

Titanic fifth album from LA punk

shredders takes aim at everyone

Each Bronx record has been a

punk fist cannoning into the

sternumofourcollectiveshit-

ty now: amid nuclear threats,

classwar,fakenewsandnar-

cissistic, racist politicians, on

Vthe Bronx strip artifice from

theindolentbonesofmodern

life with fire and vengeance.

Riffs kick and spit like scorpi-

ons being lowered into tequila

bottles in the pummelling as-

sault of “Sore Throat”, “Broken

Arrow” and “Stranger Danger”,

as Matt Caughthran rasps “I’m

a killer/Let me be who I am”.

Evenitstempered,melodicmo-

ments (“Side Effects”, “Space is

the Place”) have rough edges,

asVdisseminates its anger and

melody in brutally effective

fashion. J.C.

Devil Electric

Devil ElectricInd.★★★★

Melbourne stoner-psych rockers

deliver the goods

Devil Electric’s mandate on

their debut is pretty straight-

forward: kick some arse, take

names, heavy-liddedly fuzz the

fuck out. But taking their cues

from stoner-metal longhairs

likeGermany’sKadavarandthe

roughhouse gothic blues of Jack

White’sDeadWeather,theMel-

bourne four-piece are piercing-

ly precise, marrying Black Sab-

bathriffagein“AcidicFire”to

eyeball-melting sludge-punk on

“Shadowman”.PierinaO’Brien’s

powerful voice sails over the top

of the morass, her range lifting

moribundswampymetalriffsto

amorebeatificplaneonthebril-

liant “Lady Velvet”, while push-

ingepiccloser“Hypnotica”to

mesmerising heights. A spell-

binding debut. J.C.

Wyclef Jean

Carnival III: The Fall and

Rise of a RefugeeSony★★★½

Wyclef Jean’s narrative skill

remains undimmed

ThethirdinstalmentinWyclef

Jean’s ‘Carnival’ series proves

the hip-hop icon hasn’t lost

hisknackforbendingandfus-

ing genres. Stark contrasts are

struck asCarnival IIImoves

between sonic tone; the upbeat

reggae-funkof“FelaKuti”is

sandwiched between the more

introspective “Borrowed Time”

and “Warrior”. Collaborations

with Emeli Sandé and Lunch

Money Lewis are solid, and on

his first album in eight years,

Jeanhasmadeasoundthatex-

istsnotsimplyasanewstate-

ment,butasthecontinuationof

an approach to music that cele-

bratesdiversityandencourages

musicaldiscoveryandemotion-

al response. SOSE FUAMOLI

Lawrence Greenwood

P.S. I’m Hauntedlittle lake

★★★★

Sadly beautiful return from artist

formerly known as Whitley

Much has happened to Green-

woodsince2013’sspookedEven

theStarsAreaMess(released

asWhitley).Forone,aname

change; for another, the need

to tame some personal demons.

What hasn’t changed is his ad-

mirableknackwiththedarkand

moodyarts:theLP’stitleisper-

fect. There’s something haunt-

ing about the way Greenwood

wraps his fragile voice around

baroque digital-era sound-

scapes (he makes good use of

bowedguitarandatheravox).

Theprevailingmoodisdown-

beat, channelling such land-

marksasBowie’sBerlintrilo-

gyandPeterGabrielathismost

ruminative.Definitelymusicfor

the morning after. JEFF APTER

Foo FightersConcrete and GoldSony★★★

Foo Fighters’

Mixed Fortunes

Dave Grohl’s merry men get messy with

Adele’s producer on ninth album

October, 2017

Reviews

82 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com