It’s one thing to craft a great song, but its another skill to create a cohesive album that takes a listener on a journey.
Here’s four recently released albums that we’ve been playing at OUTinPerth HQ, new records from Rachel Lime, Lifeguard, Atabasca, and Lucky.
Rachel Lime
Stories
★ ★ ★ ★
This is the third album from New York’s Rachel Lime, and it comes five years after her last offering. Lime has a vocal style reminiscent of Kate Bush, Tori Amos or Florence Welch, but her musical backing is incredibly complex, intriguing and varied.
Opening track Wild Raspberries starts with harps and keyboards as Lime recounts a dream about delving into a fantasy forest, but suddenly it’s overtaken by pulsating dance rhythms before returning to a more folky sound.
Jangdan is driven by complex drums, swirling synths and world‑music backing vocals. Techno stabs don’t seem out of place as an unexpected mix of influences is brought together. A hand‑clap singalong emerges as Lime sings about dreaming of nothing and then someone in the night. This would be the perfect soundtrack for a queer ballroom in the middle of a forest at midnight.
With each tune Lime creates a slightly different musical experience. Secret Garden is driven by drum ’n’ bass beats and new‑age‑style vocals. Nacrée is more laid‑back at the beginning but builds with intensity. Haenyeo is precise, with a complex series of beats and flourishes of harp.
The xylophone sounds and beats continue on Elided. Things get more ethereal on Water Lily Bloom, but it quickly builds into a grandiose soundscape before the album comes to a close with I Love When Night Falls.
Lifeguard
Ultra Violence / Appetite
★ ★ ½
Chicago punk rock trio Lifeguard released their debut album Ripped and Torn last year, but as they headed out on tour they put together a cassette tape of lo‑fi recordings of some new songs to sell to fans at their shows. Now those recordings have been given an official release – but to call this an album would be generous.
Seven of the eleven tracks are under a minute long, ranging from just 13 seconds to 38 seconds, which leaves us with only four substantial songs. But they’re a quartet of rough, interesting and raw sounds worth exploring.
Ultraviolence is clanging guitars, driving drum beats and muffled vocals that quickly spill into an energetic chorus and calls for “Ultraviolence”. Blatant (Dub) is a jazz‑infused number that would be the perfect soundtrack for a detective searching through a dark and dubious underground garage. After a series of short tracks it appears for a second time as Blatant (Dub) II, this time with echoing vocals.
Appetite s the strongest song on the release — a slice of raw indie rock with pumping guitars and energetic vocals, and a sound that would get a mosh pit excited. While it’s basically a double A‑side experience, it’s great to listen to if you feel your menu of sounds has been overtaken by music that’s too polished and produced. This is raw rock at its best. Check out their album from last year for more indie rock sounds.
Atabasca
Atabasca
★ ★ ★ ★
Hailing from Italy, this trio utilise lap steel, kalimba, percussion and guitars that interweave with bass and drums to create sonic soundscapes that bring your imagination to life.
The first tune, Dune, has a rambling guitar and wistful whistle, but is also filled with odd blips and beeps. Kundela Mawedi takes us into a very chilled serenity — it could be the soundtrack for drinking cocktails at sunset in a quiet resort bar. Their work is not completely instrumental, but the vocals are muted and indecipherable, just another texture in the mix.
Things get more intense on Paco, while Cameo is much more sedate with a gentle mix of guitar and an exotic beat. Cacopoulos sounds like the soundtrack to a lost western movie and is one of the album’s cheesier moments. Khettara delves into more Eastern European sounds and is reminiscent of the work of Los Bitchos and Altın Gün.
Lucky
Biting Hells
★ ★ ★ ★
Melbourne artist Lucky has shared her debut EP Biting Heels, which features nine slices of catchy indie rock. The artist’s guitar based sound is reminiscent of many 90s artists like Juliana Hatfield, Spiderbait, or Deadstar.
The record opens with a succession of stellar tracks including Adored, Perfect Pain, and Lady Beetle. There’s a change of vibe with Houston which has a slightly more psychedelic sound, but the crushing wall of guitars returns for Hide and Seek.
Biting Hands is more acoustic, and Clover is a solid number with a sing-a-long verse that explodes into a chorus with a big guitar sound. Too Tired pushes Lucky’s voice to the front, and the closing track Never Know rounds off a great collection of songs. Can’t wait to hear more from this new Aussie artist.
