Star attractions
LIKE A RIVER DOES
CARRY NATION
Brisbane singer-songwriter Jessie Warren, aka Carry Nation, drops her debut album Like A River Does this month following a swag of support slots for musically likeminded artists like Laura Jean and Washington. It’s a sweet, if at times unremarkable, collection, but the lush arrangements help it stand out from the folk pack — touches of violin, cello and trumpet that flesh out the sometimes samey songs.
STICKY & SWEET LIVE
MADONNA
Bless Madonna for releasing comprehensive CD/DVD companions to each of her tours, but the Sticky & Sweet tour wasn’t up to her usual (admittedly sky-high) standards. Part of the problem was the album she toured: Hard Candy, full of half-baked R’n’B numbers like Candy Shop and She’s Not Me. But it’s also a surprisingly uninventive show, with dull costumes and little of the large-scale spectacle fans have come to expect of Madge. Top marks for the anthemic Like A Prayer/Feels Like Home trance mash-up, though.
