Album review: Ian Moss’s Rivers Run Dry ‘marked by skilled eclecticism’
Despite a large cast of collaborators, there’s a cohesion to Rivers Run Dry that’s largely down to the Cold Chisel co-founder’s proven prowess as a vocalist and guitarist.
Album reviews for week of July 28 2023:
ROCK/ROOTS
Rivers Run Dry
Ian Moss
Universal
There are no fewer than eight backing singers on Ian Moss’s eighth solo album. Not that he ever needed that much help; Moss was always technically the better vocalist in Cold Chisel, his nuanced soul and blues-flecked voice providing occasional blessed relief from the full-throttle screech of lead singer Jimmy Barnes. Rivers Run Dry is also notable for its wide range of songwriting partners. Among a dozen co-writers with Moss, Chisel pianist Don Walker — now a solo artist in his own right, whose recent release Lightning In A Clear Blue Sky is worth seeking out — has a hand in two songs, and two more were written with country rocker Troy Cassar-Daley, with whom Moss has toured extensively in recent years. There are also contributions from Mark “Diesel” Lizotte and daughter Lily, frequent collaborator Lucy DeSoto, Nashville-based expats Sam Hawksley and Mark and Jay O’Shea, plus American songwriter Alan Roy Scott, who’s penned hits for the Spinners, Roberta Flack and Patti LaBelle. Despite this cast of several, there’s a cohesion to Rivers Run Dry that’s largely down to Moss’s proven prowess as a vocalist and guitarist. From the gospel swell of the opening title track — aided by that octet of backing singers — through the countrified Bury Me (a darkly metaphoric duet with Kasey Chambers), What Can I Do and I’m Going Back, to the classically Chisel-powered driving song Nullarbor Plain (“351 shaker / A widow maker / Cuttin’ through the desert night ...”), Rivers Run Dry is marked by skilled eclecticism.
Drummer Kerry Jacobson gets a writer’s credit on two songs, the deliciously funky State of My Emotion and The Wish, which includes a cheeky quote from the bridge of April Sun in Cuba, a 1977 hit by his former band, Dragon (“Tell me lord I can stick it out, in this cold and grey”). Adding to the voluminous guest list are a string quartet, which appears on the mawkish Cassar-Daley co-write I’m Going Back, and four-piece horns that punctuate Open Your Eyes and The Last Time. Moss’s teenage son Julian sings subtle harmony on the album’s only cover, an exquisite version of Stevie Wonder’s Blame It On the Sun from his 1972 release Talking Book. It’s one of five unabashed love songs on Rivers Run Dry, which by no means suggests Moss, now 68, is going soft in late middle age. As twin components of an excellent core band — completed by Jacobson, bassist Zoe Hauptmann and keys maestro Clayton Doley — it’s undeniable that both his voice and guitar playing remain in mint condition.
Phil Stafford
BLUES/ROOTS
Bonfire
Hazmat Modine
Jaro/Planet
Its music might be built on a traditional blues base, but New York’s Hazmat Modine blends 1920s spirit with 21st century verve. Like its home city, the band also has a cosmopolitan heart, which takes in soul, world music and a gamut of instruments. Stirred by the impassioned singing and hypnotic harmonica vamping of charismatic founder/leader Wade Schuman, the octet’s distinctive roots music stew is suffused with tasty instrumental interludes from a strong horn section. Pithy, thought-provoking verses, co-written by the MD and his guitarist and co-vocalist Erik Della Penna, reflect the vicissitudes and pleasures of modern life. Bonfire burns from the opening blast of brass to the closing vocal harmony study. Adding fuel to the fire are excellent new members: violin virtuoso Daisy Castro, who excels in a passionate Eastern Euro gypsy-accented instrumental, and Mali-born Balla Kouyate, whose balafon (African xylophone) also delights. A WOMADelaide return after its impressive 2016 debut would be most welcome.
Tony Hillier
ELECTRONIC
Manifesto
Folamour
Sony Music
Marseille DJ and producer Folamour doesn’t neatly fit the French Touch mould exported by countrymen Daft Punk, Cassius and others, but his joyous DJ sets and body-moving productions have made him no less impactful on the electronic music scene. The follow-up to 2021’s The Journey continues a winning run: beautifully melodic house music is the order of the day, but the bucket-hatted Frenchman’s penchant for adventure shines through via a left-of-centre guest list and adept melding of disco, funk, afro and even indie rhythms. Brass sections elevate tunes like Poundland Anthem, the feel-good Amore featuring Baccus, the peak-time Fearless, and the sublime, bass-heavy title track, which is an album standout. Elsewhere, summery lead single Voyage glides on a bouncy bassline, key stabs and the warm pipes of Grammy-nominated Malian duo Amadou and Mariam. Worldly in scope, mature in sound, positive in vibe and eminently danceable, Manifesto reflects a producer at the top of his game.
Tim McNamara
JAZZ/ORCHESTRAL
My Life Is A Symphony
Kate Ceberano
ABC Music
The Americans celebrate their legendary female vocalists extravagantly with the symphony orchestra: think Barbra Streisand and Joni Mitchell. In Australia, Kate Ceberano is one artist with the credentials and singing prowess able to bring off such a prestigious elevation. As a jazz singer, Ceberano is always superb. Her 2009 album Bittersweet with US trumpeter Mark Isham is a masterpiece; her 2019 album Tryst with Australian pianist Paul Grabowsky is exquisite; and, as a successful pop singer, she has an extraordinary track record of achievement of which I’m only dimly aware. My Life Is A Symphony with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra presents 10 of her compositions written over many years with a bevy of collaborators. They underline her impressive musical oeuvre, with intimate lyrics that provide glimpses into her private life. The symphonic world is risky, however, and I note that Roscoe James Irwin’s powerful orchestral arrangements occasionally overwhelm Ceberano’s beautiful vocal sound. Still, this minor aberration is unlikely to spoil things for her loyal fans.
Eric Myers
ALTERNATIVE METAL
Take Me Back to Eden
Sleep Token
Spinefarm/[PIAS]
When it comes to British metal band Sleep Token, the main question being asked is “what?”. Not dismissively, mind, but inquisitively. The project is completely anonymous, ostensibly serving as a one-man band for someone known solely as “Vessel”. Its third album thrives on genre anarchy, smash-cutting from floating ambience to crushing dissonance – not to mention churning “djent”-style guitars to R&B grooves and fluttering electronica. Sometimes all within the same song, too. It’s disorienting at first, but once you’re in there are plenty of reasons to stick with it – particularly when it comes to Vessel’s bold vocals and knack for big-swinging hooks, in the spirit of modern Bring Me The Horizon and fellow British act Architects. Ultimately, Eden’s only real shortcoming is its length. At 63 minutes, it feels like Peter Jackson’s film Return of the King: there’s several points it could quite fittingly end, yet bewilderingly, it keeps going. Still, both the effort and the idiosyncrasy on offer makes the lion’s share of this album among the best mainstream heavy music heard in 2023 thus far.
David James Young
Album reviews for week of July 21 2023:
ALTERNATIVE ROCK/FOLK
Blood Red
Busby Marou
Sony Music
Across four previous albums since their 2010 debut, Rockhampton duo Busby Marou have drifted ever closer to the ill-defined (but instantly recognisable) “Australiana” rock championed by the likes of acclaimed singer-songwriters Josh Pyke, Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning. On their fifth album, this melding of easygoing alternative rock ‘n’ roll with folksier roots is more fully realised than ever before: fourth track Conversation and the title track are both a far cry from the hazy country rock flavours that characterised those earlier records. While the changing sonic landscape may be jarring to some, singer Thomas Busby and guitarist Jeremy Marou have always specialised in the craft of songwriting, and Blood Red presents some of their finest work in this field to date. Opening gambit Crazy Like sets the tone, with its infectious chorus and somewhat anthemic outro heralding two musicians who are no longer content to be pigeonholed as merely sunny, acoustic “feel-good” merchants. Other highlights include the arid stomp of Crying, and the heartwarmingly familiar balladry of Someone – a co-write with Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker.
If Blood Red has more sonic reference points than one would expect from a Busby Marou record, it’s due to its impressive swag of collaborators. The guest list include producer and session guitarist Chris Collins, who lends his composition and production chops to the aforementioned opener and the curiously tropical-flavoured 10th track Low, while songwriting credits include Gretta Ray, Lindsay Rimes and Ian Kenny (Birds of Tokyo, Karnivool). Such a significant musical deviation isn’t without its misfires, of which there are a few here. The songs on the 11-track album’s second half noticeably languish, and never quite hit the dynamic highs or gentle lows so skilfully achieved up front. It’s also worth noting that the trademark vocal harmonies between Busby and Marou — which undoubtedly helped put them on the map — don’t feature as prominently as one might expect. Overall, though, Blood Red is the coming-of-age LP Busby Marou needed to make. The territory they’ve covered in the past — such as their excitable, surprising cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and campfire singalong favourites Underlying Message and Biding My Time — are shadows this pair will always struggle to shake. But on album No.5, they’ve proved that — unlike many of their peers from last decade’s indie-folk landfill — Busby and Marou have the songwriting skills and chemistry to outlast any mere flash in the pan.
Alasdair Belling
JAZZ
They Know That We Know (One’s Reality)
Peter Petrucci
Independent
This is a modest and unassuming album from the splendid Melbourne guitarist Peter Petrucci, probably best-known for a series of duo albums in past years with pianist Tony Gould. A prolific recording artist over three decades, Petrucci has released eight albums as a leader and appeared on 30 albums as a sideman. Here he returns to the duo format with eight tracks, presenting three comfortably familiar standards, and five somewhat abstract originals: three of his own works, and two by the American electric bassist Steve Swallow. Four brilliant Australian bassists are on hand, each of whom plays on two tracks: Geoff Kluke, Ben Robertson and Eric Ajaye (on double bass), and Jeremy Alsop (fretless electric bass). Recorded between 2019 and 2022, these tracks are beautifully played by a guitarist who has patently mastered the art of improvisation over a set of chord changes: the essential language of jazz. The result is a highly thoughtful and intimate jazz experience.
Eric Myers
POP
Big Star
Katy Steele
Love & A Shotgun Records
Katy Steele has always been a magnetic musical presence. As frontwoman for Perth party starters Little Birdy, she was a relentlessly energetic leader who embodied perfect rock abandon. There was also the matter of her voice: a unique combination of richness and trembling huskiness. Little Birdy called it quits in 2010, and Steele decamped to New York to carve out a solo career. Her debut solo album, 2016’s Human, held some solid ideas and tracks, but failed to cut through. Big Star – her first album since returning home to Perth – is a thoroughly enjoyable listen: Steele channels the glittering pop melodies of Blondie and Fleetwood Mac and couches them in slick production, which always lifts up that phenomenal voice. Opener Come and See Me and DLYLO are both punchy and sharp (reminiscent of the heady pop of Carly Rae Jepsen), while closer FEAR is gorgeously sprawling. Some songs fail to make an impression, but overall this is an appealing chapter in Steele’s great career.
Jules LeFevre
SOUL/FUNK
A World Worth Fighting For
Lachy Doley
All The Stops
On stage, organist extraordinaire Lachy Doley fronts what can only be called a soul/funk showband. He’s been dubbed the “Hendrix of the Hammond” and indeed, one of his live showstoppers is a blazing version of Voodoo Chile, but Doley’s own songwriting skills have too often been overlooked for his instrumental dexterity, versatile session work and astute choice of covers. A World Worth Fighting For is his sixth album (with or without the Lachy Doley Group), and its seven tracks, all originals, include a co-write with legendary American funk bassist Bootsy Collins, Get Out Your Ear’s Way, which features the latter’s distinctive vocals. The album is bookended by two edits of its sax-powered title track, a deep soul epic addressing climate change. Doley also exhibits his skills on the Hohner clavinette, its “whammy bar” mimicking an electric guitar. On These Words, for example, Doley has it sounding uncannily like late master guitarist Jeff Beck. He also proves his credentials as a pianist, with the ivories central to Don’t Beat Yourself Up and the Elton John-esque My Own Medicine.
Phil Stafford
ROCKABILLY
The Barnestormers
The Barnestormers
Bloodlines
If the term “supergroup” conjures images of jaded stars with bloated egos phoning in guaranteed disappointment, this offering might not appeal. If a “rockabilly supergroup” makes you want to run screaming, fingers in your ears, move along. But if you are willing to give The Barnestormers a chance, you might just like it. The unlikely assembly of Jimmy Barnes, The Living End frontman Chris Cheney, British musician and TV presenter Jools Holland, Stray Cats drummer Slim Jim Phantom and producer Kevin Shirley bonded over their rockabilly love during Covid. And while they might have recorded their bits in isolation, there was no phoning it in: from start to finish, this is a boogie-woogie wonderland. Barnes backs off the screams for a smoother sound, Holland tinkles the ivories like there’s no tomorrow and the whole thing stays on the rails like a Lonesome Train (track 4). They cover Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Bill Haley, Johnny Burnette and Brenda Lee, and even throw in a reworked Cold Chisel track (Land of Hope and Glory). Highlight? Real Wild Child in the style of Jerry Lewis on a speed binge.
Jason Gagliardi