Review: Kylie Auldist 'Still Life'

KYLIE AULDIST
Still Life
[Tru Thoughts]

This kind of soulful pop music is often deried as "cafe lite". As in, it initially sounds sweet and entertaining, but upon closer inpspection ends up sickly saccharine, or lamely boring. In truth, it's an exceptional artist who can pull off this sound consistently, as it is a fine line to tread. Luckily for us, the close collaboration of vocalist Kylie Auldist and producer Lance Ferguson is more than capable of such consistency. They've been quietly building an impressive body of work via no less than five Bamboos albums, and now Auldist's third solo record. Still Life continues in the vein of her early work, with heartfelt and emotive tales of life, love and loss, backed by full-bodied instrumentation and production. Ferguson has always had a way with a clever pop song, but some of these tracks, particularly the huge Daydream, sound like stadium anthems to rival Duffy and Adele. Balancing that are tracks like Letterhead Life, which references '50s doo-wop and soul ballads, and (a cover of The Black Keys' track) Howlin' For You, which channels John Lee Hooker via Prince Jammy. Auldist and Ferguson are music lovers with life experience, and they write consistently good pop music, with a broad stylistic reach. So it's one of life's cruel ironies that such consistency has probably hindered them from reaching further levels of fame; particularly in this age of one trick pony production line gimmickry masquerading as music. This stuff is proper pop music, and its creators should be celebrated in far greater fashion than they are/ Spread the good word, folks.

3 and 1/2 stars from 5

Check out the track Howlin' For You here, or in the player below...

Kylie Auldist - Howlin' For You by Fuse Group Australia

Review: The Cactus Channel 'Haptics'

THE CACTUS CHANNEL
Haptics
[Hope Street Recordings]

Raw, unadulterated funk seems to ooze out of Melbourne like some kind of primordial soup. Or there's something in the water, at least; because, while Australian hip hop is truly stuck in a quagmire, Aussie funk music is on another planet. As if further proof was required, young (like, still-in-their-teens young) 10-piece band The Cactus Channel,  hailing from Melbs, have just released their debut album, Haptics. Real and nasty instrumental funk and soul music, recorded straight to analogue tape and with little regard for anything other than getting a crowded dance floor hot and sweaty, Haptics is a rough and ready (1970s movie car-chase scene) ride through hard funk, swingin' boogaloo and deep soul. Yes, at times this is jarring, with blaring horns relentlessly rubbing against the grooves laid down by the loose-limbed rhythm section; but it is also endlessly exciting at the same time - exactly how funk music should be. And to be fair, hearing this music played in a live environment, while jammed into a little room with a cluster of like-minded folks, with a beer in one hand and your girl in the other would be something else. Bands like (countrymen) The Bamboos and NY's Dap-Kings and The Menahan Street Band spring to mind, as do Eddie Bo, The Blackbyrds and The J-Bs; but this is more than a pastiche - it's a clever amalgamation of a handful of different funk and soul styles, which keeps the listener's attention throughout, with all the right boxes ticked: big fat horns, scratchy guitars, thick layers of keys and bass, heavy-handed drums and some fantastically arranged tunes. All up, a remarkable and impressive debut.

3 and 1/2 stars from 5

Have a listen to the album below or at this link. I recommend it.


The Cactus Channel - Haptics by HopeStreet Recordings