All posts tagged jazz

  • November 28, 2011

    The Weekend Australian album review: The Necks – ‘Mindset’, November 2011

    An album review for The Australian, reproduced below in its entirety.

    The Necks – Mindset

    On their 16th album, this Sydney-based trio opt for two 21-minute long tracks rather than the singular instrumental piece that characterises most of their past releases.

    The opener, Rum Jungle, is a claustrophobic jam laced with menacing bass notes, jarring piano chords and insistent cymbal-tapping.

    It’s a consuming piece of work; from the initial five-minute mess of noise emerges some flighty piano progressions and, later, a fiercely strummed electric guitar – a rarity among the Necks’ overarching modus operandi, which is best captured in the title of their 1998 live album, Piano Bass Drums.

    Rum Jungle is thematically similar to their previous release, 2009’s Silverwater, in that its sustained creepiness invokes a sense in the listener of being constantly on edge.

    Track two, Daylights, marks a distinct shift in mood; its gentle, noir-like atmosphere is a breath of fresh air. Its gradual uncoiling has more in common with the soothing perpetual motion of their 2003 release Drive By, which won the trio an ARIA for best jazz album.

    This contrast between light and shade works well, and the absence of a narrator invites listeners to fill in the gaps themselves. Mindset is a fine addition to one of the most consistent catalogues in contemporary Australian music.

    LABEL: Fuse
    RATING: 3 ½ stars

    This review was originally published in The Weekend Australian Review on November 26. It’s my first album review for the paper. For more on The Necks, visit their website.

    1 Comment / Music Criticism, Published Writing /

  • September 12, 2011

    The Australian live review: Elixir featuring Katie Noonan, September 2011

    A live review for The Australian. I don’t usually publish my live reviews here on my blog – I keep track of them on my Last.FM journal instead, which is also syndicated in the right column of this page – but since this is my first review for the national paper, I thought I’d make an exception. Full review below.

    Incidentally, this is the 223rd live review I’ve written since June 2007.

    Katie Noonan spreads warmth against the chill winds

    MUSIC Elixir. Featuring Katie Noonan
    Brisbane Powerhouse, September 9.

    THE true mettle of any musical outfit can be measured against how they perform in adverse situations.

    Six hours before this show, inner-city Brisbane is subject to a torrential downpour. When Elixir begin their first set of a two-night stand, a chill wind runs through the makeshift outdoor theatre.

    It stays this way throughout their 90-minute performance. Yet besides the occasional raised eyebrow and witty quip between songs, the three-piece jazz trio and their string quartet stay focused, airborne sheet music be damned.

    Eight years have passed between Elixir’s self-titled 2003 release and last month’s First Seed Ripening. Late in the set, singer Katie Noonan remarks that she was “much younger, single, and not a mum” when she first wrote Tip of Memory, the first track from their debut. Soprano saxophonist Zac Hurren — Noonan’s husband — beams approvingly.

    The trio is completed by guitarist and rhythmic linchpin Stephen Magnusson, who sits straight-backed centrestage and remains stoically poised, even while deftly navigating the fretboard.

    Unexpectedly, the insistent gusts add dramatic heft to Elixir’s elegant compositions. It’s quite something to behold Noonan’s purple dress aflutter while she emotes through remarkable voice and outsized gestures.

    At times, the purr of a side-of-stage generator is louder than the musicians; wind can be heard through the singer’s microphone.

    A couple of covers are aired, though the trio prefer to consider them “tributes”. There’s a spacey version of the 2007 Radiohead b-side Last Flowers, which features Noonan twiddling with a vocal effects unit, and a loose interpretation of Joni Mitchell’s My Old Man.

    Highlights include new track Hemispheres, thanks largely to the intricate string parts that bookend its six-minute narrative, and Tip of Memory, with contrasting string accompaniment of violence and beauty arranged by Paul Grabowksy.

    While rubbing her hands together in a final attempt to generate heat, Noonan declares the band are heading inside “to test the theory that red wine makes you feel warmer. We’ll do our own market research”.

    Their finely crafted set ends with Snapshot and words from Noonan that are less suggestion than command: “Go home and cuddle, to keep warm.”

    For more Elixir, check out the below embedded video or visit Katie Noonan’s website.

    1 Comment / Music Journalism, Published Writing /