Rolling Stone Australia — July 2017

Afterasix-yearwaitforanewalbumwith

only some strategically timed social media

hintstogoon,FleetFoxeshavesuccessful-

lycreatedanauraforthemselves.Welldone,

them – but it does burden them with an obli-

gation to live up to the enigma and intrigue. What’s more,

in attempting a concept album partly based on the F. Scott

Fitzgerald essay that gives the record its name, they are

hardly making things easy for themselves.

Thankfully Robin Pecknold, he with the unassumingly

angelicvoice,hasartisticallymaturedinsuchafascinating,

worldly way since 2011’sHelplessness Blues,thatthisrecord

works. This is no sugar-sweet indie-folk smothered with

thoselusciousharmoniesthatmadethemderigueurin

2008 – this is challenging, instrumentally eclectic and not

immediately accessible. Complexity and experimentation –

by Fleet Foxes standards anyway – combine in a sprawling

wallofsoundsuggestiveofthesmokyhazeofDavidCros-

by’searlysolowork,particularlytheoutstanding“Mearc-

stapa”,while“Naiads,Cassadies”and“KeptWoman”show

they remain capable of straightforwardly beautiful tunes.

FleetFoxeshaveansweredthequestionofhowtoredeem

ensemble-based folk-pop in a post-Mumford world by em-

bracingtheesoteric,therisky,thelyricallyabstruse–thisis

Pecknold’sSmile, if you will. Indeed, anyone turned off by

the five-piece’s erstwhile unrelenting pleasantness should

givethisaspin. BARNABY SMITH

In Hearts Wake

ArkUNFD★★★★

Striking metalcore at its

aggressive, meaningful best

On their fourth LP, Byron Bay’s

In Hearts Wake balance brute

force, sophisticated melodies

and poignant themes. Equally

heartfelt and heavy,Ark’s core

themeishumanity’sconnec-

tion to water. The notion floods

all aspects, from track names

(“Waterborne”)andnauticallyr-

icstocharitableintent–they’ve

teamedwithnonprofitTangaroa

Blue to promote environmen-

talism through music; namely,

cleaning up polluted Australian

waterways. From the dizzying

convulsions of “Warcry” to the

soaring “Arrow”, the clean, me-

lodicmomentsareasarrest-

ing as its high-octane peaks.

In Hearts Wake firmly cement

themselves as one of Australian

metal’s greatest. LAUREN ZIEGLER

Saint Etienne

Home Counties

Heavenly/Inertia★★★½

English suburbia provides unlikely

inspiration for UK pop trio

Takinginspirationfromthetidy

townsanddullsuburbsthat

surround London sounds like

afool’serrand.ButthisEng-

lishtriohaslongknownhowto

sprinkle some sparkle on the or-

dinary.Theirninthalbumisan-

otherbootsaleofpopephem-

era,throwinginLatindisco-pop

(“Dive”), Italo-pop (“Under-

neaththeAppleTree”)andSte-

reolab-style Kraut-pop (“Mag-

pieEyes”).Andin“OutOfMy

Mind” they’ve created a dance-

popearwormthatcouldbeahit

if handed to Kylie. The concept

stretchesover19tracks,before

Sarah Cracknell recites train

station names and explains the

allureofthehomecountieson

“Sweet Arcadia”. BARRY DIVOLA

Aldous Harding

PartyRemote Control★★★★½

Strange and wonderful neo-folk

visions from NZ singer

Produced by John Parish (PJ

Harvey) and featuring turns

from Perfume Genius,Party

isamesmerisingfollow-upto

Harding’s 2014 debut. A less

demonstrativeheirtoKate

Bush, Harding inhabits nine

jaw-droppingly disparate vocal

incarnations, delivering crys-

tallinesliversofenigmatic,

fragmentary poeticism amid

delicate whorls of finger-pick-

ing and expressive piano. Child-

likeinnocenceiswrylycounter-

pointedwithsensualityinthe

title-track,whileHardingsum-

mons profound hurt in “Hori-

zon”. Save for “I’m So Sorry”,

whichbearsthestampofestab-

lished collaborator Marlon Wil-

liams,it’sanalbumofincompa-

rable quality. GARETH HIPWELL

Raised By Eagles

IMustBeSomewhere

ABCMusic★★★★

Melbourne alt-country stylists

returnwithmesmerisingthirdLP

Infouryears,thetwinsongwrit-

ing force of Luke Sinclair and

Nick O’Mara has matured to a

lustrous finish. Richer guitar

textures proliferate here, while

Sinclair’s inflection is charged

withuniquelyAustralianpa-

thos throughout (the title track).

There’sfreewheelingWestCoast

country-rock in “Nowhere (You

Wanna Run)”, vital Seventies

roots-rock in “Night Wheels”,

andbreathlesspoignancyin

“Dreamer”. Lyrically, a minor

theme centred on modest hopes

andambitionsthwartedcastsan

affecting light over proceedings

(“By Now”). RBE are in good

companywiththelikesoflocal

alt-countryluminariesHalfway

and Tracy McNeil. G.H.

Fleet FoxesCrack-UpWarner★★★★

Fleet Foxes’

Triumph

Pacific Northwesterners emerge unbowed

with mind-expanding triumph

July, 2017

Reviews

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