Of the madness in verse

Stillness and intimacy enthrall

Neil Young — Hitchhiker (Reprise)

Recorded over one night in 1976, Hitchhiker is an acoustic catalogue of Neil Young’s creative journey confined at a time when he was crafting great music, strong enough to last his whole music career. The 10 songs on the album will be mostly recognisable to a majority of loyal Young fans. Give Me Strength and Hawaii are the two songs on the album that have never been released before, while the title track never saw the light of day until Neil re-recorded it for 2010’s Le Noise. A solo, Human Highway sounds superior here than dressed in country sounds on 1978’s Comes A Time. The music here is generally of the highest quality, right from the opener, acoustic ballad Pocahontas. The track is played like an inane love song as Young yowls and strums in a peaceful mood. The autobiographical title track, Hitchhiker, earlier recorded with the electric fuzz of his guitar, is now stripped of the heavy electric trappings to become a far more delicate work. It ends in typical Young fashion, “I wish I was an Aztec or a runner in Peru/ I would build such beautiful buildings to house the chosen few.” Powderfinger always charms, whether it’s backed by Young’s band Crazy Horse or the laid back strum of his acoustic guitar. On the album-closing piano revision of The Old Country Waltz, a solitary guitar mic can be heard being moved in the studio to accommodate the instrument switch. That’s how deliberately antiquated this recording session was. The songs are exposed down to their roots and this fact only makes them more powerful.

Essential tracks: Pocahontas, Hitchhiker, Campaigner, Powderfinger

Rating ****

From start to finish, packing a dynamic punch 

Protomartyr — Relatives in Descent (Domino) 

Relatives in Descent picks up where 2015’s The Agent Intellect left off, mixing current anxieties with wit and fury, while reconstructing a new and revitalised sound. The album offers new insights, without finishing any of the edges born from their days as a Detroit bar band. Vocalist Joe Casey’s lyrics have grown sharper with every album, and Relatives cements him as one of rock’s best lyricists. Take the lyrics from lead single, A Private Understanding, for instance: “In this age of blasting trumpets/ A paradise for fools/ Infinite wrath/ In the lowest deep a lower depth/ I don’t want to hear those vile trumpets anymore.” The album is firmly rooted in modern society. On the pleasing and furious Here Is the Thing, he once again makes mention of 2017 as “the age of horn blowing.” The mood of the album is potentially best expressed on The Chuckler, as Casey laments, “I guess I’ll keep on chuckling ‘till there’s no more breath in my lungs/ Lord how I wish there was a better ending to this joke,” over some of Greg Ahee’s most sparse and beautiful guitar playing. In songs like My Children, Casey assertively condemns the role of those who have arguably taken selfish political and social decisions, “My children/ They are the future/ Good luck with the mess I left, you innovators.” A notably newsworthy track is Windsor Hum, which is about the 2,10,000 inhabitants of a Canadian city affected by a low-humming coming from a US steel plant on nearby Zug Island, but the absence of a cross-border treaty on noise worsens the situation. Night-Blooming Cereus is a somber track that begins as a roomy arrangement with Casey’s catchy vocal hook repeating over again, “In a valley filled with flowers unseen in the dark/ It blooms at night.”

Essential tracks: A Private Understanding, My Children, Windsor Hum 

Rating ***

Liam’s best post-Oasis

Liam Gallagher — As You Were (Warner Bros.)

It’s been over 20 years since Liam Gallagher was on top of the world as the lead singer of Oasis. His first full-length highly anticipated solo record is out now and it definitely delivers the goods. The opener, Wall of Glass, lets Gallagher sing his heart out. “I don’t mean to be unkind,” he sings, “but I see what’s in your mind/ And the stone you throw will turn back in its path/ One day you’ll shatter like a wall of glass.” The indie-rock track complete with harmonica intro has all the confidence and swagger you’d come to expect from Liam. He dives into unfamiliar orchestral setting on tracks like Chinatown, but he truly shines when he slows things down. “Better if you don’t look down/ At the pages of your paper crown,” he sings on the emotional Paper Crown. Greedy Soul really kicks the album into gear with a driving groove of energetic drums and acoustic guitars. Ten-time Grammy Award nominee Producer Greg Kurstin has allowed bounty of room for the songs to breathe while providing just the right balance of elements like piano, brass and soulful backing vocalists. Most importantly, he has allowed Liam his voice and attitude to become the centrepiece of the album. Bold is a mid-tempo, acoustic-driven rocker that sees him joined by former Oasis guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs. The album closer, I’ve All I Need, is one of Liam’s finest moments ever. It has an authentic sincerity to it, both lyrically and musically. The simple melody and arrangement reminds you of what made Oasis so appealing when they were at the top of their game.

Essential tracks: Wall of Glass, Paper Clown, I’ve All I Need

Rating ****

Big and wildly entertaining 

Sparks — Hippopotamus (BMG RM) 

Sparks are a Californian duo comprising of brothers Ron and Russell Mael, who rocketed to stardom with a series of massive hits and who certainly have an ear for the unique and an element of fun. The Maels clearly know their audience and have used their exceptional gimmicks to create a series of intricate tracks, which address a series of issues they can easily relate to. With a collection of 15 tracks, the duo sound remarkably forceful, idiosyncratic and original on their 24th album. While Russell sings of a near perfect relationship in On I Wish You Were Fun, he states: “In every way I find you amazing, but I wish you were fun.” Hippopotamus brings the brothers back more into the territory of rock music with the inclusion of electric guitars, bass and drums largely absent from their more orchestra-driven outings of the past. The album opens with the short and sweet Probably Nothing, a classic Sparks track inclusive of both witty lyrics and beautifully delicate piano. Missionary is a purely hilarious track that utilises an upbeat piano and acoustics to capture simplicity and brilliance in all its glory. The disjointed madness of Hippopotamus’ title track where “a hippy is driving” alongside “a woman with an abacus” who “looks Chinese” gives an idea of the weirdness on the record. Edith Piaf (Said it better than me) is a heartrending track about somebody whose life parallels the short life of the French singer, who was famous for singing about love, loss and sorrow. The album ends with Life with the Macbeths, a real analogy about life playing out in a similar vein to Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The comedy is balanced with tragedy by magnificent melodrama, where Russell soars as much as ever and duets with opera singer Rebecca Sjöwall, reimagining The Scottish Play (Is there a deeper story/ Or is it only gory?).

Essential tracks: I Wish You Were Fun, Probably Nothing, Hippopotamus, What the Hell Is It This Time?

Rating ***