Album review: Jimmy Barnes on his best behaviour with Blue Christmas
What could the sheik of shriek possibly bring to this well-worn genre? Mulled wine and a three-day growth? Flame (Christmas) Trees?
Album reviews for week of November 25, 2022:
ROCK
Blue Christmas
Jimmy Barnes
Bloodlines/Mushroom
If your initial response is to approach this review with a scintilla of scepticism, that’s entirely understandable. A Jimmy Barnes Christmas album? Surely that would rank in the catalogue of international musical incongruities situated somewhere between Captain Beefheart’s Best of Broadway, Rammstein’s Gospel Hour and AC/DC unplugged. What could Jimmy bring to the well-worn genre? Mulled wine and a three-day growth? Flame (Christmas) Trees? Would the sheik of shriek be in full-throated rasp mode, blasting the festive season clean into the New Year? Would rock’s erstwhile wild man opt for shock value; perhaps a version of Kevin Bloody Wilson’s Hey Santa Claus? Turns out this set sees Barnsey on his best behaviour. Blue Christmas opens with a toe-tapping Jingle Bell Rock, and he’s smoothed the grit for a swinging bluesy tone that is strangely infectious. It’s Jimmy, but not as you know him. He hangs up his stocking and stuffs it with all the standards, crooning through Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Let It Snow! and White Christmas. Little Drummer Boy falls slightly short, but perhaps I was holding it up to the gold standard performed by Bing Crosby and David Bowie circa 1977.
Run, Rudolph Run is rockin’ good fun, all Beach Boys surf guitars and honky tonk piano, with a touch of Chuck Berry. His nine-piece backing band is in finger-snapping form throughout; the arrangements are smart and suave, without being cloying or overdone. What inspired all this goodwill towards men? “One of the greatest surprises I ever got from our children was when they all snuck away into the garage and secretly recorded themselves singing carols for me,” he explains. “This album is my gift back to the kids … and everyone out there who just wants to sit and sing with their family on Christmas.” The title track is the highlight, where he connects with his inner Elvis and explores tones I never expected to hear coming from that famous cavern of gravel. This venture could easily have veered towards working class ham, but somehow it’s easy without being cheesy. If you are expecting vintage Barnsey screaming of a White Christmas, you will be disappointed. If you’re ready for the kinder, gentler side of a rock legend, though, be of good cheer.
Jason Gagliardi
INDIE ROCK
Gulp!
Sports Team
Big Desert/Island
With 2020’s Deep Down Happy, Sports Team created what was among the first truly great debuts of the new decade. Essentially an anxious millennial retooling of Pulp’s Different Class with an extra pinch of knife-edge intensity, it was such an exceptional effort that it almost doomed the British band’s prospective follow-up to “sophomore slump”. To its credit, Gulp! endeavours to circumnavigate this pitfall. The tactic is this: maintain the rage of the debut, but in a more subtle, seething manner. Getting Better exemplifies this approach, serving as wolf in sheep’s clothing by lacing twee indie-pop with arsenic lyrics about inevitable demise and meaningless homogeneity. Elsewhere, the album’s bristling undercurrent turns to a sizzle with sax-wielding highlight The Drop, sardonic lead single R Entertainment and the bustling opener The Game. While admittedly not an entirely equal successor, this proves that there was more to its initial momentum than a mere flash in the pan. After all, it’s not over until the siren goes.
David James Young
FOLK/ROCK
This Machine Still Kills Fascists
Dropkick Murphys
Dummy Luck/[PIAS]
By setting lyrics written by legendary left-wing US troubadour Woody Guthrie to its own music, Bostonian punk-folk rockers the Dropkick Murphys take up where Billy Bragg and Wilco left off with the 1998/2000/2012 trilogy Mermaid Avenue. Regardless of whether this aptly named new record measures up musically to the earlier tribute, it certainly does credit to the rich legacy of a prototypal protest singer who famously painted the titular slogan (minus “still”) on his guitars mid-World War II. Some of the 10 short songs are loud and brash — as befits America’s answer to the Pogues — but the Murphys also show admirable restraint, most notably in a haunting Celtic-hued ballad duet, between main-man Ken Casey and alt-country guest Nikki Lane, that exhibits shades of the 1988 hit Fairytale of New York. A rare Smithsonian recording of Guthrie, complete with Dobro guitar and vocals from Woody’s grandson, is deftly incorporated in the stirring curtain-closer Dig A Hole.
Tony Hillier
ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Doggerel
Pixies
Infectious Music
On its eighth album since 1988, Boston’s alt-rock loyalists offer a glimpse into the parallel universe of how the boon of 90s-era guitar music might sound, had the community’s frontmen not burnt out en masse. That’s not to say Doggerel sounds “just like everyone else” from the proto-grunge era; Nomatterday has the instantly recognisable basslines established at first by Kim Deal, carried on faithfully by the now fully integrated Paz Lenchantin, while album standout Dregs of Wine and the gleefully nostalgic Get Stimulated have all the hallmarks of Surfer Rosa and Doolittle to thrill Pixies’ faithful. However, as is often the case with rockers now working into their fourth decade of the power-chord dark arts, there’s a step towards the more reflective and mellow here, as heard on the acoustic pop of Who’s More Sorry Now and the Dylan-flavoured reflections of the closing title track. At a tight 42 minutes, Doggerel carries on the steady evolution of one of the last truly “alternative” legacy rock acts. Here’s hoping Billy Corgan takes note.
Alasdair Belling
NOISE POP
Blue Rev
Alvvays
[PIAS]
Alvvays has made a dramatic leap forward on its third album, which easily sits among the year’s best. Aptly named after a sugary Canadian alcopop drink, Blue Rev is a sustained head rush that introduces new depths of colour and texture. The Toronto quintet’s tuneful, jangling pop is still radiant at the core, as are singer Molly Rankin’s pointed lyrics, but the sheer denseness is thrillingly new. None of these 14 songs exceeds four minutes, making for a procession of noisy hooks that ride high on marked contrasts and rewarding twists. The band’s interplay is especially dynamic – observe Sheridan Riley’s bracing drumming throughout – and there’s impressive scope to tracks like the 1980s-esque After the Earthquake. Even if the prevalence of saturated effects can push Rankin’s vocals further down in the mix, it’s worth the extra effort to pay attention to what she’s singing. And considering that the album’s creation was hampered by border closures, a flooded basement and even stolen demos, Blue Rev feels all the more triumphant.
Doug Wallen
Album reviews for week of November 18, 2022:
POP
Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles
Christine and the Queens
Because Music
French singer-songwriter Christine and the Queens has undertaken a significant journey of self-discovery and transformation in the public eye in the past decade, and the artist’s third album is a culmination of this growth. Formerly known as Chris, and now using he/him pronouns, Redcar is the performer’s latest moniker: a homage to the colour of cars he kept noticing passing by after his mother’s sudden death in 2019. Redcar is a new identity which has brought forth the most wide-ranging and high-concept music of his output to date. Over 13 tracks mostly co-written and created with famed producer Mike Dean (Kanye West, Lana Del Rey), we traverse a blissful soundscape of 80s-era synths and delicate yet uncompromising vocals with long-held notes. The album is also performed almost entirely in French, with only a small smattering of Franglais throughout. Album opener Ma Bien Aimee Bye Bye kicks things off with punchy percussion, spacious synths, arpeggiated guitar and funky bass. Like much of the release, it teases at a build but never quite reaches a crescendo; the listener is made to feel uneasy, as if left hanging on a precipice.
Rien Dire pulses like a heartbeat, La Clairefontaine takes the ’80s influence to its heights and My Birdman leans into a Sade-esque R&B vibe. Les Etoiles is a beautiful tribute to his late mother and a conversation with the stars, while Combien de Temps is an expansive eight-minute tune that meanders with walking bass and piercing electric guitar embellishments. Christine and the Queens has always excelled at marrying character with performance in a unique style of showmanship – see the fabulous choreography in the music video for 2014’s Tilted – and this is no different in the first clip released for this album, for third track La Chanson du Chevalier. Dressed as a sailor, Redcar dances around a gritty, dishevelled warehouse with abandon, at times limping and embodying the tune with every inch of his body. It’s a poetic rock-popera performance, and it’s exciting to consider what shape these songs may take when performed live. One suspects it’s onstage that these tracks will truly take on a life of their own and reach those heights only hinted at on the recording.
Emily Ritchie
HIP-HOP
Cheat Codes
Danger Mouse + Black Thought
BMG
The relationship between producer/musician Danger Mouse and acclaimed rapper Black Thought is one that has extended almost 20 years. Both US artists have made significant contributions to the fabric of popular music, and this collaboration is a fitting meeting place for two sets of ideals, musical influences and new sounds. Black Thought remains sharp as ever, weaving intelligent and forward-thinking lyrics with biting wit (Sometimes, Aquamarine). It’s an album that doubles as a rap masterclass from The Roots’ lead MC with Danger Mouse’s expansive production ear, which buoys its more bombastic moments with precision. Musically, boom-bap beats meet vivid electronics, strings and guitar work; a testament to Danger Mouse’s musicality and keenness to lean into an individualistic flair. Cheat Codes has the ability to feel like it is an album that moves between an older sonic world and a fresh, vibrant one. These two artists prove to be adept at bringing the best out of each other in a natural way.
Sosefina Fuamoli
ALTERNATIVE
God Save the Animals
Alex G
Domino
To say that US musician Alex Giannascoli has built up a cult following the world over would be a serious understatement. Not yet 30, he’s already nine albums deep and has become increasingly popular with each release. His seemingly endless songwriting palette takes in everything from heart-puncturing pop, to winsome folk and fuzz-laden punk, and his prettier numbers often have him likened to the late Elliott Smith. But the restless troubadour never sits on any idea for too long and clearly delights in subverting expectations, sometimes mid-song. That arrives early on this record with lead single Runner, a gorgeous slice of Americana which takes a sudden, jarring turn into thrash metal screaming, and right back out again. It’s another album that frequently takes left turns, often resulting in inspired instrumentation, like the surreal banjo-vocoder hybrid of Cross The Sea and Trent Reznor-esque blare of Blessing. But as always, Giannascoli’s willingness to push out the boat can’t overshadow his formidable knack for melody.
Jonathan Seidler
INDIE ROCK
EBM
Editors
[PIAS]
Despite never breaking up, Birmingham’s Editors felt destined to be remembered as “landfill indie”: a catch-all term for 2000s guitar-slinging also-rans that never ascended to the heights of Arctic Monkeys or Bloc Party. The radical sonic departure that comes on seventh album EBM, then, makes this its most interesting release in well over a decade. Part of it comes with producer/composer Blanck Mass joining the fold as a permanent sixth member; as well, it comes with the band doubling down on electronic elements in lieu of their usual post-punk, pushing into the realm of industrial and new wave. Opener and lead single Heart Attack is a pitch-perfect pacesetter, with Tom Smith’s tense baritone making for a perfect foil to the blackened, bubbling synth patterns and urgent drum work. Not everything works on the album’s too-long 53 minutes; the cheesy “hey”s in Vibe feel completely out of place. Still, it’s ultimately a push to something new, which is more than most of Editors’ contemporaries can say almost two decades on.
David James Young
INDIE POP
Me and You
Big Scary
Pieater
Intimacy may not be the biggest surprise from a two-piece band, but the fifth album from Melbourne duo Big Scary brings us all the more closer to Jo Syme and Tom Iansek. Lonely Age lingers with lullaby softness despite added strings, while In My View is a tremulous piano ballad shorn of frills. The pair often sing together yet leave ample opportunity to shine individually: Iansek’s expressive falsetto serves him well, and Syme delivers supportive lyrics with notable tenderness on the closing You Won’t Always. Swapping out the focus on synths from last year’s Daisy for grand piano and other acoustic instrumentation, Me and You still manages to surprise with subtle twists like the hip-hop cadence marking both the duet vocals and shuffling drumbeat of Goodbye Earle Street. Considering that Big Scary has recently been touring as its core duo rather than as a bolstered five-piece for the first time in years, this album represents an ideal reintroduction to the quiet chemistry between the seasoned collaborators.
Doug Wallen
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