Custard serves satisfying album No 8
The Sydney-based indie rock quartet’s third studio album since properly reactivating in 2015 is proof some bands never lose what makes them special.
INDIE ROCK
Respect All Lifeforms
Custard
ABC Music
Custard still exists. That’s going to shock every television reviewer who has described frontman David McCormack as the “former singer with beloved Brisbane band …” in their write-ups of Bluey (in which he voices Bandit, the dad). The quartet’s third studio album since properly reactivating in 2015 is proof that some bands never lose what makes them special. A lot of Respect All Lifeforms came out of an unexpected recording session while on tour in Western Australia and some of the songs sound a bit like a jam that went better than expected, but the highlights are wonderfully high. The opening Couples Fight is glorious classic Custard, from McCormack’s gleefully unhinged vocal to the sudden electronic breakdown in the bridge and the singalong coda. Glenn Thompson’s Talkative Town is the centrepiece, a languidly beautiful song containing unexpectedly sharp quips such as “I think there’s a more equitable system / I don’t think it’s called capitalism”. But the true gem is The Min Min Lights, which showcases McCormack’s ability to create short stories in a handful of lyrics. There’s something damn near cinematic in lines such as “She turns the outside signage off / And right now I think she’s calling the cops”. If you were the right vintage to mosh to Custard at your university O-ball, thematically the band’s work has aged with you. First single Funky Again is pure I-used-to-be-cool parent-rock, complete with a cheeky lyrical nod to the Cure’s Let’s Go to Bed, and Harlequin Records is an ode to the days when your imported guitars and obscure record collection weren’t just taking up valuable shed space. The one arguable misstep is still joyful: the spirited cover of Camper Van Beethoven’s classic Take the Skinheads Bowling is as unnecessary as it is enthusiastic. In a better world, we’d be gearing up to enjoy the band celebrating album No 8 with a series of legendarily cathartic live shows; but since there’s a good chance the world will never be that funky again, whack this on at a socially distanced backyard barbecue instead. And when your kids complain, turn it up even more.
Andrew P. Street
-
JAZZ
Blues Rinse
George Washingmachine
Independent
George Washingmachine is best-known as a jazz violinist/vocalist, but this foray into jazz’s close relative, rhythm and blues, is a natural one. Without his trusty violin George seamlessly becomes a blues shouter, taking full advantage of what is, in contrast to the arguably more refined jazz milieu, a dirtier musical form, pleasingly rough around the edges. On this spirited and enjoyable album, he is accompanied by mature heavy hitters from the blues scene in Rick Melick (piano & organ), Andrew Richardson (Hofner violin bass) and Graham “Buzz” Bidstrup (drums), while some excellent guitar solos are shared by Glen Hannah and Ray Beadle. Its 10 tracks include five standards from legendary blues artists such as Muddy Waters, Otis Rush and Magic Sam, while five compositions from Washingmachine are, to my ears, highly authentic blues vehicles.
Eric Myers
-
WORLD
Dankele
Bamba Wassoulou Groove
Lusafrica
Turbo-charged by spiralling guitars in tandem, booming bass-backed West African tribal drumming with rock and funk inflections and trance-generating griotique singing, Dankele would induce movement in even inveterate non-gyrators. Bamba Wassoulou Groove, a superlative Malian sextet, was sensational on its Australian debut at WOMADelaide 2017, and this album recreates the intensity, immediacy and sheer kinetic energy of its live performances via an irresistible wall of sound. The furious tempo abates only briefly for a late set rendition of 1970s instrumental standard Bina before a thrilling closing trilogy of songs from singer Ousmane Diakite and his equally dynamic colleagues, several of whom earned their stripes in Bamako’s revered Super Rail Band, a collective that also spawned world music superstar Salif Keita.
Tony Hillier
-
FOLK/COUNTRY
Springtime in the Heart
Heath Cullen
Five By Nine Recordings
Amazing what can be achieved via crowd-funding. Singer-songwriter Heath Cullen, from the sleepy town of Candelo in NSW’s Bega Valley, was able to enlist the services of Grammy-winning US roots producer Joe Henry and a band of his LA studio cohorts for this follow-up to 2015’s Outsiders. Available only through Bandcamp or Cullen’s website, Springtime in the Heart is, as its title suggests, almost perversely positive. In defiance of the New Year bushfire disaster and the ongoing pandemic, the record radiates optimism from track one, Things Are Looking Up, which sets the tone. Although Cullen’s sepulchral croak recalls Tex Perkins and Tom Waits comparing hangovers, his wryly literate lyrics and Henry’s sympathetic backing and arrangements carry the day. Standout songs are The Shape of Your Name, featuring spooky clarinet, and the gloriously uplifting title track.
Phil Stafford
-
ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Human Design
Birds of Tokyo
EMI Music
“I made the greatest mistakes,” Ian Kenny sings on the opening track. Those mistakes, which may refer in part to the sudden end to his marriage, have fuelled an intimate, raw collection from this Perth band. Across six albums, the quintet has established itself as a hard-rocking, pub-to-stadium live draw. Anthemic second single Good Lord highlights Kenny’s soaring vocals: “You made all those promises / But you broke them like my heart.” Human Design welcomes some symphonic sounds to ramp up the drama though overall, the sensuous joy of acoustic guitar sans studio trickery lends a purity to Kenny’s storytelling. In sum, Human Design charts a painful ending and the celebration of a new relationship, while strings-laden Dive gives a taste of the shows that would have seen Birds team up with symphony orchestras on a national tour before COVID forced the group to reschedule for next year.
Cat Woods
-
Playlist: Clarence McGuffie, keyboardist, confidence man
Five songs on high rotation:
01. What Is Love? Deee-Lite
A wonky good-natured late-night groove contemplating what love is. Easy to step back and forth to.
02. Lazy X-Press 2 (feat. David Byrne)
David Byrne letting loose over a laid-back early 2000s house groove. A go-to party track.
03. Waiting For Tonight Jennifer Lopez
All great songs come back around for another day in the sun every 10 years or so, and this one is back in a big way for us.
04. Idol Mind Enterprises
Feel-good cheesy Italo-house with all the right sound effects in all the right places.
05. Carla’s Got A Boyfriend Baxter Dury
Baxter making promises he can’t keep. It’s nice to be jealous every now and then.
Fresh from Between the Temples, Schwartzman is keeping the faith
Music grounds Jason Schwartzman, one of the movie industry’s most prolific stars. Now featuring in Between the Temples, he says he worries about losing his Jewish faith ‘all the time’.
Rufus Du Sol retains euphoric, celebratory air on fifth album
A sense of restless creative energy pulses throughout the newest set from these lords of the dancefloor — a truly world-beating band flying the flag as Australia’s biggest electronic export.