Rolling_Stone_Australia_October_2017

Rick Rubin’s hirsute shadow still looms large

over the Stones, who have decided to keep

rolling since splitting up on the down-low in

2012.Thesuperproducerwasthecatalystfor

their 2014 reunion after hearing them at a

party and inviting them into his Malibu studio to recon-

nect and record. It resulted in their self-titled third album

–theirfinestyet–andRubin’strickwasn’tjustthatdry

Seventies drum sound. He insisted the siblings write in

the same room together, and it’s a process they’ve stuck to

for their fourth album, which was self-produced in Angus’

Byron Bay studio.

Itseemsfittingthattheyopenproceedingswiththecall-

and-response of “Snow”, which sees the pair swap verses

like a less cloying Moldy Peaches (despite Julia’s chorus of

“la la las”). The Stones are at their best when they’re play-

ingoffeachotherlikethis:Juliaprovidingthestrongbut

sympathetic counterpoint to her brother’s just-rolled-out-

of-a-two-day-bender version of charm.

Theuseofadrummachineandamoreexpansiveguitar

palette is a marked difference from Rubin’s organic LA pro-

duction. They even take a stab at indie-hop on “Baudelaire”,

which works surprisingly well for two kids that grew up in

Sydney’s northern beaches. (Straight outta Newport yo!)

ThealbumfittinglycloseswiththeStonesfinishingeach

others’ sentences. They’re stronger together – they just re-

alise it now. DARREN LEVIN

PVRIS

AllWeKnowofHeaven,All

We Need of HellBMG★★★½

Next Big Things make their play

for the big time

PVRISmaywellbetheperfect

modern band. In frontwoman

Lynn Gunn they have a sing-

er who pairs Lorde’s intimacy

with Paramore singer Hayley

Williams’knackforbeltingouta

tune; their sound is a melange of

dark electronic pulses, big beats

and arena rock; previous tour-

mates range from Fall Out Boy

to Bring Me the Horizon; and

their championing of LGBTQ

rights marks them as a band

withasocialconscience.Their

second LP suffers from a slight

tendencytodrinkfromthesame

musicalwellwitheverysong,

butthedeliveryisneverlessthan

intense, and the hooks are plen-

tiful–witnessanthemicopener

“Heaven”. R.Y.

UNKLE

The Road: Part 1Inertia★★★

Turn on, tune in, drop out on

James Lavelle’s trippy fifth album

UNKLE’sfirstalbuminseven

yearsisaguidedmeditation

through a dreamy, disjoint-

edacidtrip.Thealbumex-

ploresmyriadformsofpsyche-

delia, from thumping trance

(“Cowboys or Indians”) to

bluesy guitars (“Nowhere To

Run/Bandits”) and sentimen-

talcomedownpianoballads

(“Stole Enough”). Being an

acidtrip,itisbothwonderful

andcompletelynonsensical.It

flingsitselfinsomanydirec-

tionsit’sdifficulttodivedeep-

er,largelyduetofivediscom-

fortingspokenwordinterludes

(titled“Iter”s)thatbreakupthe

musicwithsillyyoga-pants-

and-top-knot titles like “Have

YouLookedAtYourself?”.

LAURENZIEGLER

Birdz

TrainofThought

BadApplesMusic★★★★

Stirring debut from up-and-

coming MC

Fierce, thoughtful, and backed

by ball-out beats, Birdz is orig-

inal and ambitious in his sto-

rytelling, consistently weaving

thenarrativesoversilkyproduc-

tionthathasyourheadnodding

no matter the troubling ques-

tionsitasks.Fromcollabswith

Jimblah on “Rise” to the bril-

liant “The Other Side” featuring

Caiti Baker,TrainofThought

comfortably mixes everything

fromgospeltoG-Funk.Italso

never shrinks from highlight-

ing contrasts even as it explores

them; between head nodding

and thought provoking, the per-

sonal and the political, and none

clearer than that between black

and white experiences in Aus-

tralia. DAN FINDLAY

Ben Salter

Back YourselfABCMusic

★★★★

Passion and persuasion from

Aussie journeyman

Thereisacasetobemade

that singer-songwriters today

don’t approach their peak

untilmiddleagelooms.Now

40, Ben Salter has conjured a

third solo album of formidable

songwriting heft and ideolog-

icalfocusthatisarguablythe

Queenslander’sbestwork.Some

eclectic arrangements vary be-

tween the acoustic frankness of

opener “Where Corals Lie” and

themorefrenzied“NaziPara-

phernalia”, which offers a with-

ering indictment of the more

moronic corners of popular cul-

ture.Salteralsopossessesatrue

folk voice that is strong, deep

andalittlebellowy,icingan

albumthatisaspoeticasitis

polemical. BARNABY SMITH

Angus & Julia StoneSnowEMI★★★½

The Stones’

Family Ties

Sydney siblings continue their upward

trajectory on fourth album

October, 2017

Reviews

86 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com