Artist: Jacob Butler
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Title: Reason (Red Rebel Music)
Genre: Rock/pop
Rating: ★★★½
In short: Butler did it
JACOB Butler’s story is one of growth and persistence.
A finalist on both X-Factor and Australian Idol (2005 and 2007 respectively), Butler kept at his craft, releasing independent singles both here and overseas.
Reason, his debut CD, was recorded back in 2011 but was only released abroad.
The wait is now over for Butler’s fellow countryfolk and it’s definitely been worthwhile.
Belying his bowtie-and-bespectacled appearance on the CD cover, Butler knows how to deliver a rock song. The opening duo Come My Way and UKOK? are powerful and anthemic.
And perfect for radio.
Butler’s pop-rock style is somewhat reminiscent of Aussie act Taxiride at their peak.
He’s got a ripper set of vocal chords which are displayed perfectly on slower, more thoughtful efforts like Mind Waltz and the excellent Kites.
And the acoustic Ghost is a subtle standout.
Artist: Perfect Tripod
Title: A??ustralian Songs (Liberation)
Genre: Comedy/pop
Rating: ★★★½
In short: Ocker-pella
I’M confused. Tripod seems to have grown an extra leg.
Actor and comedian Eddie Perfect has joined the Aussie musical comedy legends to become Perfect Tripod.
Australian Songs is just as advertised — some of this country’s favourite tunes reimagined the Tripod way.
And you know the harmonies are to die for.
Opening with Gotye’s “other” hit Hearts A Mess, delivered in breathtaking acappella, Australian Songs is destined to invoke a broad smile without being blatant comedy.
Aussie Crawl’s Errol, Men At Work’s Overkill, LRB’s Reminiscing and the Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love are some of the classics contained within.
No doubt, these boys are passable Gibb brothers.
A shoo-wop take on Kylie’s Better The Devil You Know and You’re The Voice (with the cheeky refrain of John-ny Farnham) are the hands-down highlights.
Artist: The Preatures
Title: ???Is This How You Feel? (EP) (Universal)
Genre: Indie
Rating: ★★★★
In short: Preature comfort
Sydney band The Preatures’ newest EP recalls many a well-known act.
There’s the Springsteen hip-swivel of the opening tune, and title track.
Then there’s the Bee Gees groove (and thus swagger) of the excellent single Manic Baby.
And Revelation (So Young) boasts plenty of Divinyls’ passion. Even a little Fleetwood Mac.
But The Preatures ain’t no copycats and the Is This How You Feel? EP is an interesting and intoxicating effort from one of Australian music’s most exciting new acts.
Fronted by the twin-vocal talents of Isabella Manfredi and Gideon Bensen, the band, as such, has a rare dexterity.
They can go from bubble-gum pop to down-mood retro rock — see All My Love on which Benson takes the lead.
He also leads the swinging closer Dark Times, certain to be a live favourite.
Artist: Diesel
Title: L??et It Fly (Liberation)
Genre: Rock/soul
Rating: ★★★½
In short: Authentic
YOU tend to know what you’re going to get from a new Diesel record.
Finger-bleeding rock guitar, velvet-soft vocals, punchy and memorable choruses and one of the most authentic soul sounds from any artist in this country.
It’s worked for more than two decades for Mark Lizotte and we continue to lap it up.
We get all that on Let It Fly, and more as Diesel treats us to a ‘countrified’ element of his sound.
From the retro blues-rock opener, Moneymaker, it’s obvious the 47-year-old is in his element — and in excellent form.
The mid-tempo By Your Throne is more typical Diesel fare while the quaint Cupid’s Embrace gives us our first glimpse of a country lean.
One of the CD’s best comes straight after in Last Shower, a rollicking country-crossover featuring Canadian Tim Chaisson.
If You Let Me Give, with Lila Gold, Diesel's brilliantly-talented daughter, is another standout.
Artist: Kate Ceberano
Title: ???Kensal Road (Sony)
Genre: Pop
Rating: ★★★½
In short: Honest
IT’S been at least a decade and a half since Kate Ceberano released a whole album of original material.
There’s been live album, best-ofs and jazz and blues cover records.
Now Ceberano returns to what feels right.
Kensal Road is not traditional pop. It’s folky, both throwback and the modern version that’s all the rage at the moment.
It’s also honest and organic.
And happy.
You get it right from the opener Garden State (not an ode to old Victorian numberplates). Ceberano is in fine form delivering a joyous chorus.
We tend to forget that Ceberano owns one of this country’s best voices and she reminds us on the tender You And I and Champion, a CD highlight which recalls the style of British soul stars like Duffy.
Further highlights include the poppy Have It All and Jez, a stylish reggae ripper.
Artist: Example
Title: ???#Hits (EMI)
Genre: Dance
Rating: ★★★½
In short: Pumped up
ELLIOT Gleave, aka Example, first came to our attention in Australia with the synth-driven club track Changed The Way You Kiss Me.
It was a throwback to the 1990s. A spiralling dance tune with a credible rapper delivering the powerful verse.
Where Example stood out was his ability to seamlessly tranision from matter-of-fact rapper to soulful singer.
We like him even more here in Australia now. He’s married to former Miss Universe finalist Erin McNaught and has plenty of heart-pumping tunes in his arsenal leading to the release of #hits (I’m hating this hashtagging of single/album names!).
Among 16 tunes, we’re treated to Gleave’s worldwide smash with Calvin Harris We’ll Be Coming Back, Close Enemies, Natural Disaster (with Laidback Luke) and the excellent Stay Awake, the latter duo from his lauded Playing In The Shadows record.
Artist: The Civil Wars
Title: T?he Civil Wars (Sony)
Genre: Country/folk
Rating: ★★★
In short: Severed
IT’S interesting The Civil Wars chose to cover Disarm, the 1994 hit for The Smashing Pumpkins, on their self-titled second CD.
You see, as the duo delivers this album, they might not actually be a duo anymore.
A bust-up on their recent European tour led to Joy Williams cancelling all future dates due to “irreconcilable differences of ambition”.
It’s a shame, too.
The Grammy winners have made a living from lo-fi, emotional country-folk and, in light of the decayed relationship between Williams and John Paul White, already pained lyrics here take on added meaning.
Even the track titles allude to problems: Dust To Dust and the excellent, poignant opener The One That Got Away.
But if The Civil Wars are no more, at least they left us with some brilliance — check the semi-rousing Devil’s Backbone and Same Old Same Old.