Artist: Courtney Barnett Album: Things Take Time, Take Time Label: Milk! / Remote Control Release: November 12th, 2021
Rating: 8.5/10
CB’s 2015 debut was brisk, bright and lively, like a summer’s day at the beach. Its follow-up was sharp, ripping and acerbic, like the storm that night. So, naturally, LP3 feels like the morning after: foggy and humid, debris from the wind scattered over the lawn. It’s clear Barnett is much more comfortable in her storytelling these days – the songs are reflective, inspired, and distinctly human.
Production is loose and experimental; percussive clicks and pops meld with raw, cerebral fretwork. The soundscape is overall very sparse and relaxed, letting tracks like the drowsy, pseudo-celestial “Here’s The Thing” and the groovy, buoyant and punchy (if far too short) “Take It Day By Day” really shine.
Though certainly not as immediate or memorable as Barnett’s earlier work, Things Take Time is beautiful and brilliant in many ways.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Things Take Time, Take Time is set for release on November 12th, 2021 via Milk! / Remote Control. Click here to pre-order.
Band: Turnstile Album: Glow On Label: Roadrunner / Warner Release: August 27th, 2021
Rating: 10/10
Virtually anyone could whip themselves up a decent burrito, but it takes a true master of the culinary arts to make a great burrito. It’s not just about all those ingredients snuggled up under a soft tortilla, but their quality, their source, how they’re seasoned and prepared; the intermingling of textures and collision of flavours. When treated with the right care and cogitation, a concept so simple can become something so life-affirmingly beautiful.
In this analogy, the burrito is hardcore punk, and our culinary maestro is Baltimore outfit Turnstile. The band have always tackled their slate of scream ’n’ shred with an outsider’s perspective, spicing up their palate with summery grooves and kinetic percussion. But on LP3, it’s like they’ve finally cracked the code to making an infallibly calamitous, uncompromisingly headstrong hardcore album sound genuinely otherworldly.
Glow On is cinematic, riveting and rhapsodic; the sheer depth and dynamism of its musicality cannot be understated, nor Turnstile’s passion in sculpting it. It’s a notably short record at 35 minutes, but they really make every second count. “Endless”, for example, clocks in a few seconds off two minutes long, yet it takes it the listener on a full-fat adventure through a sonic forest of shimmery bass, effects-soaked vocals and tearing guitar juts.
Even ornamental quips like the empyrean synth intro on “Mystery” and the regal grand piano lick on “Fly Again” have their place, adding contextual basis to tracks like the silky, groove-oriented “Underwater Boi” and the hazy, stoner-friendly “Alien Love Call”. Then because the funky, Prince-esque energy at play on the former let us know as much could be expected, the equally biting and breezy “New Heart Design” feels homely and natural, no matter how odd its composition may sound in description (it is at once raw, gritty and eruptive, romantic, groovy, sparse and fantastical).
For the more traditional hardcore fans that just wanna cut sick to some gloriously gory riffs and wall-rattling fills, don’t worry – Turnstile still have you covered. Sharp and snarling cuts like “Holiday” and “Humanoid / Shake It Up” dot the record’s top-end, while the back-to-back belters “Wild Wrld” and “Dance-Off” inject its second half with a blast of mosh-tailored intensity.
Again, Turnstile have always been innovators. They’re one of the most interesting bands on the circuit – not even just in hardcore – but Glow On makes their previous efforts look embarrassing in comparison. This is the kind of record that makes us feel justified in spending $500 on a pair of headphones; a true masterclass in the art of heavy music. Come 2030, we’ll be looking back on it as the record that sparked a whole new wave of rebellious genre-bending.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Glow On is set for release on August 27th, 2021 via Roadrunner / Warner. Click here to pre-order.
Band: The Bronx Album: Bronx VI Label: Cooking Vinyl Release: August 27th, 2021
Rating: 7.5/10
Perfectly suited for a particularly erratic time, Bronx VI is heavy, hard-hitting and headstrong. It’s a step backwards in the band’s sonic evolution – Bronx V stood out for its tasteful shift into a more summery, groove-inflected Britrock flavour, whereas Bronx VI is mostly cut-and-dried, no-frills punk – but that’s not to say it isn’t a wondrously well-crafted record.
It’s a rabid and unrelenting love letter to fans of the first three Bronx LPs; the riffs are venomous, the chugs walloping and the solos soaring, and the screams lacquered over them are enthralling and impassioned. Best is how it crystallises all the meteoric might and inimitable fury of the band’s live show – especially so via the breakneck‑paced intensity of “Breaking News” and the frenetic, fist-pumping grunt of “Curb Feelers”.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Artist: Willow Album: Lately I Feel Everything Label: MSFTS / Roc Nation / Polydor Release: July 16th, 2021
Rating: 8.5/10
For the most of us, early adulthood is marked by its trickiness and turbulence. Willow encapsulates that perfectly on LP4, taking listeners on a sharp and stormy (and notably swift, at 26 minutes) rollercoaster ride through the euphoric ups and perilous downs of one’s coming of age, projected through a scuffed and stained lens of soulful indie-rock, scuzzy grunge and explosive pop-punk.
Willow’s equally strained and silvery vocal carries the record, but its the vicious electric guitars – snarling, loose and slathered in distortion – that glue everything together. Highlights bookend the LP in the catchy and kinetic “Transparent Soul” and the one-two punch of riotous, sass-drenched energy in “Grow” and “Breakout”, the journey between bold, biting, and all-around bewitching.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Band: Bleachers Album: Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night Label: RCA / Sony Release: July 30th, 2021
Rating: 8/10
Though perhaps not as grandiose or eccentric as its predecessors, LP3 is certainly more ambitious, sprawling and considered. The instrumentation is downright luscious, with dazzling horns and delicate strings dancing over meticulous outlines of glassy keys and acoustic twiddling.
The Springsteen cameo on “Chinatown” marks an early highlight – and it’s well-earned, as his influence can be felt at many points throughout of the all-around cinematic, emotive and nostalgic affair.
Although of course it’s the big and bold pop belters that shine the brightest (see: “How Dare You Want More”, “Stop Making This Hurt”), heartrending slow-burners like the silky “Secret Life” and smoky “Strange Behaviour” add to the record a wealth of depth and character.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Band: Sleater-Kinney Album: Path Of Wellness Label: Milk! / Remote Control Release: June 11th, 2021
Rating: 8.5/10
Fans of their grittier, more punk‑centric work may be soured by the glossy production and stylistic quirkiness, but with a radiant, self-assured energy and a strikingly colourful palate of tones at their disposal, Sleater-Kinney knock it out of the park on album #10.
Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker bounce off each other with dazzling aplomb, their interplay tight, twined and tantalising. Their playing here is the cleanest and most deliberate it’s ever been, yet it still hits with a powerful impact.
It’s the riskiest tracks that stand out most: the cool, cantering “Method”, the funky and frenetic “Favorite Neighbor”, and the slick, solo-lacquered “Down The Line”. More than anything, Path Of Wellness is inescapably catchy; head-bopping is non-negotiable.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
Artist: Alice Skye Album: I Feel Better But I Don’t Feel Good Label: Bad Apples / Universal Release: July 23rd, 2021
Rating: 8/10
Equally pensive and punchy, Alice Skye’s second LP is nothing short of breathtaking. Ebbing and flowing between deep, simmering melancholy and bright, captivating dreaminess, the Wergaia stalwart simply refuses to hold back; she’s crafted a record perfect for those long, introspective late-night road trips.
Guitars on the record are subtle and understated, but strikingly impactful when they do lead the fray – take for example the gravelly, distorted leads on “Everything Is Great” or the shimmery, ‘70s-channeling strums on “Grand Ideas”. Less really is more throughout; the bold, attention‑grabbing solo on “Browser History” feels so because it’s underscored by a simple, cantering beat, Skye’s warm, honeyed ruminations so easy to melt into on either side of it.
Please note: this review is also printed in #144 of Australian Guitar Magazine, syndicated here because AG’s album reviews are no longer published online.
