Owner/Driver #339

ROAD SOUNDS Greg Bush
Lovin’ the music
New albums that have dropped over the past month
MUSIC IS LOVE (1966-1970)
Richard Clapton
Bloodlines
www.richardclapton.com
One of Australia’s
leading singersongwriters
of the past
five decades,
Richard Clapton
revisits one of
his favourite
eras of popular music – 1966 to 1970.
Hence, Music Is Love is an album of
covers – 15 in total – ranging from
The Lovin’ Spoonful’s ‘Summer In The
City’ and Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What
It’s Worth’ through to the oft-recorded
Joni Mitchell masterpiece ‘Woodstock’,
although Clapton’s version comes closer
to the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young 1970
recording. He toured with Neil Young back
in 1985, which could be why he covers two
Young songs here – ‘Cinnamon Girl’ and
‘Southern Man’. He also tackles The Doors’
‘Riders On The Storm’, The Byrds’ ‘Eight
Miles High’, and The Allman Brothers’
‘Midnight Rider’. Clapton’s vocals now
have a deeper register and he successfully
breathes new life into these 15 classics.
TONIC IMMOBILITY
Tomahawk
Ipecac/Liberator
www.ipecac.com
US heavy rock
outfit Tomahawk
is basically
the sum of
varying parts,
with members
arriving from
other bands,
notably founders lead singer Mike
Patton (ex-Faith No More) and guitarist
Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard). Tonic
Immobility is Tomahawk’s fifth full-length
album; its release preceded by the strong
single ‘Business Casual’, which mocks
America’s working life. Denison’s guitar
work shines on ‘Tattoo Zero’, as Patton
narrates and then reverts to his regular
full throttle growl. Scattergun-type guitar
licks highlight ‘Predators and Scavengers’,
its rapid-fire tempo in contrast to
‘Doomsday Fatigue’, a slower soundscapestyle
track with a Bowie-like flavour.
Bizarre “doggie” lyrics are a feature of ‘Dog
Eat Dog’, while ‘Sidewinder’ has a mixed
tempo, with Patton’s vocals moving from
an understated to a menacing tone. Tonic
Immobility is an album to keep you on the
edge of your seat.
NATURE ALWAYS WINS
Maximo Park
Prolifica/PIAS
www.maximopark.com
British rock
band Maximo
Park has had to
adapt to life as
a trio following
the departure of
their keyboard
player in 2019.
However, it appears to be business as
usual for vocalist Paul Smith, guitarist
Duncan Lloyd and drummer Tom English
on Nature Always Wins, the band’s seventh
album. There’s a self-confessional tone
to ‘All Of Me’, which leans towards rock’s
lighter side. In contrast, ‘Party Of My
Making’ is heavier and laden with power
chords, as is ‘Baby, Sleep’, a track that
relates the frustrations of fatherhood.
‘Child Of The Flatlands’ is an interesting
inclusion – it’s a sombre rock track with
Smith craving for the ideals of yesteryear.
On the other hand, ‘Ardour’ has a postpunk
sound, while ‘Meeting Up’ is a
subdued rock track, reminiscent of new
wave band China Crisis. Nature Always
Wins may take a few listens to appreciate.
WHERE AM I NOW?
Camarano
Camarano Music
www.camaranomusic.com
Where Am I
Now? Is the
debut album
for Western
Australian band
Camarano, led
by lead singer
and multiinstrumentalist
Mat Cammarano. Written
and recorded amid the COVID lockdown,
Where Am I Now? at times echoes the
sound of US band The War On Drugs,
which Cammarano cites as one his
musical influences. ‘Give It To Me Straight’,
a well-crafted pop-rock track, is a case
in point. ‘Holiday Inn’ is another strong
radio-friendly song that motors along
nicely, and then the tempo is slowed for
the reflective ‘Wish I Was Here’. Camarano’s
vocals at times bare resemblance to
Coldplay’s Chris Martin, as on ‘Did It
Cross Your Mind?’, another mid-paced
track. Camarano takes centre stage with
‘Pleasure/Pain’, a solo piano-backed ballad
and then electronic vocal effects come
into play for the acapella track ‘Bored’. A
classy album that is refreshingly not overproduced.
DETROIT STORIES
Alice Cooper
EarMusic/Sony
ww.alicecooper.com
In some quarters,
Detroit Stories is
labelled as studio
album #27 for
Alice Cooper, the
tally including
both his band
era and his
lengthy solo years. The album title refers
to Cooper’s birthplace of Detroit, Michigan
and he namedrops a number of fellow
artists on ‘Detroit City 2021’, a grinding
rock anthem. The old Velvet Underground
track, ‘Rock n Roll’, receives a typical Alice
Cooper makeover, transforming it into
a full-blown rocker, and he also does
Bob Seger’s ‘East Side Story’ justice. The
majority of the other tracks are co-writes
between Cooper and producer Bob Ezrin,
including the slow, bluesy ‘Drunk And
In Love’. With the band chipping in, they
swap insults on ‘I Hate You’, echoing band
breakups of the past, and revs up the
tempo for ‘Go Man Go’. Cooper shows that,
at age 73, he can still rock it up with the
best of them.
CHANGEPHOBIA
Rostam
Matsor Projects/Inertia
www.officialrostam.com
Acclaimed US
record producer
Rostam (full
name Rostam
Batmanglij)
has followed
up the success
of his debut
solo album, 2017's Half-Light, with
Changephobia. Rostam was previously a
member of Vampire Weekend, including
producing that band’s first three albums.
As expected, Changephobia is a lesson
in sublime music production, although
this eclectic mix is a big departure from
Vampire Weekend’s rock sound. Rostam’s
vocals are light but not too airy as he
takes a road trip on ‘4Runner’, a pop-rock
track. He starts ‘Kinney’ in similar fashion,
but heavy guitars make an appearance
midway through. He brings out his full
suite of modified percussion as he hangs
out with a love interest on ‘In The Back
Of A Cab’, one of the album’s best tracks,
and there’s smooth jazzy saxophone as
Rostam’s mind turns to sex on ‘Unfold
You’. A classy album of cleverly-crafted
tracks from an in-demand producer.
As well as being involved in road transport
media for the past 20 years, GREG BUSH
has strong links to the music industry.
A former Golden Guitar judge for the
Country Music Awards of Australia, Greg
also had a three-year stint as an ARIA
Awards judge in the late 1990s and wrote
for and edited several music magazines.
Country
Corner
THE WORLD TODAY
Troy Cassar-Daley
Sony Music
www.troycassardaley.com.au
A leading light
of Australian
country music, Troy Cassar-
Daley celebrates the release
of his 11th studio album,
and his first album of new
material in five years. He’s
been hanging out with the
likes of Cold Chisel in recent
years, possibly a reason that
there’s a harder edge to
certain tracks on The World
Today. From the opening
guitar chords on ‘Back On
Country’ through to the
sombre ballad ‘I Hear My
River’, this is an album full of
surprises. The seven-minute
‘Drive In The Dark (Be A
Man)’ starts with a lengthy
electric guitar instrumental
before it evolves into a blues
track. ‘Rain Maker’ also has
a rootsy tone, and ‘Parole’ is
a mid-paced country rocker.
Possibly Troy Cassar-Daley’s
best album yet.
VIKING
Innocent Eve
Independent
www.innocenteve.com.au
The second
album for
Rockhampton
sister duo Bec and Rachel
Olsson, better known as
Innocent Eve, six years on
from their debut. Although
Innocent Eve’s feet are
planted firmly in country,
tracks such as ‘My Despair’
have an Irish folk vibe.
‘Mixed Bag’ is a bluesy type
of number, and on ‘The
Rant’ the sisters take aim
at selfish political leaders
in an angry waltz-timed
folk protest song. There’s
country rock on the devilish
‘Running For My Life’ while
‘Three Quarter Time’ is just
that – an emotive waltztimed
ballad. However, it’s
the title track ‘Viking’ that
lays claim to being the
album’s best. The Olsson
sisters will be tagging along
when the Burrumbuttock
Hay Runners head to central
Queensland in July.
ownerdriver.com.au
APRIL 2021 61