Hatchie, Northlane, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder: New album reviews

Brisbane’s Hatchie consolidates her pop credentials on her sophomore album PLUS Northland and Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder.

Brisbane pop artist Hatchie

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

POP

Hatchie, Giving the World Away

(Ivy League) ***1/2

Bris Vegas continues to punch above its weight in turning out successful artists of all genres, and the pop star otherwise known as Harriet Pillbeam now drops her eagerly awaited sophomore set. There are shades of female-fronted acts as diverse as Garbage (Lights On, The Rhythm) and Bananarama (the echoed vocals of the title track). There’s the playful bassline of upbeat This Enchanted, the sumptuous synth pop of Quicksand and hypnotic slow groove of Take My Hand. And Hatchie gives The Jezabels’ Hayley Mary a run for her money with her high notes on Don’t Leave Me in the Rain, accompanied by pitter-patter keyboards. It all closes with the sweeping, emotiveTil We Run Out of Air.

METAL

Northlane, Obsidian

(Believe) ***

Just as Faith No More pioneered rap metal, Australia’s own Northlane gives us techno metal. It’s melodic, the vocals aren’t (always) guttural and the music is more accessible than your usual thrash fare. Think compatriots Voyager, Caligula’s Horse or even Dead Letter Circus. Waves of synth give way to shockwaves of bass and drums on opener Clarity, while Is This a Test wouldn’t be out of place on a dancefloor. Similarly, Cypher has shades of The Matrix, equal parts techno belter and rapid-fire metal storm as frontman Marcus Bridge pleads: “Turn me into a battery!” The melodic Nova is the most accessible with its dreamlike synth and slower pace, while on Echo Chamber – about the toxic tribalism of social media – they ask: “Have you tried turning it off?”

BLUES

Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder, GET ON BOARD

(Nonesuch) ***

The time between drinks for these two living legends spans longer than most artists’ entire careers: six decades, to be precise. Now Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder are together again, to pay tribute to influences of their own, the immortal blues classics of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Despite the technological trappings of modern music this could be straight out of the original era, an organic affair. Where the tech does shine through is in the flawless reproduction, in which you can feel the flesh on wood and every pluck or slide of the string. Midnight Special, popularised by Creedence Clearwater Revival, gets a more traditional take, while other highlights include What a Beautiful City and Pick a Bale of Cotton, on which the pair’s vocal contrast is accentuated.

Originally published as Hatchie, Northlane, Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder: New album reviews