Paul McCartney, Kevin Godley, The Kills: Latest album reviews

If it weren’t for our once-in-a-century pandemic, Paul McCartney might never have recorded his third eponymous record PLUS Kevin Godley and The Kills.

Paul McCartney is a veteran of the iso-album. Picture: Mary McCartney

This week’s album reviews from The Courier-Mail (ratings out of five stars):

ROCK

Paul McCartney, McCartney III

(Capitol/Universal) ***1/2

In typical Beatles style, Sir Paul McCartney was iso-recording decades before it became a thing. The first two in this eponymous series followed the break-up of the Beatles and Wings, and it took a once-in-a-century pandemic to bring us the third. The result is more stripped back and introspective than 2018’s Egypt Station, but still polished in a way only a state-of-the-art home studio can achieve. Bookended by the shredding guitar strains of Long-Tailed Winter Bird, the album meanders through a variety of styles and moods, from the vocal-stretching Find My Way to simple guitar ditties such as Pretty Boys. Lavatory Lil is the most upbeat with its Doors-like bluesy swagger, while Women and Wives is a brooding piano ballad. And Seize the Day is the most Beatlesque, recalling their later, more quirky fare.

ALTERNATIVE

Kevin Godley, Muscle Memory

(The state51 Conspiracy) ***

After a lifetime as band member, super producer and music video auteur, Kevin Godley finally gets around to his first solo record, whose album title is ironic considering it’s the one thing he hasn’t done umpteen times before. It’s almost a stream of consciousness as he muses out loud about at-times-controversial issues, with often-ambient electronic backing. The Ghosts of the Living mourns those who have departed our lives, if not this Earth, while Cut to the Cat considers modern design sensibility. The Bang Bang Theory takes aim at gun culture in the age of Trump and reality TV, while One Day portends a future where all possible music has been done – Godley himself is responsible for a fair whack of it – and our consciousness lives in the cloud. It’s all as eclectic as one would expect from an artist who’s spent his life pushing boundaries.

ALTERNATIVE

The Kills, Little Bastards

(Domino) ****

The beauty of B-sides – back when they were a thing – is that they allowed a freedom of artistic expression beyond the showcase single. And when a band already has a reputation for defying genres, you know it’s going to be extra special. This compilation of B-sides and rarities from Anglo-American duo The Kills ranges from stripped-back garage rock to lushly produced studio gems. Drawn from their nearly two-decade history, it also marks the first time these tracks have been remastered and released on vinyl. It’s not only a treat for superfans but an alternative way in for those discovering The Kills for the first time.