Album review: dance mainstays Pnau return refreshed on Hyperbolic
The runaway success of Pnau’s 2021 remix of Elton John’s song Cold Heart took the trio’s profile to new heights, and its global chart triumph opened doors for fresh collaborations.
Album reviews for week of April 6 2024:
ELECTRONIC
Hyperbolic
Pnau
Etcetc
Since 1999’s breakout album Sambanova – famously pulled from stores because of uncleared samples – Nick Littlemore, Peter Mayes and, from 2016, Littlemore’s brother Sam have bent genres to their collective will, darting in and out of 90s rave, left-of-centre synth pop, thumping house, playful indie-dance and mind-altering electronica. Despite some misses among the many swings, Pnau has remained an Australian mainstay. Hits such as Baby and Wild Strawberries remain instantly recognisable; their production shine still a benchmark to aspire to. Their talent was picked up early by Elton John, who championed the then-duo and went on to collaborate on 2012’s remix album Good Morning to the Night. And while 2017’s Changa impressed with its mix of festival-ready bangers such as Go Bang and Chameleon, and smoother house tunes like Young Melody, the runaway success of Pnau’s 2021 remix of Elton John and Dua Lipa’s song Cold Heart took the trio’s profile to new heights. Its global chart triumph opened doors, and the trio has taken advantage by enlisting a clutch of high-profile collaborators to fashion a typically energetic, eclectic sixth album. Spoiler alert: six of the 10 songs on Hyperbolic have already been released, including 2019’s excellent Solid Gold and 2020’s peak-time River, featuring Ladyhawke.
Album opener AEIOU — released in collaboration with Nick Littlemore’s other project, Empire of The Sun — doesn’t inspire confidence, with its wretched Euro-dance party feel and piercing synth. The Hard Way gets things back on track via a chunky beat and vocals by US R&B heavyweight Khalid: it’s both classic and progressive Pnau, effortlessly straddling the pop and dance realms to form an early standout. Of the new tunes, All the Time impresses via its unshackled, positive vibe and cheeky spoken-word group chant demanding ”Don’t you want to feel good – all the time?!” In contrast, Passion Flower is more indie-leaning, a sharp contrast to current single Nostalgia, which harks back to Pnau’s 90s rave days, and is a club-ready body mover. Elsewhere, the pop-tinged You Know What I Need recruits Troye Sivan to deliver a smooth-as-silk vocal atop low-slung beats. Stars, meanwhile, has a Cold Heart feel about it via Bebe Rexha and Ozuna’s vocals laid atop a chugging beat. Album closer So High, with its rumbling bass and dreamy vocal from First Nations artist Emily Wurramara, evokes the French Touch sound to glorious effect. At 31 minutes in total, though, Hyperbolic is over all too soon. Please, Sirs, can we have some more?
Tim McNamara
NOISE POP
Glasgow Eyes
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Fuzz Club/Cooking Vinyl
Scottish brothers Jim and William Reid are celebrating 40 years of their deeply influential band, whose sonic signature proves remarkably well preserved here. That means basking radiant melodies in bristling distortion and other harsh effects that can suddenly push the needle into the red without squashing their melodic kick. The band’s eighth album — and only its second this century — fruitfully flirts with hazy, club-ready pulses on a few tracks, while Jim Reid’s vocals still sound equally romantic, bratty and bored. It’s a mixed bag overall, with clunky lyrics weighing down Discotheque and the nostalgia-laden The Eagles and The Beatles. But the veteran siblings command a droning gravity on the dirge-like Pure Poor, and Chemical Animal doubles as a soft flashback to the band’s career-defining 1985 single Just Like Honey. There’s also a charming degree of well-deserved swagger in how the Reids reference themselves, sneaking their band name into the gorgeous indie pop of Second of June and turning its acronym into a dancefloor mantra on Jamcod.
Doug Wallen
JAZZ
Old Country, New Country
Paul Williamson, Peggy Lee, Dylan Van Der Schyff
Independent
Paul Williamson is one of the truly great jazz trumpeters in Australia. At his best, he can capture the spirit of the age. Old Country, New Country is a departure for him where he’s in a context that challenges this hardened reviewer. Two brilliant Canadian musicians — Peggy Lee (cello) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums/percussion) — are on hand, and the trio plays eight compositions, five by Williamson, and three by Lee. In a nutshell, the music explores the intersections between composition and free improvisation. I hear the written sections sympathetically, but when it comes to passages of free improvisation, I find that many of the musical elements which make jazz interesting for me — pulse and harmonic changes, for instance – are absent, and my empathy for the music quickly flags. This is not to say that the music is deficient, far from it; but it is to say that I don’t personally warm to it. If this genre is your cup of tea, however, I believe this album has much to offer.
Eric Myers
FOLK
Songdreaming
Sam Lee
Cooking Vinyl
Arguably the apotheosis of his acclaimed recording career thus far, this fourth album by Sam Lee sees him create truly spellbinding soundscapes. Combining the sonority of his bewitching baritone voice with adroit arrangements, the nature-loving Londoner contrives to cultivate his concern for the wildlife and countryside of the British Isles while updating its rich canon of traditional folk songs. By using drone effects in conjunction with atmospheric folk and rock instrumentation, Lee creates a mesmerising tapestry of sound and texture while reimagining and reworking a selection of ballads from centuries past. His innate musicality and spiritual affinity with the natural world of his native land invites comparison with the songlines of Indigenous Australia. Songdreaming consummates the communion between the environment and song, ancient and contemporary. From a passionate opening salvo (Bushes and Briars) to an exquisite sign-off (Sweet Girl McRee) and in-between renditions of gospel-tinged, choral-infused songs like Leaves Of Life and Meeting Is A Pleasant Place, Lee’s set of cinematic dreamscapes is seductive and thought-provoking.
Tony Hillier
POP
Gothic Summer
The Veronicas
Big Noise Music Group
You’d be hard-pressed to find a recent Australian band with as intriguing a career as The Veronicas. Having been signed as teenagers, sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso have enjoyed wild popularity and complete obscurity in equal measure. Their first two albums — 2005’s The Secret Life Of... and 2007’s Hook Me Up — were massive multi-platinum hits that spawned singles like 4Ever, When It All Falls Apart and Untouched. It was a solid launch pad, but the years following were dominated by bitter disputes with the twins’ former label over creative and musical direction. Nearly two decades on from their debut, we’ve arrived at Gothic Summer, a record billed as the band’s “first international album in 10 years”. It’s a short, punchy effort clocking in at eight tracks in barely 22 minutes. Opener Perfect is a pristine slice of pop-punk; likewise Detox and album highlight Invisible. Here To Dance takes cues from Dua Lipa’s disco sensibilities, while Savage sees the twins team up with local rapper Kerser. These songs aren’t reinventing any wheels, but it’s an enjoyable listen and a solid return to form.
Jules LeFevre