Katie Noonan covers herself in glory on The Sweetest Taboo

On The Sweetest Taboo, Katie Noonan does not produce mere covers of 1980s pop hits; her versions are redefinitions in an exquisite jazz setting.

Katie Noonan with dog Sassy at her home in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

JAZZ/POP

The Sweetest Taboo

Katie Noonan

ABC Classics

★★★★½

The Sweetest Taboo by Katie Noonan

Following Kate Ceberano’s 2019 opus with jazz pianist Paul Grabowsky, another Australian music icon, Katie Noonan, avoids the overkill of pop music, opting instead for an exquisite jazz setting. While Noonan is not a jazz singer here — she doesn’t improvise, and rarely ventures past judicious variations of the melody — the strong presence of four superb jazz musicians supporting her pop artistry results in an unusually powerful album. The 12 tracks here are big hits from the mid-1980s, when a pre-pubescent Noonan was in her rumpus room in suburban Brisbane, having her “seven-year-old brain blown by the magic of pop music”. Bravely taking on popular hits long ensconced in the collective memory, Noonan does not produce mere covers; essentially her versions are redefinitions. I Wanna Dance With Somebody, for example, becomes a gentle ballad, revealing — perhaps for the first time — the beauty in the lyrics disguised in Whitney Houston’s frenetic version. The song, we discover, is about loneliness, not dancing. With risk-taking chutzpah Noonan sings Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors with the minimal accompaniment of Phil Stack’s double bass. Her moving rendition is enlivened by his outstanding bass solo. Similarly, Crowded House anthem Don’t Dream It’s Over begins with bass only under Noonan’s vocal, with Sam Keevers’s piano creeping in on the second stanza, joined later by drummer Evan Mannell, preparing the way for a lovely solo from Keevers. The Billy Joel masterpiece, Just The Way You Are, taken as a gentle bossa nova, is treated with similar minimalism, with Noonan accompanied by drums for the first 16 bars, with the entry of the other musicians delayed. As on other tracks, saxophonist Zac Hurren plays a beautiful obbligato line under Noonan’s vocal, before his extensive tenor improvisation, a timely reminder of the classic Phil Woods solo on the original version. Not least of the album’s delights is the sparing use of double-tracked backing vocals, which invariably provide sweetness in the music just at the right moment.

Eric Myers

Look Long by Indigo Girls.

POP-ROCK

Long Look

Indigo Girls

Rounder/Planet

★★★★

They might have cut Long Look in the genteel surrounds of Peter Gabriel’s Bath studio with a British backline and production crew, but the 16th album by Indigo Girls is, in essence, as American as apple pie. While retaining their folksy vocal harmonies, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers kick butt like a well-oiled bar band as they cast a critical eye over their formative days in the Deep South and at the current disunited state of play in the US. The Grammy-garnering Girls hit bullseye from the get-go with the rousing Shit Kickin’, which takes the form of a prelude to addressing the States’ political divide in a retro-tinted rocker (Change My Heart) and its rampant gun-violence (in Muster). With Feel This Way Again and When We Were Writers, they yearn for days of yore. In stark contrast to the opening salvo, the 11-song set closes with a poignant piano-led paean for a deceased sister named Sorrow and Joy.

Tony Hillier

Womb by Purity Ring

ELECTRONIC

Womb

Purity Ring

4AD / Remote Control

★★★½

Brooding, expressive and dark: the follow-up to 2015’s Another Eternity is everything we’ve come to expect from the Canadian synth-pop duo, and perhaps a little more. Megan James’s voice is as enduringly sweet as ever, and mostly at odds with what she’s singing about throughout Womb, but perhaps that’s why it works so well. Blood, death, violence, the devil — they’re all covered, and it could all be a bit much if it wasn’t for Corin Roddick’s brilliantly layered production. The multi-instrumentalist mines his bag of synths to find glimpses of light amid the darkness. First single Stardew balances a sugary-sweet vocal with atmospheric synth work and a pop hook, while Femia takes an ominous turn, combining a meandering beat with lyrics about drowning and waking in a “dark sea of liquid”. The percussionless Almanac is epic, ethereal fare demonstrating the confidence and maturity on show here; third time’s a charm.

Tim McNamara

Trust The River by Sparta.

INDIE ROCK

Trust the River

Sparta

Dine Alone

★★★½

Jim Ward has had such a diverse career to date that his next moves are always hard to predict. His heavier music with At The Drive-In is a far cry from his melancholic solo work and the alt-country indie sounds of Sleepercar. Sparta always found a middle ground in his styles, blending Ward’s indie-rock riff-laden music with a sense of quiet sensibility. While it’s been a 14-year wait between releases, fourth album Trust The River is the perfect follow-up. It maintains the post-hardcore sound and lyrical sentiment of Sparta, while leaning more heavily on Ward’s softer side in songs like Spirit Away. This convergence of influences is evident throughout, with short and loud Cat Scream sitting alongside Turquoise Dream in a way that could be jarring but somehow just works. The contrasts on display here would make for a captivating live show; fingers crossed we don’t have to wait too long for that to happen on our shores.

Sarah Howells

Necroscape by Tetema

AMBIENT

Necroscape

Tetema

Liberation/Mushroom

★★★

Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton has established himself as an adventurous sound artist willing to dive into the strange and surreal possibilities of digital soundscapes and vocal trickery. Tetema is his latest outing into the ferocious post-apocalyptic world of sound that exists beyond human voices and more civilised music-making. On Necroscape, hissing rattlesnakes, thudding walls of percussion, chanting and wailing meet ambient spaces bristling with the possibility of life. Animal, mythical creature, maniac, genius? This isn’t easy listening. It’s an art project that harks to the drone metal sounds of Kyuss, with injections of world folk music from Balinese Gamelan to Tibetan monks chanting. It’s yet more evidence that Patton is unconcerned with feeding the expectations or desires of his following. Rather, he’s sought collaborators with whom to create sounds for an unsettling new universe.

Cat Woods

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Playlist: The Kite String Tangle aka Danny Harley

Five songs on high rotation:

01. Party Pill Cub Sport

I’ve had this song in my head for the past month for one reason or another. Send help.

02. Carbonated Mount Kimbie

The first song I heard that made me really interested in music production. It has really beautiful sonics that you can get lost in.

03. Laura Bat for Lashes

This song gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.

04. Pursuit Made in Paris

I thought I’d include this one because it’s the last song I Shazam’d. It’s a brooding techno journey.

05. Angels The XX

I didn’t like this at first because it was so sparse; it’s now one of my favourite songs due to that same understated quality.