Music reviews
Foo Fighters Concrete and Gold (Sony) ★★★★ Over their 23-year lifespan, Foo Fighters have turned into a juggernaut, rising from Nirvana’s ashes into arguably America’s biggest rock’n’roll band. Quite some feat. Yet there have been times when they’ve almost become a byword for corporate rock’n’roll; totally unfair, of course, but at times they’ve played it a little safe, a little too comfortable.
Concrete and Gold doesn’t diverge greatly from the general Foo Fighters modus operandi of loud guitars, pop hooks and Dave Grohl’s excitable screams. But there’s something extra going on here. In a recent interview, Grohl said he was aiming for ‘‘Motorhead’s version of Sgt. Pepper’s… or something like that,’’ and while it’s not quite that out there he’s still put together something flowing, imaginative and powerful. Gently fingerpicked opener T-Shirt explodes into classic Foos rocker Run. Make it Right chugs along with a delightfully sleazy groove, carrying over to La Dee Da and its fuzzy bass opening.
Happily Ever After has shades of the Beatles (perhaps due to Paul McCartney’s guest appearance on the album), and the title track is reminiscent of Pink Floyd in their pomp. Highlight Dirty Water starts off as a melodic break in proceedings, but soon builds into a powerfully irresistible groove. Concrete and Gold is the raucous sound of a band cutting loose. And what a sound it is. – Jack Barlow Jet Jaguar Grounded (Self-released) ★★★ Available only on cassette and digitally, Jet Jaguar’s fifth album is ‘‘grounded’’ in the emotionally positive and negative.
Jet Jaguar is the moniker for Wellington electronic composer Michael Upton, who says the mix ‘‘of calm and restless is something I reckon I share with lots of others who feel the urge to make stuff’’.
The jet stream of musical fragments – such as Costa, Bright Light, An Early Start and Slow Go – is so astutely processed and structured that it chills you, like the thought of Aphex Twin taking a holiday in Ibiza. – Mike Alexander When Kylie Price sings about shedding her skin on the title track Bones of her debut EP, you don’t realise how much she is talking about being stripped back to her bare bones until you look at the skeletal album cover and realise, she’s for real.
A 2012 contestant in New Zealand’s Got Talent, she’s done her due diligence, got her degree and is now doing what ‘‘she loves to do’’.
And while there’s a few stereotypical lyrics of love and loss, Price wrestles with selfidentity and conformity in a refreshing way. One to watch. – Mike Alexander