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MUSIC REVIEWS Vika & Linda Gee Whiz, It's Christmas! Gee whiz, it’s a surprise! When you heard that Vika & Linda had done a Christmas album, | bet you thought it would be a gospel set or a collection of traditional Christmas carols. But instead, the sisters have got their glam on, with the focus on fun and modern Christmas tunes. As they sing in the opening track, Tom Petty's Christmas All Over Again, “Christmas is a rockin’ time.” Vika & Linda tackle seasonal songs by Slade (Merry Xmas Everybody), Wizzard (I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day) and Queen (Thank God it’s Christmas), and there's even a riotous take on the Ramones’ Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight). But it's not all rocking around the Christmas tree. There's a tender rendition of Blue Christmas (a song Elvis crooned 65 years ago), a nod to the sisters’ gospel roots with The Staple Singers’ Last Month of the Year (featuring Linda’s daughter, Kiki, on backing vocals), plus one traditional Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem. But overall, this is a spectacular secular set of songs that will get the party started on Christmas Day. There’s even a cheeky celebration of Santa in (Everybody's Waitin’ For) The Man with the Bag, and the album cover shows the sisters in their Sunday best, meeting Santa at Doncaster Shoppingtown Thundamentals All This Life When it comes to homegrown hip-hop, there are few better exponents than Thundamentals. The Blue Mountains crew —Tuka, Jeswon and Morgs — have been remarkably consistent, delivering three Top 10 albums in a row. On their sixth studio album — their first in four years — the spectre of lockdown looms large, with several references to being caged. But Thundamentals have broken out with a genre-busting record. On Pablo, they ponder the notion of originality, concluding “no idea's original’ But Thundamentals have crafted their own thrilling concoction, “peeling back the layers” and swinging from soul and R&B to Latin and pop, before closing the collection with the mystical Good Thing. “Never worry ‘pout the money/ Do it for the love,” they declare. And that spirit visit stack.com.au Dean Lewis The Hardest Love “I'd give it all just to feel something real,” Dean Lewis sings at the start of his second album. And the Sydney artist, now based in Nashville, has certainly had a surreal few years. The songs he wrote in his grandma's spare room have been streamed nearly eight billion times. His debut album topped the Australian charts, was a Top 40 hit in the US and UK and won ‘Album of the Year’ at the ARIAs. Now for the difficult second album... Lewis's muse was a woman from Colorado. “You had a smile that could warm up the New York cold,” he recalls of the moment they met. But there was no happy ending. The relationship wasn't right. Wrong place, wrong time. “We were so close to being perfect,’ Lewis laments. And the album? Weel, it's a resounding success, confirming that Dean 50 years ago. No doubt about it: Gee Whiz, It's Christmas! is an all-killer stocking-filler. (Bloodlines) Jeff Jenkins Slowly Slowly Daisy Chain Slowly Slowly’s fourth album had us digging out some CDs from the ‘90s, revisiting great bands such as Bodyjar and Third Eye Blind. This Melbourne act makes powerful, anthemic rock — vibrant and vital. Their new album sees them going “back to basics’ celebrating life's simple pleasures. "| don’t want the best night,” Ben Stewart declares. “A good one's enough for me.” They're joined by one of their heroes, Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, on one of the album's many highlights, Moving Trains. And in the title track, Stewart sings about how "a daisy chain tucked under my shoelace saved the day’’Yep, a great song might not ‘save your life, but it will save today. Slowly Slowly are perhaps aptly named; they're winning over the world, one fan at a time. But they deserve to be huge. (UNFD) Jeff Jenkins aN Laura Jean Amateurs Tasked with following up 2018's acclaimed Devotion, the now Sydney-based Laura Jean Englert reclaims the folk of her earlier releases, creating an expansive sound that features guest backing vocals from Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams. Englert’s lyrics are full of warmth and humour as she explores her identity as an artist who often feels like an amateur. On the piano-led Market on the Sand Englert quips, “The thing you do for fun/Why don't you turn it into a second income?” before conceding on Something to Look Forward to Forever that she “never wanted to be a star/ Everyone looking at you" Amateurs is a symbolic release, testament to Englert's talent and a unique snapshot into the mind of a working-class artist. (Chapter Music/Inertia) Holly Pereira Lewis is the real deal (Island) Jeff Jenkins shines through. (Virgin) Jeff Jenkins Arctic Monkeys The Car Arctic Monkeys extend their lounge-pop stay at Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino with Alex Turner going full crooner while taking The Car's driver's seat. During the wah wah-guitarled Jet Skis on the Moat (I mean, that song title!), Turner could be describing The Car's overall aesthetic (“..smoke, pyjama pants and a Subbuteo cloak"), and his absurdist lyricism is more focus-pulling than ever. Opener There Better be a Mirrorball could be a show tune, gliding in with a knowing wink and step-ball change. Following this lead single's dreamy intro, staccato piano chords conjure Elton's Bennie and the Jets. Drummer Matt Helders’ snazzy bossa nova rhythms — delivered with trademark metronomic precision - enliven Mr. Schwartz. And those luxuriating strings! The Car's orchestral arranger Bridget Samuels is absolutely essential to Arctic Monkeys’ sonic palette du jour. There's no turning back now: the Sheffield band have successfully completed their transformation from cool older siblings to debonair, well-connected uncles. Suitable for all your slow dancing needs, Arctic Monkeys’ seventh album is smooth as lint-free velveteen. (Domino/EMI) Bryget Chrisfield ibhifi.com.eu HIKED
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