FEATURE: Precious: Annie Lennox’s Diva at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Precious

Annie Lennox’s Diva at Thirty

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I have written about Annie Lennox’s…

1992 album, Diva, before, but its thirtieth anniversary occurs on 6th April. I am looking ahead to a phenomenal album from the former Eurythmics lead (she and Dave Stewart dissolved in 1990). Diva is her debut solo studio. It entered the U.K. album chart at number one. It has since sold over 1.2 million copies in the U.K. alone, being certified quadruple platinum. One can read into a few of the songs on Diva being about the break-up of Eurythmics or a certain pain from that split. Maybe others interpret the tracks as being about trust and relationships. Two of the biggest songs, Why and Walking on Broken Glass, seem to straddle either world. It is clear that Annie Lennox had nothing to prove as a solo artist. Demonstrating her remarkable songwriting ability, Diva sounds very much like her stepping out and doing something new – though one can still hear influences of her former group. I am not sure whether there are anniversary plans for the thirtieth of Diva. Such a sensational album that has Why, Walking om Broken Glass and Precious as its opening three tracks. One of the strongest opening trio of songs on any album in my book! Bar a couple of co-writes/credits, Lennox penned all the songs on Diva. It is such a fine and memorable album.

I am going to come to a positive review of the hugely impressive debut from Lennox. The Scottish icon’s latest work was the 2019 Lepidoptera E.P. I hope that we hear more music from her in the future. I feel she was at her absolute strongest on her debut solo album. Diva is a moment when she seemed to defy any sense of doubt. Could see go from a successful duo to making in on her own? All doubts were emphatically answered! Diffuser wrote about Diva around the time of its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2017:

“When the Eurythmics drifted into hiatus following the release of 1989's We Too Are One LP, singer Annie Lennox didn't hurry into a solo career.  But as she proved with her 1992 debut Diva, she hadn't lost her muse.

Released in the spring of 1992, Diva offered an emphatic statement of independence — not only from the duo that had defined her in the public eye over the previous decade, but from many of the constraints the music industry placed on female artists in terms of marketing and image. As she'd done so often throughout her career, Lennox adopted a heavily stylized image that was equal parts fashion statement and artistic commentary; on the album cover, she wore a large headdress and heavy makeup — neither of which, she pointed out in an interview surrounding the record's release, were necessarily intended to be taken at face value.

"It's meant to be partly ironic," said Lennox. "My life is divided into the public me and the private me. In the public me, I am seen as a woman on a pedestal, an artifice, who glides from place to place, a grandiose creature with no other life. That’s the one I’m projecting. It’s not me, of course. It’s myth-making, the lifestyle of the persona I am creating."

Lennox's Diva makeover also acted as a layer of artifice between herself and the gears of the industry, mitigating what she described as the "Faustian deal" female artists strike when exposing themselves to public physical scrutiny. "It's daunting for me to be exposed in public again," she admitted. "I want to go carefully, slowly-slowly."

If she was physically guarded, Lennox was nakedly personal when it came to Diva's songs, the majority of which were solo compositions. Although she co-wrote with Jethro Tull member Peter-John Vettese on "Legend in My Living Room" and collaborated with members of the Blue Nile on "The Gift," the rest of the 10-track set was all Lennox — the beginning of a new creative phase after her lengthy partnership with fellow Eurythmic David A. Stewart. Her move into the solo spotlight was underscored with the lyrics of opening track and leadoff single "Why," which — although Stewart later claimed it had been written about him — Lennox described as a response to "feeling misunderstood."

"For me, words are very powerful," said Lennox. "One person can misinterpret what the other person’s saying so easily."

She found an eager audience for that message — and for Diva in general, which surged into the U.S. Top 40 on its way to more than two million copies sold. Although the album was a far bigger hit in her native U.K., where it topped the charts, it represented a commercial rebound in America, where the Eurythmics' fortunes had flagged later in their career. "Why" gave Lennox her first solo Top 40 single, while follow-up single "Walking on Broken Glass" peaked at No. 14. Although she'd never obviously gone out of her way to court pop stardom, Lennox admitted the warm reception offered a surprise measure of vindication after years of feeling somewhat abandoned by her U.S. fans.

"I just felt rejected. I thought, 'Look at all that crap on the charts. I can do better than that. It’s rubbish.' And then I got very blasé about it," she later recalled. "I thought, 'Oh well, they’re all f---ed up anyway. Their culture’s a mess,' and I really didn’t care. In fact, I said I’d rather not put it out in America. But I couldn’t do that, because I’m contracted. I had to put it out there."

Ultimately, Diva announced Lennox as a vital solo artist in her own right, proving her creative strength remained undimmed outside the context of her work with Stewart. Yet as gracefully as she entered the solo spotlight, she was already planning to recede; having started a family in the years immediately following the Eurythmics' split, she understood she'd entered a chapter in which releasing new music took a back seat to her life at home. In the years following its release, she'd move at a measured pace, resurfacing at irregular intervals — and almost as often as not, she'd do so as a vocal interpreter rather than a songwriter, releasing albums of covers between new collections of original material. When she hinted at retirement in 2014, it was just the latest step in a long journey away from pop stardom”.

Prior to rounding off, it is worth sampling a review. There were a couple of mixed reviews – some noting Diva’s best songs are near the top and it is a little uneven -, but the overall reaction was hugely positive. Diva still sounds remarkable and uniquely Annie Lennox thirty years later. This is SLANT’s take on a beautiful and timeless album:

“To pick apart a deceptively simple album by its musical structure, Diva opens with the simplest of chord progressions. A major fifth is sustained throughout the riff and only the descending bassline provides the tension (turning the fifth into an aroused and introspective sixth, and then resolving with a resigned seventh). That’s it. Nothing more complicated than that until the bathetically optimistic bridge. Stephen Lipson’s icy, new wave use of synthesizers—unfettered, tubular artificiality that’s poised directly between crystalline austerity and late-night Cinemax sleaziness—does very little to murk up the composition. The song, “Why,” is hardly the sort of melodramatic setting we’d imagine from an album whose very name evokes histrionic pretense. But Annie Lennox isn’t and has never been a representative pop diva. Her body is lanky and angular instead of curvaceously plush. Her exaggerated facial features (capped off with a most spectacular set of cheekbones that she wisely never allowed her hair to grow long enough to cover) are matched in androgen-fabulousness only by her tremulously guttural alto.

The first album Lennox released after the Eurythmics called it quits, Diva’s relative quietude is reflective of a woman in full awareness—if not complete control—of the occasional ostentation of her emotional whims. It’s musically analogous to All About Eve’s ferocious Margo Channing during those rare moments when she’s alone and contemplating the social consequences of her violent temper. It speaks exactly what she (Margo, Annie, every woman…) wished she could convey, but the music underneath most of the album’s tracks is filled with the rumbling turbulence that betrays her best intentions.

Practically speaking, the music video for Lennox’s baroque dance hit “Walking On Broken Glass” harnesses this stress to a T. Dressed in Amadeus boudoir finery (not to be confused with the Vegas headdress crowning Lennox on the album’s disingenuously gaudy cover), the clip’s heroine finds her flirtations ignored until she gets her paramour alone in her chambers. He mistakenly reads her interest as sexual heat and, outraged, she casts him away, banging her fist against the wall in synchronization to the song’s rimshots. “Every one of us was made to suffer,” she reasons. “Every one of us was made to weep.” One of the most brilliant singles of the era, “Walking On Broken Glass” and its video cast a suspicious eye on the deliberate façade-maintenance of modern pop by playing up the same mixed signals that equips Diva with its power.

Elsewhere on the album, the brooding “Legend In My Living Room” seems to address the false hopes Lennox experienced early in her career from the promises of fame, fortune, and ultimately self-definition (i.e. the notion that she would find her soul in her image), while the lyrics to “Primitive” (“Wipe your tears and let the salt stains dry”) almost seem to address Lennox’s performance in Amos Gitai’s Birth of the Golem, in which she personified the creature born of clay (another role played, another legend in her screening room). Ultimately, the album (well, the CD version of it, anyway) lands on its soft shoes with an incongruous cover of the 1930s MGM showtune “Keep Young And Beautiful,” which ends the introspection on a note of carefree self-parody. As befitting any diva, Lennox isn’t above a little bit of self-deprecation, but Diva glides with a rich, feminine dignity that stands tall in pop history”.

One of the finest albums ever, Annie Lennox’s songwriting brilliance, soulful and powerful voice and magnetic presence is all over an album that stops you in your tracks. Lennox followed Diva with 1995’s Medusa. An album of covers, it is a great work, though I feel Lennox is at her strongest when performing her tracks. On 6th April, we celebrate thirty years of a classic album. Diva was and still is…

ONE of the all-time greats!

FEATURE: But Love's Alright Too, It's Just, Everything I Do… Kate Bush: The Singles Collection

FEATURE:

 

 

But Love's Alright Too, It's Just, Everything I Do…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a photo around the time of The Sensual World (1989)/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Kate Bush: The Singles Collection

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I have speculated whether…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a The Red Shoes-era publicity photo in 1993. This is the dress she wears in the Eat the Music portion of the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve

we would ever see another Kate Bush greatest hits album. The 1986 album, The Whole Story, is really the only one we have. There is This Woman's Work Anthology 1978-1990. That is Kate Bush’s albums from 1978 and, I guess, it can be seen as a greatest hits selection. Apart from that, there has not been an awful lot. The Single File 1978-1983 is a box-set released in 1984, containing all of Kate Bush's 7" singles from Wuthering Heights (1978) to There Goes a Tenner (1982). I do not feel there was much of a demand or call from EMI after The Whole Story in 1986. That was released as a reaction to the success of 1985’s Hounds of Love. Bush’s albums did well after that point…but would the public have wanted another greatest hits albums after The Red Shoes in 1993? I still think there is a market and definitely place for a more extensive compilation that collates her very best tracks. What I think would be even cooler is something similar to what The Beatles did with The Singles Collection. That was released in 2019, and it is their singles with each one featuring a cool cover from different countries. A huge box containing forty-six songs, it is a real must for every Beatles fan! Bush has put out box-sets through the years. The Singles File 1978-1983 celebrated her early career, whilst the 1990 compilation misses out on the last few decades.

Remastered Part I and II joins together her albums; the second of the two also includes rarer tracks and her Before the Dawn residency live album. I guess, as they were put out in 2018, that is quite a lot of goodness for Kate Bush fans! As four years have passed, I have seen how her popularity and adoration has increased. There is definitely a lot of love out there for her. I would love to see a box-set like The Beatles one, where we get everything from Wuthering Heights (1978) to Running Up That Hill (2012 Remix). We could also include the live version of And Dream of Sheep for 2014’s Before the Dawn, in addition to the duet with Peter Gabriel, Don’t Give Up. Each single would be given their own 7”, with artwork corresponding to a different nation. There are some seriously good covers of her singles, so having it together in a great set would be something to treasure. Some might say that it would be a lot of money for such a selection. With around thirty-five songs in the box, it would not be as pricey as The Beatles’ one. Instead, it would be something that could hook in new fans – and it would be one for the collection for existing fans! Given the comparative lack of retrospection and archiving when it comes to Kate Bush releases, this would be something that could not be balked at. I am not sure whether Bush is going to release another album in her career. Let’s hope that she does!

Kate Bush: The Singles Collection could come out later this year – if there was such an intuitive –, as The Dreaming turns forty in September. It would be good to follow that anniversary with a box-set that shows how varied and incredible her singles are. It could also include a B-side on each single. That would provide amazing value if, say, the box-set was priced at under £100. Beautifully packaged with a booklet or linear notes that discuss her singles through the years and give us some photos and quotes; this cornucopia for Kate Bush fans would be a real treasure trove! I am not sure what Bush would say on the matter but, if it was released through her Fish People label, she could oversee everything and remaster the tracks if she wants. Maybe she would want to put out new material before anything that relates to her old work, but there is constant call for more when it comes to the singles, greatest hits and anything like that. I really think something will come from her this year, whether it is new material or something else. I have been thinking about Kate Bush’s singles and how many of them deserve new acclaim and attention. Having a box-set like Kate Bush: The Singles Collection would afford that opportunity. A timely reminder of why Bush is so loved and is such a genius, a lovely box-set of all of her singles would be…

SOMETHING to pass through the generations.

FEATURE: Second Spin: Le Tigre – This Island

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Le Tigre – This Island

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THE final album from the legendary Le Tigre…

This Island is one that did not get the true positivity and reception it deserved. Released on 19th October, 2004, it was the only one from the New York icons put out on a major label (Universal). Although it only reached 130 on the Billboard 200, it is amazing album that has some of Le Tigre’s best work on it. After their second album, Feminist Sweepstakes, in 2001, the band finished touring duties and they were going to head to North Carolina. As New York studios were expensive, this would allow the trio more flexibility and time. Armed with poppier songs that their previous work, Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman and JD Samson created something spectacular. Instead of moving, they stayed in New York and used their touring money to record at home studios and use Pro Tools. Rather than go into a studio and record in a formulaic or ordered way, Le Tigre could patch together and work on an album at their own pace and how they wanted. Whilst not as radical and urgent as their epic and hugely influential eponymous debut of 1999, This Island is an album that is worthy of new listening and wider reach. I have not heard any of the songs from the album played on the radio recently. Seconds, New Kicks and TKO are golden Le Tigre cuts! Before coming to a couple of positive reviews for This Island – the reception was mostly positive, though there were quite a few less enthusiastic reviews -, DIY revisited the importance of Le Tigre’s final studio album back in 2017:

“From the very beginning - since their self-titled debut album in 1999 - Le Tigre have turned brash, abrasive electropop into their own form of rebellion. After the exit of original member and visual artist Sadie Benning, the trio we still recognise today was complete. Kathleen Hanna and musical zine-making badass Johanna Fateman were joined by activist and artist J.D. Samson, who became an integral part of the band for their second album ‘Feminist Sweepstakes’. Parodying tunnel-vision hero worship (“Misogynist!” “Genius!” yelled their debut album cut ‘What’s Yr Take On Cassavetes?’) and proudly refusing to stop creating on the now-infamous ‘Hot Topic’, theirs was a band fuelled by aggressive, visceral wit; serious debate dissolving into comical silliness at a moment’s notice. Hilarious, political, and a danceable revolution, Le Tigre kept it short and sickly-sweet with a trio of brilliant records, never ones to fade out in a half-arsed fizzle.

Their final outing before going on hiatus in 2006 was ‘This Island’, a jarring (and, bizarrely) major label album that sounded more like an underground smash. Deliberately isolating itself by title, and sonically infiltrating the mainstream pop world, it’s a whip-smart record that both embraces and parodies radioplay and fame, all while donning fight-ready boxing gear and prom-worthy suits for ‘TKO’s video.

Hilarious, political, and a danceable revolution, Le Tigre kept it short and sickly-sweet with a trio of brilliant records.

So limb-possessing is ‘This Island’ in fact, that’s it’s easy to miss the dry humour that surges through the whole record; at clear odds with the idea that political music must be earnest and sombre. On ‘Nanny Nanny Boo Boo’, Le Tigre boast of having “dicks done by C.P. Caster” (an American artist who creates plaster-casts of rock stars’ penises, fyi), while protest anthem ‘New Kicks’ samples a newsreader listing off countless cities where anti-war protesters have taken to the streets, before she concludes “AND I AM ONLY NAMING A FEW!” Meanwhile, in ‘Viz’, J.D Samson’s ubiquitous moustache sees her instantly ushered straight into a lesbian bar where freedom and debauchery awaits: “they call it way too rowdy, and I call it finally free”. And then, who can forget their brilliantly ludicrous take on The Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m so Excited’?

Wonky, tricky-to-palate pop warped through the ferocious bleeps of an early noughties internet modem, several gas turbine combustors, and a synth cranked up to breaking point, Le Tigre were the very essence of refusing to conform. After all, what could be more rebellious than cloaking sex and provocation in big, bold, commercial pop? While they won’t rule out a reunion altogether - and the trio did briefly get back together last year to release ‘I’m With Her’ in support of Hillary Clinton - don’t count on it happening until they’ve got something new to say. This lot do not do things by halves”.

Ending on a high with an album that had to fit into the scene of 2003/2004 – more Pop-driven and different-sounding to the one they launched into in the late-1990s -, This Island is a fine album with many highlights. This is what The A.V. Club offered in their 2004 review of This Island:

“The distance between Kathleen Hanna's old band, Bikini Kill, and the hooky dance-pop of her trio Le Tigre seems considerable, but it may not be as profound as it first appears. Bikini Kill grated on the ears with angry noise and angrier rhetoric. Le Tigre happily covers the Pointer Sisters and signs to a major label. But the message hasn't really changed much—only the delivery system has. A crowd that will move to "I'm So Excited" is easy to motivate to dance as it shouts down Bush, contemplates the sexual politics of personal presentation, and chants along to righteous feminist statements.

Ahead of the New York hipster curve, Le Tigre looked to post-punk experimentalism and new-wave theatricality for inspiration on its self-titled 1998 debut. The band hasn't learned many new tricks since then, but it hasn't really needed any. After the hit-or-miss sophomore disc Feminist Sweepstakes, This Island finds Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and J.D. Samson further refining their pop instincts while increasing the intensity. Hanna screams "You make me sick" over and over again on "Seconds," but the band remains committed to making its political pill go down as easy as possible. "New Kicks" glues mile-wide guitar riffs to a skittering beat, chanted slogans, and anti-war spoken-word samples from Susan Sarandon, Al Sharpton, and others.

Only one track—the sultry, defiant "Tell You Now"—survives from some sessions produced by Ric Ocasek, but the rest of the album uses memorable tunes to smuggle in messages of hope and rage by the same method Ocasek used to sneak in lyrics of obsession and sadness. Le Tigre even tips its hand on the unnervingly catchy "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo," singing "we synchronize our movements 'til they're super-sick… we love to see the crowd move" before suggesting "it's just a joke." Of course, there's more to This Island than that. It's a crossover gesture with no interest in compromise, and though it could probably only have come from the Manhattan Island of the title, it should find an audience far beyond the banks of the Hudson”.

The final inclusion is Drowned in Sound’s take on This Island. It is an album that is a fitting and very strong farewell from the very much-missed and unique Le Tigre:

“There’s a pretty big leap between the strong woman and the woman brave enough to throw around the F word. Yes that’s right, whisper it, we’re talking about…_ feminism. Bringing up the secret – but very real – war on women’s rights is tantamount to telling your friends to go buy bottled water and gaffer tape in preparation for a terrorist attack in Alabama… _oh wait!

OK, so Fred Durst And The Misogynist Boy Brigade have been temporarily thwarted. That’s all well and good, but there’s still the pressing threat of messer Bush removing that rather controversial of rights, abortion, along with a whole list of legislature to keep women’s pay low and those pesky ‘liberals’ at bay.

Kathleen Hanna is a woman who has never been afraid to stand up for what she believes in and shout it from the rooftops. Whether thrashing out punk anthems Bikini Kill or turning out dancefloor-ready disco pop as on ‘This Island’, Hanna has always had something to say, and never has her message sounded so clear.

When Kurt Cobain noted that “even liberals don’t like smart women,” he wasn’t lying. Those people who tut about the war from their armchairs would cringe at much of this album, particularly ‘Viz’ – a butch lesbian anthem written from the firsthand experience of Le Tigre’s JD Samson. Nor would they likely appreciate the rather blunt protest song ‘New Kicks’. But if we can’t rely on these gals to tell it like it is, who exactly can we?

All of which is rather a shame, considering that those same people will be missing out on the rather brilliant ‘TKO’, the after hours charm of ‘Tell You Now’ and their rather smashing cover of The Pointer Sisters’ ‘I’m So Excited’. Still, striking the balance between preaching to the converted and selling a million albums has never really been top of Hanna’s agenda”.

If you have not listened to Le Tigre’s final album, This Island, then I would advise you to do so. One of the best albums from 2004, it is still sounds incredible to this day. With the peerless Kathleen Hanna in your ranks, I think it is impossible to make anything other than amazing music! Although it has not sold a massive amount, and there are no signs of Le Tigre returning, This Island is a brilliant finale from a group who are staggering. I definitely miss…

THEIR brilliant music.

FEATURE: Inspired By… Part Fifty-Five: Primal Scream

FEATURE:

 

Inspired By…

Part Fifty-Five: Primal Scream

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FORMED in 1982…

the world is going to celebrate forty years of Primal Scream this year. Established and rooted in Glasgow, the band started life with Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current line-up consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (keyboards), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). With classic and hugely influential albums like Screamadelica (1991) under their belt, the group are one of the most important ever. I am going to end with a playlist of songs from artists influenced by Primal Scream. Either they sound similar or have named them as influences, it is a broad collection of tracks from some terrific artists! Before getting to that, AllMusic provide some useful biography:

“Primal Scream's career has been a series of adventures that have seen the band recording era-defining albums like 1991's Screamadelica, digging deep into the past to excavate classic rock tropes, and playing music that sounds like it was beamed in from the future. No matter what path they follow, their love of music and daredevil spirit never wane. Formed by vocalist Bobby Gillespie, they started off playing a Byrds-like brand of indie pop that jangled with all the sweetness that Gillespie's former group the Jesus and Mary Chain lacked. In a move the group repeated over and over, they changed sounds drastically, becoming hard rockers à la the Stooges. Swept up in the blossoming acid house scene, and with the help of producers like Andrew Weatherall (who worked on their landmark single "Loaded"), the Orb, and Jimmy Miller, they created a sound that mixed indie pop, country ballads, techno, dub, and psychedelia on Screamadelica. The album broke down musical boundaries, helped fuse the techno and indie scenes, and made the band worldwide stars. From there, the group shifted gears relentlessly, swerving from straight-ahead boogie rock on 1994's Give Out But Don't Give Up to electro rock on 1997's Vanishing Point to experimental noise on 2000's XTRMNTR in what seemed like a breathless rush. The band continued this unpredictable pattern as they gained legendary status, alternating new albums like 2013's More Light -- which bends genres with the same flair as Screamadelica -- with commemorative reissues like Demodelica, a rarities collection released as part of Screamadelica's 30th anniversary.

On its initial releases, Primal Scream were a group of '60s revivalists crafting hooky, guitar-driven pop songs. The band signed to Creation in 1985, and over the next year they released a pair of singles. However, the band didn't really take off until the middle of 1986, when Gillespie left the Mary Chain and guitarists Andrew Innes and Robert Young joined the band. "Velocity Girl," a rush of jangly guitars, was a B-side that wound up on NME's C-86 cassette compilation, a collection of underground pop groups that defined the U.K.'s mid-'80s indie pop scene. The band's debut, Sonic Flower Groove, fit into the C-86 sound. After the band rejected the initial version recorded with Stephen Street, they re-recorded it with Mayo Thompson, and the record was finally released in 1987 on Creation subsidiary Elevation. The album was well-received in the British indie community, as was its 1989 follow-up, Primal Scream, which demonstrated hard rock influences from the Rolling Stones and New York Dolls to the Stooges and the MC5.

As the '80s drew to a close, Britain's underground music scene was dominated by the burgeoning acid house scene. Primal Scream became fascinated with the new dance music, and they asked a friend, a DJ named Andrew Weatherall, to remix a track from Primal Scream, "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have." Weatherall completely reworked the song, adding a heavy bass groove echoing dub reggae, deleting most of the original instrumentation (even the layers of guitars), and interjecting layers of samples, including lines of Peter Fonda's dialogue from The Wild Angels. The new mix was titled "Loaded," and it became a sensation, bringing rock & roll to the dancefloor and dance to rock & rollers. "Come Together," the first single from their forthcoming third album, was in much the same vein, and was similarly praised.

For their third album, Screamadelica, Primal Scream not only worked with Andrew Weatherall and Hugo Nicholson, the pair who essentially designed the sound of the album, but also the Orb and former Stones producer Jimmy Miller. The resulting album was a kaleidoscopic, neo-psychedelic fusion of dance, dub, techno, acid house, pop, and rock, and it was greeted with rapturous reviews in the U.K. Released in the spring of 1991, Screamadelica also marked an important moment in British pop in the '90s, helping to bring techno and house into the mainstream. The album was a massive success, winning the first Mercury Music Prize in 1992.

In the wake of the groundbreaking Screamadelica, many wondered what Primal Scream would do next, yet few would have predicted their retreat to '70s hard rock for Give Out But Don't Give Up. Released in 1994, the album was eagerly awaited, but its Stones-y hard rock was not well-received, and it was a relative commercial failure. More importantly, it hurt the group's reputation as innovators, a situation they reacted to with the title track to the hit 1996 film Trainspotting. The band's contribution to the soundtrack was a return to the dance stylings of Screamadelica, only darker. They continued to work on their next album, titled Vanishing Point, over the course of 1996, finally releasing it to enthusiastic reviews in the summer of 1997.

The ultra-aggressive XTRMNTR followed in the spring of 2000. Two years later, Primal Scream released Evil Heat, a guest-laden (even supermodel Kate Moss makes an appearance) album in line and on par with XTRMNTR, and in 2006, Riot City Blues came out. Festival shows and gigs with My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields filled out the following year, capped off with the release of the single "Can't Go Back." That single reappeared on the 2008 Suicide- and Alan Vega-informed full-length Beautiful Future. In 2011, the band toured in support of the 20th anniversary of Screamadelica, which resulted in a live DVD. The following year, Mani left to focus on a reunion of the Stone Roses, whom Primal Scream went on to support with Deb Googe from My Bloody Valentine on bass. 2013 began with news that the band were working on their tenth album with producer David Holmes. The resulting More Light was released in the U.K. in May 2013, appearing in the U.S. a month later. Sporadic touring followed in support for More Light, and the group spent 2015 recording their next album, Chaosmosis, which appeared in March of 2016.

Primal Scream dug out their original Tom Dowd-supervised mixes of the 1994 album Give Out But Don't Give Up for an archival release in October 2018. In keeping with the nostalgic spirit, the group issued the double-disc career-spanning collection Maximum Rock 'n' Roll: The Singles in May 2019. Gillespie turned to non-Scream projects after that, in 2021 releasing Utopian Ashes, an album of duets with Savages' vocalist Jehnny Beth, and a memoir of his early life titled Tenement Kid. That same year, the band celebrated the 30th anniversary of Screamadelica with a series of reissues including a set of rarities called Demodelica”.

To celebrate the Scottish icons who, to me, are one of the most influential bands of their time, the playlist below features tracks from those who have either followed Primal Scream or have been inspired heavily by their sound. Their eleventh studio album, Chaosmosis, was released in 2016. Let’s hope we hear more from Primal Scream and the band keep…

MOVING on up.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Kat & Alex

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Kat & Alex

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NOT too many Country acts…

have been featured in my Spotlight feature. I am quite new to the music of Kat & Alex. The Nashville-based duo unite Country values with a Latin twist. It is a fresh, exciting, multicultural and colourful blend that has helped to bring Latin sounds and music to a different audience. I wonder whether we will see any other acts like Kat & Alex come through. An inspiring and very close duo, their relationship works in the music’s favour. They have that natural and deep chemistry that one can hear in every song. There are a couple of interviews I want to get to so that we can get to know the duo a lot better. Before that, and from their official website, here is some bio about Kat & Alex:

“For as much as Kat & Alex embody classic country stylings and values, the Nashville-based duo also rewrite the rules altogether with a Latin twist. The husband-and-wife pair shake up country with full-bodied soulful delivery, inventive live instrumentation, and bilingual lyrics, introducing themselves as outliers with just the right amount of outlaw glee. Before their paths finally crossed, Alex worked as a police officer for two years and logged time as a social media influencer for Harley Davidson Corporate in Milwaukee, WI, before he created art around Miami as “Space Cowboy.” Meanwhile, Kat honed her voice and took advantage of any opportunity to perform. She witnessed Alex sing one day, and the two forged an eternal bond after one date. They appeared on American Idol before returning home to focus on writing and recording original music. In 2020, they signed to The AMG for management and inked a publishing deal with Warner Chappell between numerous sessions with producer Brad Hill [Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne]. Kat & Alex made their official debut with the single “How Many Times” and its accompanying Spanish Version. Right out of the gate, it gathered 7.9 million Spotify streams as they claimed coveted real estate on playlists such as “Hot Country” and “New Boots” in addition to rubbing elbows with Bad Bunny and Camilo on Latin playlists. Amassing nearly 20 million streams independently and receiving acclaim from Billboard, CMT, and more, they introduce a scorching signature style in 2021 with new music for Sony Music Nashville ignited by “Heartbreak Tour”.

With some of their best and most personal material released last year, there was a lot of press interest. They will have more dates later in the year but, as far as I can see, the only confirmed short-term date is 8th April at the Tortuga Music Festival 2022. Sounds Like Nashville chatted with Kat Luna and Alex Georgia last year. Since their debut in 2020, they have risen, accrued a lot of news fans and grown as songwriters and performers:

“The duo’s Kat Luna and Alex Georgia rose to national fame during their 2020 American Idol audition. All three judges were completely smitten by their chemistry and vocal prowess, advancing them to Hollywood. Since coming off the television singing competition, the newly-wed singers signed a recording contract with Sony Music Nashville, a publishing deal with Warner Chappell, and management deal with The Artist Management Group (AMG), which formed by reputable industry professionals Rob Beckham and Bill Simmons, and is home to superstars Brad Paisley and Chris Young.

In October last year, Kat & Alex unveiled their official debut single and first ever release, “How Many Times.” A stellar mid-tempo offering, the poignant tune captures the essence of a breakup and the gripping emotions that follow after. Though both singers are happily married to each other now, they say it is something they “can relate to in [their] own separate pasts.” Since its release, the song has been spotlighted on SiriusXM The Highway’s new music discovery show, On The Horizon. 

Last month, the rising country duo released two brand new tracks — the larger-than-life ballad “Heartbreak Tour” and the summery, roll-your-windows-down bop, “You and the Radio.”

Sounds Like Nashville got to chat with the singers earlier this month all about their individual journeys to music, American Idol audition, new music and of course, how they met. Hint: Kat saw Alex leading worship in a church, and thence began, as Katy Perry cheekily dubbed it, their “digital love affair.”

How did each of you get into music?

Kat: At a very young age, I was always singing and tapping on chairs. I always loved music. When I was in middle school, I auditioned for this high school, which was a Magnet School of the Arts. I had my audition, sang for them and they were like, “OK, perfect! We want you in our vocal program.” So after that day, I knew I wanted to do music for the rest of my life as a career. Later, I jumped on a show called La Vos (The Voice in Spanish), where I [found out] I really loved performing on stage. I met Alex shortly after, and after I started singing with him, I knew I didn’t want to and couldn’t do it with anybody else.

Alex: Music has been a part of my life ever since I was little. My dad was a drum major in high school and played the cello and flute. Any instrument he picked up, he pretty much learned. He had an acoustic nylon string guitar lying around that his brother had given him. So, I saw it and said, “I want to learn that instrument!” I was maybe 11 or 12. And he was like, “Yeah, here you go! You can learn the guitar, here’s some books, and we’ll get you lessons if you’re interested in it.” So that was really the beginning of me really taking music seriously. 

How did y’all meet each other and end up dating?

Alex: I was painting at a place called Wynwood, Miam’s Art District. So, I started attending a church in that area, got on the worship team, played for a Sunday, and it just so happened that that Sunday was the day Kat was able to go back for service since she had not been to [one] in a while. That very day, she picked that very service that I was playing at. She normally goes to evening services, but she went that morning, and that’s where she saw me on stage! So, [it went] from Kat seeing me, to her friend having her add me on Instagram, to I adding her back. We had a “digital love affair”- that’s what Katy Perry called it. (chuckles)

PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Berinato

How would you describe the sound of Kat & Alex?

Kat: I feel like it’s a mix of latin, soul and country. A latin fiesta!

Alex: Yeah, it’s an explosion! Imagine a cowboy and a cowgirl riding horses together on a rainbow and there’s this sound of country music flowing under it, and Adele is screaming and singing in the background! (laughs)

How much of a role has faith played in both of your journeys?

Kat: I feel like in my life, faith has gotten me through every single thing that I’ve gone through. Every challenge and every bad thing. If it wasn’t for my faith in God, I wouldn’t be who I am today, and as happy as I am today.

Alex: Faith plays a large role [in my life]. When I was in law enforcement and got that injury and concussion, I hit rock bottom. I was depressed and wanted to commit suicide. I honestly wanted to end everything. God really got me through that season because I believe God had a bigger purpose for my life—bigger than what I could imagine. And little did I know, it was to meet Kat and start playing music that would impact so many people. And that’s why, even now, God plays such a big role in our marriage and our career. This is all faith-based. This is a purpose that God gave to us. It’s a responsibility, really, and we don’t take that lightly. So, we put all our faith and trust in Him and know that He’s got big plans for us.

What else do you want fans to know about Kat & Alex?

Alex: As a country duo, like what Luke Combs says, “What You See Is What You Get!” We are as real as it is and we really try to be as transparent as possible with our fans.

Kat: We want people to feel like we’re a part of their family and we want them to feel like they’re a part of ours.

Alex: Yes! Because in the Latin culture, for example, if you’re going to a Latino’s house, they’re going to treat you like family. “You want to eat? You want to drink? You want a pillow to lay your head on? I got you.” So we want everyone to feel like that”.

Before rounding off, there is another interview that I really like. Country Now interviewed Kat & Alex as they were picking up some serious traction and attention. As they were (and are) married, it must be quite a feat to balance and separate their personal relationship with the professional one:

“No one in country music right now sounds like you. What is it like to be trailblazers as artists mixing country and Latin influences?

It’s an honor to hear how we are trailblazing in country music. To be honest, we are just making sure that we stay true to who we are. Even before we came to Nashville, we talked about incorporating our native language into country music because it mixed two of our favorite things. It’s the best of both worlds, and we wouldn’t want to have it any other way. We are humbled and happy to know that everyone else enjoys the mix just as much as we do!

How does it feel when you connect with non-English listeners and introduce them to the country genre?

Being able to connect with non-English speaking listeners and introduce them to country music is an indescribable experience. Music is so powerful, and it truly unites everyone. When we get messages from people saying things like, ‘I am so excited to have found you guys because now I can show my family country music,’ and they can connect with the lyrics, it warms our hearts. People get just as fired up about this blend as we do!

What do you want fans to take away from your music?

We want them to feel like they are a part of the song. We want them to connect with our music and feel like they helped write it. They are our “familia,” which means “family” in Spanish.

As husband-and-wife, how do you balance your personal lives with your musical lives?

It is truly an incredible thing to be able to play music together. Music was already such a large part of our personal lives. Since we get to play music for a living, it feels like we never have to go to work. We get to live out our dreams every day and create music just like we always have since the day we met”.

With one of their best singles, I Want It All, released recently. I wonder if Kat & Alex have an album planned this year – or whether they are going to work on some more singles and tour as much as they can. I hope they get an opportunity to come to the U.K. soon, as there is an audience for them here. Country radio aficionados like the legendary Bob Harris would definitely back their music and support them. Go and back Kat & Alex and follow them. They are a wonderful, close-knit and hugely talented pair whose unity of Latin and Country is quite ground-breaking. The brilliant Kat & Alex are…

AN amazing Country force.

 _____________

Follow Kat & Alex

Official:

https://www.katandalex.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/KatandAlexOfficial/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/katandalex/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC87ktzvahLmKIAtVCMC8MqQ

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@katandalex  

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6K4y1ejK5kZ0kRdgCv5bRg?si=8aGfS7G1QPyBb8cEl3dtZA

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: The Spring Collection

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: @eyeforebony/Unsplash 

The Spring Collection

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BECAUSE next Sunday (20th)…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @mayear2019/Unsplash

marks the first official day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of that, I am looking ahead to a long-awaited change of the season. This Lockdown Playlist has songs that include the word ‘spring’ in their title, are about the new season, or evoke a sense of change and optimism after a hard time. Projecting a sense of blossoming, blooming and warmer weather, the songs below should (hopefully) get you in the mood for the approaching spring! After such a terrible two years and a pretty rough winter, we are all looking forward to spring. Hopefully it will bring warm weather, calmer conditions and greater optimism and stability. The Spring Collection assortment of songs is here to beckon a season that we all…

 IN THIS PHOTO: @rodlong/Unsplash

DESPERATELY need right now.

FEATURE: Revisiting... Summer Walker – Over It

FEATURE:

 

Revisiting…

Summer Walker – Over It

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FOLLOWED by the remarkable…

Still Over It last year, Summer Walker’s amazing debut album, Over It, is one that everyone should play and investigate. Released on 4th October, 2019, it gained rave reviews and was placed in many publications’ best albums of the year polls. It is an exceptional release from the Atlanta-born artist. Whilst the singles got a lot of airplay in 2019 and 2020, I think a lot of the buzz wore off. That is only natural I guess. Then the immense Still Over It came along last year and reaffirmed Summer Walker as one of the most incredible and talented artists in the world. I love her debut album, as it follows the 2018 mixtape, Last Day of Summer. With every album and release, she grows stronger and without equals. Such is the strength of her lyrics and her delivery, I feel she is an artist who will be iconic and seen as a legend very soon. I have said this about quite a few new artist, though it is not an over-exaggeration with Summer Walker. Before coming to a couple of glowing reviews for the incredible Over It, there is an interview from 2019 where we hear from Walker about the album. The Times spoke with her in December 2019. Despite being grounded and modest, the success Over It has already accrued by that point showed she was a huge artist with an admiring and growing fanbase:

“Summer Walker has been singing seriously for only two years, but she has already broken one of Beyoncé’s records, become YouTube’s most viewed female artist for October, collaborated with Drake, Usher and Chris Brown — and nailed the art of pop-star eccentricity.

This is a woman whose former manager, also called Summer Walker, discovered the singer when she googled her own name. Who, at her bonkers and brilliant show in London the night before we meet, came on with a handbag on one arm, read her lyrics from sheets of A4 paper and spent much of the evening sitting on the stage ogling her two almost naked pole dancers.

Today, in her hotel room in Shoreditch, east London, the 23-year-old Atlantan seems to be in some kind of coma. Not once does she raise her voice above a whisper, and she spends the entire interview hidden beneath a bathrobe. And I mean hidden. She’s curled up in an armchair with the hood of the robe pulled up; all that are visible are two bare tattooed legs and a pair of turquoise Ugg boots. This is the kind of weirdness that took Prince a whole career to perfect.

Walker blames her state partly on jet lag. “I’m up till 8 in the morning every day and then they wake me up at 12, so . . . ” Yet I suspect she may be like this even when she’s in the right time zone. Her singing voice is beautifully languorous and her woozy R&B emphasises atmosphere over hooks. “I don’t just go for catchy things,” she says. “Better to make it about vibes.”

In that sense she is like Beyoncé, who long ago dispensed with the idea of making her songs radio-friendly. Walker’s debut album, Over It, was streamed more than 150 million times in its first week, beating the record for a female R&B artist held by Beyoncé for Lemonade. How does Walker feel about breaking a megastar’s record? “It’s nice,” she says as the robe drops to reveal a flash of rainbow hairband and a tattoo of a sweet above her eye. Was Beyoncé an icon for her growing up? Walker’s song Playing Games interpolates Say My Name by Beyoncé’s former band, Destiny’s Child. “Hmm. Not really.”

Well, at least she’s honest. It’s one of the things that saves Walker from being irredeemably frustrating. Once she warms up, her answers are straight, thoughtful and sometimes very funny. We get on to the subject of whether she wants to have children. “I do,” she says. “I actually wanna adopt. What am I? Twenty-three. I want to at 25, maybe sooner.” Why adopt? “I don’t wanna have no babies come out of my vagina! That’s gonna hurt.” She says the word with southern musicality: vag-aye-nah.

Honesty runs through her music: frank songs about anxiety, sexuality, abusive boyfriends. “I value honesty,” she says. “Sometimes I’m too honest.” Does it get her into trouble? “Yeah, all the time. I just always say how I feel. I’m very impulsive so I can say something one day and the next day say something completely different.”

Walker grew up in Atlanta in “a good home”. Her mother was “a top-end estate agent for celebrities and athletes and stuff, and my dad, he owns a construction company”. Which celebrities? “A bunch of people — I wouldn’t wanna name-drop, though.” She went to private school, where she was quite outgoing, until the age of 14, and then a state high school, where she “didn’t say nothing to nobody, used to eat my lunch in the library”.

There aren’t many privately educated R&B stars. Was she ever tempted to cover up her privilege when she went into music? “No. I did not come from the streets. I say that, my mum will get mad!” She laughs, aping her mother: “I worked this hard!” Her parents weren’t wild about her going into music, she says. “My dad’s kinda military and he’d be, like, ‘That’s not a real job.’”

Perhaps, but he can’t have been over the moon when she left college to dance in a strip club and work as a cleaner. Which did she prefer? “Hmm. Dancing made more money.” It must have been hard with her anxiety issues. “No, I just didn’t really talk to people.” I ask if she has seen Hustlers, the recent movie in which a group of strippers swindle bankers. “I did. I wasn’t a big fan.” Why? “I don’t like thieves.”

What ambitions does she have? “I would like to finish putting things in my home that I like and then I would like to quit,” she says. Retire from music — why? “So I can go home.” But what about the fans, all those millions of followers? “You’ll survive.” It’s not that the adulation scares her, she insists. “I think it’s wonderful and all. I just really want my money so I can get the hell home.” She recently moved to Las Vegas: “It’s hot, beautiful and there’s tax breaks”.

It is clear Summer Walker will not be returning to a career of cleaning anytime soon! She is an artist with a lot more to say. Following the success of Over It and Still Over It, you wonder what will come next and how much better she can get. Over It did get some wonderful reviews, though the songs and singles from it are not played that much now. I will finish off with a couple of reviews for the stunning Over It. This is what CLASH had to say in their review:

“Having made waves with tracks like ‘Girls Need Love’ and ‘Playing Games’, Atlanta’s Summer Walker follows in the footsteps of her label mate 6LACK and delivers her own taste of authentic contemporary R&B with her debut album ‘Over It’.

The project includes a host of features from some of the biggest names in the genre, who provide welcome (but somewhat unnecessary) co-signs as she herself manoeuvres with a standout level of artistry that leaves you in no doubt that she is indeed here to stay.

This last 12 months or so - in musical terms - could be considered to be a year for the women of the music industry with a swathe of artists coming to prominence such as Meg The Stallion, Saweetie, City Girls and Kash Doll to name a few, while in the realm of R&B, Ella Mai and Dani Leigh are just two names that have been making waves.

But among them has been Summer Walker, who capitalised on the success of her single ‘Girls Need Love’ with a Drake remix (which has gone platinum), as well as a stellar debut commercial mixtape ‘Last Day Of Summer’.

Continuing on the themes of confidence, love and womanhood, Walker is transparent and honest in her lyricism throughout the 18 tracks, conveying different perspectives matched by the varying styles of production, predominantly handled by London on da Track, who serves as executive producer (and happens to be her current boyfriend).

Whether exploring her feelings about a failed relationship such as on the PARTYNEXTDOOR duet ‘Just Might’ or the more overwhelming emotions that come when you’re infatuated as depicted on ‘Like It’ featuring 6LACK, it’s this relatability and willingness to go deeper than the surface level that elevates the project above those of a lot of her contemporaries.

Tracks like the Destiny’s Child-sampling ‘Playing Games’ (featuring Bryson Tiller) and the Jhene Aiko-assisted ‘I’ll Kill You’ stand out as early fan favourites, while a special mention has to go out for ‘Come Thru’ featuring Usher which sees her sample and interpolate a classic track from the elder statesmen and sees him remix his own verse in a classy rework of his 1997 hit, ‘You Make Me Wanna…’.

What makes Summer Walker stand out from her peers is the unwavering honesty and in-depth layers perpetuating through her catalogue. On ‘Over It’ she captures the nuances and intricacies of the ‘90s and 2000s R&B she grew up on, in a time when they’re often lost. But the nostalgia is kept in check by smart production choices  - ‘Body’, for example, flips 702’s ‘Get It Together’ - keeping her art fresh and provides something different. This, coupled with her narrative voice and lyrics, make her debut album a statement and suggests that the 23-year-old could soon become a staple of the R&B genre”.

Without doubt one of the best albums of 2019 and a debut album of huge originality, Over It deserves more play and focus now. Playing Games and Come Thru are great singles where Summer Walker collaborates with Bryson Tyler and Usher respectively, but I think the strongest tracks are ones where she is solo and unaccompanied – such as Body, Over It and Tonight. NME had this to offer in their review:

“R&B hasn’t, in recent years, always reflected relationships as honestly as ’90s and noughties R&B stars did. Yet on her stunning debut album, ‘Over It’, Atlanta star Summer Walker subverts the genre with a collection of subdued love songs that continues her winning streak. Her brilliant breakthrough track, ‘Girls Need Love’, released last year, set the template – emotionally raw lyrics, sultry sounds – and became a platinum smash when Drake lent a guest verse to the remix. The question is: could the 23-year-old keep up the pace across an 18-track album?

Spoiler alert: she can. There’s ’90s nostalgia on  ‘Come Thru’, which samples Usher‘s 1997 UK Number One ‘You Make Me Wanna’, though Walker flips the narrative – about a man who’s in love with two women – to relay the tale from a woman’s perspective: “Got my feelings runnin’ on a loop / This ain’t what I’m really used to”. With added hip-hop percussion, the classic song is revamped with the current sounds populating R&B.

And on ‘Just Might’, Walker is bracingly frank about the promiscuous life she just can’t resist; by laying her raspy vocals over sensual beats, she lets us not only hear the thoughts, but feel them too. When she says with a shrug that she “just might be a ho”, you can almost hear her smiling. R&B crooner PARTYNEXTDOOR takes the role of an anguished, cheated-on boyfriend; blending in a male voice, Walker gives us a 360-degree perspective on the sorry situation.

American singer-songwriter Jhené Aiko assists Walker on the aggressively named ‘I’ll Kill You’, on which the musicians sing atop spacey keys to relay their possessiveness – and sense of agency – in a relationship. If there’s one thing you learn from this stunning track, it’s that you should never test Walker and Aiko when it comes to their men. From the get-go, Summer Walker warns, “If them bitches ’round you, better be blood / If it ain’t me or your mama, shouldn’t be showin’ you no love”.

R&B fans have been waiting for a sucker-punch like ‘Over It’. There’s been a lot of insipid, cutesy output across the genre – broad brush strokes either depicting crushing over some guy, or being in gut-wrenching heartache, with little in between – but Summer Walker paints in subtler shades. This is an album of relatable, mixed emotions, the narrator promiscuous one minute and faithful the next. This is record of complex emotions, treated with a lightness of touch that ensures it’s fun as fuck. We’re far from ‘Over It’”.

I would strongly advise everyone to listen to Summer Walker’s phenomenal debut album, Over It. If 2021’s Still Over It is a slightly stronger album, one cannot ignore what came before. One of the music world’s rarest and greatest artists, Summer Walker is someone we need to treasure! Over It is, without a shadow of doubt, a…

MESMERISING album to behold.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Savages - Silence Yourself

FEATURE:

 

Vinyl Corner

Savages - Silence Yourself

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SOME people might not have heard…

of Savages. The band formed in London in 2011 and released two albums. Consisting of  Jehnny Beth, Gemma Thompson, Ayse Hassan and Fay Milton, I am going to concentrate in their remarkable debut album, Silence Yourself. It was released on 6th May, 2013 via Matador Records. I would encourage everyone to get this album on vinyl. Their second album, Adore Life (2016), is equally strong…though I have a particular soft spot for Silence Yourself. I particularly love the vocals of Jehnny Beth (who has gone on to have a successful solo career, and she has worked with the likes of Bobby Gillespie and Johnny Hostile (who co-produced Silence Yourself). It is a shame Savages only made two albums, as they are an incredible group! Maybe they burned too intensely to last that long. I hear songs from Silence Yourself played on the radio - the album is something you will want to hear from start to finish. Prior to coming to a couple of reviews for Savages’ debut album (in case you need further persuasion to get it), here is a review from Peek a Boo Magazine in 2013. They spoke with Jehnny Beth about the formation of Savages and how their debut album came together:

“Jehn, thank you very much for this interview ! First, how would you describe the music that you're playing ? There's a lot of postpunk, plus a combination of different styles of music?

I think it's a combination of the four of us. We have different backgrounds, different influences.

Did you meet the other girls in London ?

Yes. Gemma (Thompson) was playing guitar for John And Jehn, my previous band. We were on tour together for two years, that's how we got to know each other. John (Hostile) had kind of a guitar crush on her. He got interested in what she was doing and asked her to come to play with us and then after the end of the tour, she told me she wanted to do a project with Ayse Hassan, our bassist. First she asked John but he was too busy recording the Lescop album so he declined. So I proposed if she would try something with me. And we thought it would be good to have a female drummer as well, so that's how it started, really...

How did you record your first album ?

We recorded it last December for 3 weeks. It was produced by Johnny Hostile, and there was also Rodaidh McDonald in the studio.

It was recorded in London ?

Yes, at the Fish Factory studio and we recorded it mainly live. The idea was to go from one song to the other to avoid getting tired of it. We wanted to have a kind of Nirvana drum sound, and some Converge guitar sounds as well. We wanted to find something hardcore in the sound, like a punch in the face.

Do you write all the lyrics ?

Yeah, I write all the lyrics.

And the music is composed by the band...

Yes. I'm quite lucky because the girls are quite interested in the lyrics. 'Husbands', eg, is really constructed around the aggressiveness of the lyrics. It has taken so many meanings, it's really interesting. People take the song and make it their own. We did a show in LA where there was this gay couple, two guys, in the front row. They were nice. During the chorus of 'Husbands', they were sort of screaming the word to each other, while kissing and everything. I never thought that would be the meaning. I was amazed. I thought it was great. I think each of us in Savages like men and men attitudes and visions of women. We're not really into feminist things. We quite enjoy the company of men, obviously the ones we know, and we share their visions of sexuality.

You know that it can give an image of you as women who look like men and sing like men ?

It's more like having a male perspective...

Also the way you dress...

Yeah, a bit like a tomboy.. But it's a way to be comfortable most of all”.

The reaction and reception of Silence Yourself was hugely positive. Reaching the top twenty in the U.K. album chart, it still sounds so fresh and meaningful today. Such a powerful album created by such an amazing group! With critics making comparisons to Siouxsie Sioux, The Stranglers and Joy Division, there was definitely a lot of support and high expectations put on the Savages shoulders. The group lived up to that, but they created an album that was very much their voices and nobody else’s. This is what NME said in their review:

“London quartet Savages take music dead seriously, like it’s an exam. Since the release of meticulous B-side ‘Husbands’ last summer, the all-female foursome have played their cards close to their chest, choosing interviews carefully and taking their androgynous brand of post-punk with the industrial spirit of Magazine and Gang Of Four to venues nationwide. French frontwoman Jehnny Beth has moulded herself into the demonic, possessed spawn of Ian Curtis and Siouxsie Sioux. Their callous soul has sent such cold shivers up the world’s spine that the polar icecaps have likely stopped melting. Savages enter the world so fully realised and neurotically confident they’re met with a unanimous round of applause.

In theory then, debut album ‘Silence Yourself’ is flawless. Just see its monochrome sleeve – even their eyebrows look deeply important. The studied angular riffs, motorik beats and flair for tension-and-release form a confrontational soundtrack to urban friction. Every distorted note sounds under control. Savages could manipulate the screech of fingernails running down a chalkboard and make it sound melodic.

The hypnotic rhythms of tracks such as ‘I Am Here’ entrance you until you agree that this isn’t a mere album, it’s a work of art. How crafty. “I am here/No more fear/No more dark shadows”, wails Jehnny, as if comforting a lover, eventually climaxing with quivering shrieks of “I am here! I am here! I AM HERE!” like a malfunctioning C-3PO. It’s as relaxing as a Hitchcock murder scene. Jehnny’s vocal histrionics are similarly patterned throughout: ‘She Will’ (“She will! She will! SHE WILL!”), ‘Husbands’ (“Husbands! Husbands! HUSBANDS!”) etc. The former’s guitar line is the most colossal of 2013 so far.

The sequencing alone screams instant cult classic. Opener ‘Shut Up’, for example, begins with an excerpt from John Cassavetes’ film Opening Night. The middle is marked by ‘Dead Nature’, a dystopian two-minute instrumental that knocks and echoes like the inside of a grandfather clock. Final track ‘Marshal Dear’ ends proceedings with piano balladry and – zut alors! – a jazz brass solo! It ticks every box. And yet something doesn’t connect.

Savages are so hysterically overprotective of their image that music is their only message. Problem is, if you break its spell ‘Silence Yourself’ often doesn’t say much. Scratch its surface and you’ll find ‘No Face’, for example. “You have no face/You have no face/You! Have! No! Face!” Who has no face? A man? A potato? Who knows? Savages isolate themselves with their clever-clever humourless intensity. As with some modern art, you may find ‘Silence Yourself’ leaves you whispering, “I appreciated it, but I didn’t love it”.

With eleven flawless tracks that each have their own strengths and skin, Silence Yourself sounds magnificent on vinyl. An album to keep and play over and over. I will end with Pitchfork’s take on Silence Yourself:

“Savages' music feels out of step with current trends-- which I'm sure they'd take as a compliment. With its tumbling, tom-heavy percussion, singer  Jehnny Beth's Siouxsie-summoning battle cries, and the compositional emphasis placed on Ayse Hassan’s bass (in the moments when Beth is silent, the bass feels like Savages’ lead singer), post-punk is Silence Yourself’s most obvious sonic reference point. And it doesn’t matter that they missed the post-punk revival by about a decade. While the bands that dominated indie rock in the early aughts looked to Joy Division and Gang of Four for reasons that had mostly to do with rhythm, Savages’ music finds kinship with post-punk’s oppositional politics, thematic darkness, and anxiety about the dehumanizing effects of technology-- the spirit is the same, but it’s been adjusted to reflect the times. Savages’ distaste for experiencing life through a screen comes from the same place as, say, Wire’s sardonic take on viewers whose idea of adventure was living vicariously through “the Lone Ranger”; after all, if “Ex Lion Tamer” were written today, it’d probably go, “Stay glued to your iPhone.”

Which is not to say that Savages are writing scathing songs about shitty service providers; their lyrics are boldly stark, elemental, and timeless. (The titles alone hit with a blunt force: “She Will”, “Hit Me”, “No Face”, “Shut Up.”) Beth has said that the band’s writing process is less about addition than subtraction, paring each song down to its most essential shape. All of the best songs on Silence Yourself derive their power from this kind of focused intensity, from the driving, dissonant “City’s Full” to the creeping, percussive lurch of “I Am Here”. The chorus of “Husbands”, a phenomenal single first released last year, sharpens that focus down to a single word. “I woke up and saw the face of a guy/ I don’t know who he is,” Beth sings in the song’s paranoia-inducing opening moments. A Savages song is about challenging the ideas, words and desires we consider “normal”, and they’ve found that repetition is an effective way to get that point across. “Husbands, husbands, husbands, husbands, husbands, husbands,” Beth chants in a manic whisper; with each intonation, the meaning erodes from a word that’s ostensibly meant to evoke comfort, protection and familiarity until it feels faceless.

Savages really show promise and range on the slow-burners. The moody dirge "Waiting for a Sign" and goth-cabaret closer "Marshall Dear" aren't the most immediate songs on the record, but over repeated listens, they bloom. If Hassan and Faye Milton's punishing rhythm section takes the helm on the more frantic numbers, Savages' downtempo moments allow Gemma Thompson and her scuzzy Fender to shine. On the excellent "Strife," she holds back as often as she strikes, underscoring Beth's most brutal lines with perfectly timed jolts and filling the song's winding corriders with thick plumes of distortion.

The mix allows each band member’s contribution to smolder with equal intensity and lends a palpable physicality to Savages’ sound. Milton handles her toms and bass drum like a boxer going at a punching bag; Hassan’s bass strings pulsate like a throbbing tendons; Thompson’s guitar cuts with a goosebump-inducing tone that recalls a chainsaw, and Beth shrieks like she’s resetting her own bones. Combining in a constant pendulum swing between tension and release, it all provides the perfect atmosphere for the darkly sensual themes that Silence Yourself explores.

As a lyricist, Beth says she’s inspired by the “awkward places” from which “twisted, original desires” spring. “Hit Me”, a sub-two-minute tornado of squalling noise, isn’t about domestic abuse, as some people assume, but is instead about a consensual encounter described by the porn star Belladonna. (Beth: “I hate it when women are turned into victims.”) Savages might make political pronouncements in interviews and on album covers, but their songs come from a lived-in perspective as Beth inhabits her different characters’ states of mind-- and forces the listener to do the same”.

A remarkably compelling and strong album from a tremendous group. One of the vert best L.P.s of the 2010s, Silence Yourself is a remarkable listen. Go and check out the album and immerse yourself in its genius. Although the group had a relatively short time together, the mighty Savages definitely…

LEFT their mark!

FEATURE: Paul McCartney at Eighty: Paul McCartney and Me: The Interviews: Brian O’Connor (Sodajerker on Songwriting)

FEATURE:

 

 

Paul McCartney at Eighty

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney in 1964/PHOTO CREDIT: RA/Lebrecht Music & Arts 

Paul McCartney and Me: The Interviews: Brian O’Connor (Sodajerker on Songwriting)

___________

CONTINUING my run of Paul McCartney features…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sodajerker on Songwriting’s Brian O’Connor (right) alongside his co-host, Simon Barber

ahead of his eightieth birthday in June, it is time for another interview with a terrific fan of the legend. Now, I have been speaking with Sodajerker on Songwriting’s Brian O’Connor. Alongside his Sodajerker cohort Simon Barber, O’Connor spoke with the iconic McCartney back in 2018. The two have also appeared twice on Chris Shaw’s I Am the EggPod (they talked about The Beatles’ Beatles for Sale in 2019, and Paul McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway last year). I asked O’Connor about what it was like interviewing McCartney, how he regarded in his native Liverpool now (O’Connor and Barber are a songwriting duo from Liverpool), what O’Connor’s favourite Beatles, Wings and Macca solo albums are, and what his reaction to The Beatles: Get Back was. Speaking with someone who runs a podcast about songwriting, it was fascinting to learn what O’Connor had to say about McCartney as a scribe, and what he felt some of the master’s underrated tracks are. Sit back and enjoy my interview with Sodajerker on Songwriting’s Brian O’Connor, as he passionately discusses…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Collier Schorr for GQ

A songwriting hero.

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Hi Brian. In the lead-up to Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday on 18th June, I am interviewing different people about their love of his music and when they first discovered the work of a genius. When did you first discover Paul McCartney’s music? Was it a Beatles, Wings or solo album that lit that fuse?

Brian O’Connor: I’ve been aware of Paul, one way or another, since as far back as I can remember. My first recollection of him would be from the mid-’80s, when, to the 6-year-old me, he was just an agreeable-looking fellow who wore fetching sweaters, appeared on the odd chat show, and sang with animated amphibians.

Later, when I was about 10, I started paying more attention to these ‘Beatles’ characters I’d heard about and would borrow my dad’s Magical Mystery Tour, Abbey Road and White Album cassettes to listen to on my Walkman. I didn’t realise it at the time, but it was Paul’s songs that I naturally gravitated towards, especially the jaunty, child-friendly ones like ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘Your Mother Should Know’, ‘Martha My Dear’ and, yes, ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ (with, as I later realised, its less than child-friendly lyrics).

I also recall being at a school friend’s house around that same time and looking through his dad’s vinyl collection, which included some Paul/Wings stuff like Band on the Run and Red Rose Speedway. I was really intrigued by those album covers (the image of Paul with the rose in his mouth really stuck with me for some reason), although a few more years would pass before I actually listened to those records properly, and properly investigated his solo output in general.

 Like me, you must have been engrossed by The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+. How did it change your impression of The Beatles at that time, and specifically Paul McCartney’s role and influence on the rest of the band? Did you have any favourite moments from the three-part documentary?

A short while prior to watching the documentary, I’d heard Beatles scholar Mark Lewisohn - who’d listened to the Nagra tapes in their entirety - talk at length about January ‘69 and how what he’d heard on the tapes didn’t necessarily tally with the established narrative that the Get Back project was a miserable experience for everyone concerned. So, in the light of Mark’s findings, the upbeat nature of much of the footage in Peter Jackson’s doc wasn’t that much of a surprise to me, I have to say.

Similarly, I’ve read a lot about The Beatles and Paul over the years, and it’s been quite clear to me for a long time that McCartney was very much the driving force in their final years together; that, without him gently-but-firmly kicking the others’ arses, it could’ve been curtains for the band a couple of years previously. So, again, seeing Paul’s proactiveness in action, whilst utterly fascinating, wasn’t revelatory.

Having said all that, I adored the Get Back documentary, of course. Favourite moments: the rooftop finale (naturally), Billy Preston’s introduction, George generously helping Ringo with an embryonic ‘Octopus’s Garden’, Paul on the piano demonstrating how he writes songs to a wide-eyed young crew member, the moment ‘Get Back’ begins to emerge before our very eyes…But really the whole thing was a joy; as close as we’ll ever get to hanging out with those guys. Like most others who watched it, I didn’t want it to end.

“Similarly, I’ve read a lot about The Beatles and Paul over the years, and it’s been quite clear to me for a long time that McCartney was very much the driving force in their final years together”.

Following the mass adoration of that documentary, Beatles and McCartney fans will ask what more there is in the vaults. Do you think Giles Martin might choose another Beatles album to remaster? What McCartney-related release would you like to see in 2022?

I’d be very surprised if there aren’t more Giles remixes on the slate. Next year is the 60th anniversary of Please Please Me, so I’m sure that occasion will be marked in some way, although I don’t know how much bonus material exists from those sessions (or those for With The Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night etc.) to justify a boxset. They didn’t have time to fuck around in the studio in the early days, after all, so outtakes from that period will be rather thinner on the ground.

As for Macca, I’m hoping we’ll see more of those lovely Archive Collection releases, which I’ve been super-impressed with so far, even if acquiring them all has brought me close to penury. London Town and/or Back to the Egg next please, Paul, if you’re reading. (He’s reading this, right?) Anyway, this being his 80th year, I’m sure something pretty special must be in the works at MPL HQ.

If you had to select your favourite Beatles, Wings and McCartney albums (one each), which would they be and why?

My favourite Beatles album changes almost daily, but right now I’ll choose Rubber Soul because, for me, it represents an overall artistic ‘step up’ for the band; not only in the songwriting, but the musicianship and arranging too. Also, imagine having so many good songs that you can afford to bury ‘In My Life’ towards the end of side 2!

As for Wings, I’d probably plump for Red Rose Speedway. It’s an odd, ramshackle record - a bit of a hotchpotch really -, but it’s bursting with rough-round-the-edges charm and great tunes, and it’s probably the one I come back to most often. The closing medley is one of my favourite moments on any Paul record.

My solo pick would be Ram, without question. It encapsulates everything that makes Paul great – the singing, the playing, the songwriting, the inventiveness, the stylistic versatility, the sheer buoyancy of the whole thing. Ram is peak, quintessential Macca (ably assisted by Linda).

Maybe an impossible question, but what does Paul McCartney, as a human and songwriting icon, personally mean to you?

All I can really say in answer to that is whenever I’m feeling a little down in the dumps and listen to Paul McCartney’s music, I feel instantly better. It’s like a light switch comes on. His music has been doing that for me for 30-odd years now, as it has for millions of other people too. Put simply, Paul’s music makes people happy. You can’t place too high a value on an artist who’s blessed with the ability to do that, and who’s been doing it consistently for 60(!) years, whilst maintaining enviably high artistic standards into the bargain. And he’s still so into making music. His love and enthusiasm for his craft has never waned. What more can I say? The man’s an inspiration and we’re lucky to have had him around for so long.

“His love and enthusiasm for his craft has never waned”.

As you run a podcast called Sodajerker on Songwriting, would you say McCartney is one of the ultimate songwriters in terms of craft and ability? What differentiates his brilliance and style with that of his peers?

For me personally, he’s definitely at the top table, and I don’t think many would argue. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly, but obviously you’d have to cite his unusually keen sense of melody; as Bob Dylan once said of Paul: “Everything that comes out of his mouth is framed in a melody.” Then there’s his overall sense of taste; he’s a very musical person, of course, but that musicality is almost always in service to the song. So he writes great melodies, but he doesn’t overwork them to the point that they meander and become a distraction, and they always sit comfortably within the framework of the song.

He doesn’t use too many chords, even though I’m sure he has an exceedingly wide chord vocabulary in his locker should he need it. Also, when he’s at his best, his music never feels forced; there’s an apparent effortlessness to it, but there’s a lot of craft that goes into making it sound that way. Oh, and he’s an underrated lyricist too. Yeah, I said it.

You just feel like you’re in good hands when you listen to a McCartney song, that he’s not going to let you down. And he’s been not letting us down since he was a very young man.

You actually have interviewed him for the podcast! Was there extra pressure on you because he is such a revered artist? What was the experience like?

I’d be a liar if I said we didn’t feel more pressure than usual beforehand. I mean, how could we not? But at the end of the day, we had a job to do and we couldn’t allow ourselves to be overawed by the circumstances. We certainly weren’t taking meeting a Beatle and a personal hero for granted, but we wanted a solid episode out of it too!

As for the actual experience, it was a very positive one. As anyone else who’s interviewed Paul will tell you, he’s terrific at putting you at your ease, and it was no different for us. He was very warm and welcoming - even offered us something to eat from his table of veggie snacks - and, really, once we sat down and hit record it was almost, dare I say it, easy. Then afterwards as we were packing away the mics, he asked us where we got the name ‘Sodajerker’ from, so we told him and he said, “Well, it’s catchy!” We’ve worn that as a badge of honour ever since. (I just wish we’d still had the backup recorder rolling to capture it).

It’s been a few years now since we spoke to Paul, and I still can’t quite believe it happened. It always feels like I’m recounting a wonderfully satisfying dream I had.

“It’s been a few years now since we spoke to Paul, and I still can’t quite believe it happened”.

To me, McCartney is still underrated. So many of his songs do not get the credit they deserve. Are there any songs from his catalogue that you feel more people should know about?

A few that come to mind (I’ll try and avoid anything too obvious):

‘Arrow Through Me’, ‘Daytime Nighttime Suffering’, ‘Call Me Back Again’, ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’, ‘Warm and Beautiful’, ‘The Pound Is Sinking’, ‘Somedays’, ‘Dear Boy’, ‘The Other Me’, ‘At the Mercy’, ‘Only Love Remains’, ‘Ever Present Past’, ‘Spin It On’, ‘I’ve Had Enough’, ‘I’ll Give You a Ring’, ‘Dominoes’, ‘London Town’, ‘Getting Closer’.

Although McCartney does not live in Liverpool anymore, is he still talked about a lot? Are the young songwriters of Liverpool influenced by his music and genius?

Well I for one never shut up about him! It’s funny, because looking back I think that maybe McCartney had fallen out of favour a little in Liverpool back in the ‘80s. George and Ringo too. I’m not entirely sure why that was, but there did seem to be this weird prevailing attitude in the city back then that pretty much any Scouser who had gotten famous, made a few bob and no longer lived in Liverpool had somehow ‘turned their back on us’ and forgotten their roots. (Even as a kid, I thought that was bollocks, and I still do). But the tide eventually turned back in Paul’s favour, and you only have to watch his Carpool Karaoke appearance to see how much he means to his fellow scousers. Incidentally, I’ve always gotten the sense that, of all the Beatles, Paul had the strongest bond with his hometown.

As for his influence on Liverpool’s young songwriters, that’s simply undeniable, surely? He’s so woven into the cultural tapestry at this point, it’s nigh on impossible for budding songwriters in Liverpool or any other city to escape his influence.

As Paul McCartney enters his ninth decade of life in June, what would you say his legacy is? Do you think his music will be discussed decades from now?

When Paul departs this planet (and I sincerely hope he’ll be around for a good while yet), he’ll leave behind a body of work to rival that of any great songwriter or composer you care to name, and I have no doubt his influence will be felt – and his work discussed - by generations of musicians and songwriters to come.

If you could get a single gift for McCartney for his eightieth birthday, what would you get him?

The complete works of Philip Norman. Will come in handy when he’s next having a ramble through his East Sussex woodland and he wants to get a fire going.

To end, I will round off the interview with a Macca song. It can be anything he has written or contributed to. Which song should I end with?

Let’s go with: ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’. It’s Macca at his most thrillingly unhinged, and it’s a joy to behold. That vocal could strip paint…

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Clare Grogan at Sixty: The Best of Altered Images

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

Clare Grogan at Sixty: The Best of Altered Images

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ALTHOUGH her band’s…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The legendary Scottish band, Altered Images

most recent studio album was released the year I was born, Altered Images are back with a new album this year. Mascara Streakz is going to be one of the most anticipated albums for many years (it is due in August). Fronted by the incredible Clare Grogan, Altered Images are a group that has a huge and passionate fanbase. Grogan turns sixty on 17th March. I wanted to celebrate that by uniting the very best Altered Images tracks. I feel their 1981 album, Happy Birthday, is one of the all-time best. As the band’s lead, Grogan exuded such personality, energy and confidence. An amazing songwriter and performer, she is a definite icon of the late-1970s and 1980s. Before getting to the playlist, AllMusic provide a biography of the inimitable and amazing Grogan:

“The bouncy, little-girl voice of Altered Images belongs to Clare Grogan, who was working as a waitress at the Spaghetti Factory in Glasgow, Scotland when she was discovered by director Bill Forsyth. Only 17 years old at the time, Grogan was asked by Forsyth to star in his film Gregory's Girl. Both the movie and her band were suddenly tossed into the media spotlight. Born on March 17, 1962, Grogan is as well known for her acting jobs -- her performance in Gregory's Girl acquired countless raves -- as her innocuous, bubbly personality with Altered Images. Grogan formed Altered Images in 1979 with Tony McDaid (guitar), Johnny McElhone (bass), and Tich Anderson (drums).

After recording a demo, the group mailed it to Siouxsie & the Banshees, who then asked the band to be their opening act on a number of gigs. In late 1980, with Grogan's acting in Gregory's Girl receiving international attention, Altered Images was signed to Portrait. In 1981, the group released their debut LP, Happy Birthday. The title track landed at number two on the U.K. charts. With her schoolgirl vocals, Grogan was the antithesis of early-‘80s new wave heroines, completely unlike the streetwise grit of Blondie's Debbie Harry or the witches' coven gloom of Siouxsie Sioux. Altered Images weren't as successful in the U.S. as they were in England, but Grogan's appealing looks and cute voice were perfect for early-‘80s MTV. In 1983, Steve Lironi was introduced to Grogan by the group's manager. Lironi joined the band and became a good friend of Grogan's. Six years later, they became lovers; she married him in 1994. After Altered Images broke up in 1984, Grogan went solo, recording Trash Mad in 1987 with Lironi. She continued her acting career, appearing in several British TV series. In 2000, she sang on the 6ths' "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano." Two years later, Altered Images were added to the Here and Now tour of ‘80s new wave veterans such as the Human League, Visage, and Dollar”.

To honour the sensational Claire Grogan and her band, Altered Images (whose comeback album is not too far away), below is a selection of songs that shows why she is such an amazing artist and beloved person. These songs are sung and brought to life by…

 A music icon.

FEATURE: Let’s Get Back: No Doubt’s Eponymous Album at Thirty: The Band’s Ten Best Singles

FEATURE:

 

 

Let’s Get Back

No Doubt’s Eponymous Album at Thirty: The Band’s Ten Best Singles

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ON 17th March…

No Doubt’s eponymous album will turn thirty. In 1992, when the U.S. was dominated by Grunge, the Ska and Pop sounds of No Doubt, maybe, didn’t fit into the scene and sell as much as it should as. Listening back, it is a very promising album from the Californian band! Interscope refused to fund the release of a single from it, so No Doubt released its only single Trapped in a Box independently. Signing out from Interscope thereafter, No Doubt released their 1995 follow-up, The Beacon Street Collection, on the Beacon Street label. It sold over 100,000 copies, which meant Interscope agreed to fund their third album. The iconic Tragic Kingdom, also released in 1995, was their breakthrough. I have a lot of love for No Doubt. A band who were doing something different and whose sound you can hear right from the start, they would go on to become one of the most important bands of their generation. To this day, they remain unique and loved. Led by Gwen Stefani, all of the songs on No Doubt were co-written by Eric Stefani. He left the band in 1994 (though he has songwriting credits for 1995’s The Beacon Street Collection and Tragic Kingdom). The band’s final album, 2012’s Push and Shove, is a fine finale! That album turns ten in September. I wonder whether the band will mark that or do a special one-off performance? To mark thirty years of No Doubt’s debut album, I have chosen my ten favourite singles from the band – who are very much missed. It is hard to single down their best songs, but my top five may surprise some people! Here is my ranking to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the debut album from…

AN iconic band.

_______________

10. Simple Kind of Life

From the Album: Return of Saturn (2000)

Single Release Date: 13th June, 2000

Songwriter: Gwen Stefani

Producer: Glen Ballard

U.S. Chart Position: 18 (Billboard Adult Top 40)

Critical Reception:

“Simple Kind of Life" received positive reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone described the song as being "at once grand, fragile and very, very sad" and commented that "it's clear this woman whom many desire but few regard as a serious artist has penned a song that can sit on the same shelf with the likes of Elliott Smith and Aimee Mann.” Entertainment Weekly characterized the song as "manicured power pop" with a melody "buttery to the point of melting". It later included the song in a list of No Doubt's top five songs, referring to it as "musically understated (layered guitar strumming and a melancholy melody), but lyrically devastating.” Slant Magazine found the song's melodic structure odd, but was pleased by how it "unabashedly delivers double-takes". "Simple Kind of Life" was listed at number twenty-eight on the 2000 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau” – Wikipedia

9. Sunday Morning

From the Album: Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Single Release Date: 27th May, 1997

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Eric Stefani/Tony Kanal

Producer: Matthew Wilder

U.S. Chart Position: 35 (Billboard Mainstream Top 40)

Critical Reception:

“Professional critiques of "Sunday Morning" have been largely positive, both at the time of its release and retrospectively. Partridge, writing for Billboard, singled out Stefani's role as a songwriter, praising her ability to write after "constantly gaining and losing the upper hand in her romantic adventures". Mike Boehm from the Los Angeles Times stated that "Sunday Morning" is an example of "the band's improved craft" on Tragic Kingdom and complimented its ability to correlate well with the conceptual themes of the album.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the album, a panel of critics from The A.V. Club reanalyzed Tragic Kingdom. Annie Zaleski from the publication admired the track in addition to "Happy Now?" and "Excuse Me Mr."; she noted that all three of them "have just the right amount of pep". Alex McLevy was critical of Tragic Kingdom but wrote: "Luckily, 'Sunday Morning' is there to remind you just how good the band can be when it gets the recipe right." Marah Eakin, also from The A.V. Club, claimed that the single aged well despite being two decades old. She also described it as her favorite song on the parent album. In a poll held by Rolling Stone in 2016, Brittany Spanos asked her readers to vote on "The 10 Best Gwen Stefani Songs". "Sunday Morning" took fourth place and Spanos' consensus stated: "Stefani is a powerhouse on the raucous, bitter single. [...] From the moment Adrian Young's opening drum solo builds up, the song grows more and more massive and searing" – Wikipedia

8. Settle Down

From the Album: Push and Shove (2012)

Single Release Date: 16th July, 2012

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal/Tom Dumont

Producer: Spike Stent

U.S. Chart Position: 34 (Billboard Hot 100)

Critical Reception:

“The song was generally well received by most music critics. Randall Roberts of the Los Angeles Times said that, "It's a song made for summer in the Southland: big beats designed to pop out of sunroofs and rolled-down windows, to rumble the nuts and bolts of Impalas across Orange County and down Hollywood Boulevard.” Popjustice said the song was "brilliant" and noted the familiar sound of No Doubt present in it, writing, "In terms of signature sound the track doesn't really mess around – this is definitely a No Doubt tune, rather than a Gwen one – but it gives the less Popjustice-friendly end of the No Doubt 'sonic' 'palette' a swerve, and by that we mean it goes easy on the ska-punk racket side of things." Lily Rothman of Time commended No Doubt for not "[messing] with their signature sound.” Crystal Bell of Huffington Post said that "it has a slight reggae feel – harking back to the band's SoCal roots – but there's also a radio-friendly hook."

Jason Lipshut of Billboard wrote that "the melodies are snipped while others are shoehorned into place, and Stefani's lyrical conversation with herself sounds more exhaustively constructed than effortless." Nick Bassett from The Re-View also praised how: "'Settle Down' takes it back to No Doubt's early music-making roots, effortlessly fusing their early ska-pop vibe with catchy hooks and one brilliant chorus, manhandled perfectly by lead singer Gwen Stefani." Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing: "The verses are reggae heavy, from the horns to Stefani's accented delivery. The Jamaican-inspired choruses are more addictive than any drug you can think of. From the sounds of this, you'd be more apt to believe Stefani and co. are from the islands, as opposed to So Cal. If this song doesn't inspire you to dance, or to 'get in line and settle down,' not much else can." Andrew Unterberger of Pop Dust also gave the song 3.5 stars, writing, "It's a good song, especially for the summer and it would have been just as good a song in the summers of 2002 or 1996. It won't get the group a lot of new, young fans, but old-school fans will doubtless be appreciative." Robbie Daw of Idolator agreed, calling it "amazingly bombastic, joyous reggae-rock track, which manages to sound like No Doubt in both 2012 and 1995." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy called it "a welcome return to their signature sound; thankfully it sounds as fresh as it did in their heyday." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the song "somehow manages to be both silly and cool” – Wikipedia

7. Spiderwebs

From the Album: Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Single Release Date: 19th November, 1995

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal

Producer: Matthew Wilder

U.S. Chart Position: 29 (Billboard’s Adult Top 40)

Critical Reception:

“In addition to several other tracks from Tragic Kingdom, Noisey's Nick Levine praised "Spiderwebs" for having a chorus "that will bounce round [sic] your brain for days". Tom Breihan from Stereogum praised No Doubt for managing to get radio stations to select "Spiderwebs" for airplay, writing: "kids like me still wound up thinking it was cool that ska was getting onto the radio." He also claimed that the song's "central melody [...] will get stuck in your head for days and days".

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Tragic Kingdom, a group of critics from The A.V. Club reanalyzed the album and its songs. Alex McCown felt that No Doubt "found a musical sweet spot" with "Spiderwebs", calling it one of the catchiest songs on the album. Kenneth Partridge, from the same publication, acclaimed Stefani's "beautiful and slender voice" in the track. He also stated that the lyrics of the song made it "hard to call the nineties anything else but classic". In a 2016 readers' poll compiled by Rolling Stone magazine, "Spiderwebs" was voted as Stefani's fifth-best song of all time” – Wikipedia

6. Trapped in a Box

From the Album: No Doubt (1992)

Single Release Date: 25th February, 1992

Songwriters: Eric Stefani/Tom Dumont/Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal

Producers: Dito Godwin/No Doubt

U.S. Chart Position: Did Not Chart

Music Video:

“After the disappointing sales of No Doubt, Interscope did not wish to finance the release of a single from the record. However, the band financed the shooting of a video for the song "Trapped in a Box" out of their own pockets. Roughly $5,000 was spent on it. The video got local airplay in Orange County. It was also aired on MTV, but it was never aired on VH1, although it was played on MuchMusic in Canada. It failed to achieve status on any chart. In 2003 the song was released on No Doubt's greatest hits compilation album The Singles 1992-2003 and the video was released on the companion DVD of music videos, The Videos 1992–2003.

This is the only music video to feature original keyboardist Eric Stefani, who left in 1994. The video was directed by Mike Zykoff” – Wikipedia

5. Don’t Speak

From the Album: Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Single Release Date: 15th April, 1996

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Eric Stefani

Producer: Matthew Wilder

U.S. Chart Position: 1 (Billboard Adult Top 40)

Chart Performance:

“Upon release, "Don't Speak" immediately began to receive extensive airplay and it eventually became the most widely played song on American radio in 1996. It reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay chart and maintained that position for 16 non-consecutive weeks, a record at the time. Despite its copious airplay, "Don't Speak" was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 since no commercial single was released for it in the United States (a requirement for charting purposes at the time). Slate magazine music critic Chris Molanphy has stated that if the song had been eligible to chart, it almost certainly would have claimed the number one spot. An import CD did sell in the US, but this format was not allowed to chart either.

On other Billboard charts, "Don't Speak" stayed at number two on Alternative Airplay chart for five consecutive weeks, blocked by the band Bush's single "Swallowed". The song also proved to be a crossover hit, reaching number one on the Adult Top 40 chart for 15 consecutive weeks as well as numbers six and nine on the Adult Contemporary and Rhythmic charts, respectively. It was ultimately placed at number one on the Hot 100 Airplay year-end chart of 1997.

Internationally, "Don't Speak" was also very successful. In February 1997, it peaked at number one in both the United Kingdom and Ireland for three weeks. Elsewhere in Europe, "Don't Speak" reached the top position in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Australia was another major music market where the song received widespread airplay, debuting at number one and maintaining the peak position for eight weeks” – Wikipedia

4. Just a Girl

From the Album: Tragic Kingdom (1995)

Single Release Date: 21st September, 1995

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Tom Dumont

Producer: Matthew Wilder

U.S. Chart Position: 23 (Billboard Hot 100)

Critical Reception:

“Critiques of "Just a Girl" during its release era were positive. Mike Boehm wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Stefani's lyrics of "irony and indirection" make the serious subject matter of "Just a Girl" more appealing to the listener. Music Week rated the song three out of five, adding, "This Californian quartet sound quirky enough with Bolanesque vocals, an ear for a good song and a spiky punk image." In addition to several other tracks from Tragic Kingdom, Nick Levine from Noisey praised "Just a Girl" for having a chorus "that will bounce round your brain for days".

Contemporary critics described "Just a Girl" as No Doubt's breakthrough single. It was also considered a major contribution to the success of Tragic Kingdom Kenneth Partridge from Billboard recognized "Just a Girl" as the song that made No Doubt popular and secured Stefani's role in the music industry as the opposite of "some delicate flower who needs protecting or tolerates special treatment".[34] Mic's Tom Barnes found that "Just a Girl" helped popularize the ska genre and called it part of a "potentially serious music movement". Ilana Kaplan from Observer wrote that "it was 'Just a Girl' that really set things into motion for No Doubt"; she continued:

The song was featured in '90s cult hits Clueless and Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion—movies that served as power-players for unlikely female heroes. Stefani's aim at a male-centric world ended up being one of the most prominent feminist anthems of the '90s—it's a song that stands out now as the music industry's misogynistic outlook continues on. Stefani's sarcasm for a lack of equality made "Just a Girl" one of the catchiest feminist anthems of the '90s.

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Tragic Kingdom, a group of critics from The A.V. Club reanalyzed the album. Marah Eakin noted that "Just a Girl" was able to "age [...] surprisingly well". Although Alex McCown disliked Stefani's pouty vocals on the track, Annie Zaleski thought her "exaggerated pouts and simpering" were intentional and dealt with the song's subject matter” – Wikipedia

3. Hella Good

From the Album: Rock Steady (2001)

Single Release Date: 13th April, 2002

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Pharrell Williams/Chad Hugo/Tony Kanal

Producers: Nellee Hooper/No Doubt

U.S. Chart Position: 13 (Billboard Hot 100)

Critical Reception:

“About.com ranked the song number one in a list of the top five singles from Stefani's career, with the band as well as solo, reasoning by saying that the song's "bumping contemporary beat pushes along 80's style keyboards making it nearly impossible to keep from moving your body." Blender described it as a "blazing start" to Rock Steady and compared it to the work of pop group Was (Not Was), rapper and producer Timbaland, ska punk band Fishbone, and electro DJ Afrika Bambaataa. The NME also compared the song to Bambaataa's music as well as that of Britney Spears and Duran Duran. PlayLouder called the track outstanding and compared Nellee Hooper's production to the electroclash style of Chicago house DJ Felix da Housecat. Entertainment Weekly characterized the song as a sequel to Madonna's 1985 single "Into the Groove”. The publication listed "Hella Good" seventh on its list of the top singles of 2002. It went on to include the song in its list of the top five No Doubt songs, in which it described the song as "a dance-pop delight irresistible enough to make you forget that ''hella'' is one of history's most irritating slang terms." Stylus Magazine was pleased with the use of overdubbing in the song's "anthemic rock chorus", but referred to its lyrics as stupid. Billboard referred to the group as the B-52's of the 2000s and praised "Hella Good"'s combination of a strong bassline; "fairly aggressive electric guitar accents"; Kraftwerk-style electronics; and Stefani's "loose, playful" vocals. The song was listed at number twenty-six on the 2002 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau” – Wikipedia

2. Ex-Girlfriend

From the Album: Return of Saturn (2000)

Single Release Date: 13th March, 2000

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Tom Dumont/Tony Kanal

Producer: Glen Ballard

U.S. Chart Position: 2 (Billboard Alternative Airplay)

Chart Performance:

“Ex-Girlfriend" failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 chart but reached number 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100. It did manage to find popularity on US alternative rock stations, allowing it to peak at number two on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming No Doubt's highest-charting single on that listing alongside their breakthrough hit single, "Don't Speak". Abroad, the single experienced more success, reaching number six in Iceland and number nine in Australia and Spain, as well as the top 20 in Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland. In Australia, the song was certified Gold and came in at number 80 on the country's year-end chart for 2000. In the United Kingdom, the song became No Doubt's fifth top-40 hit, debuting and peaking at number 23 on the UK Singles Chart and spending three weeks in the top 100. In Ireland, the song reached number 40 and spent two weeks in the top 50” – Wikipedia

1. Hey Baby (ft. Bounty Killer)

From the Album: Rock Steady (2001)

Single Release Date: October 2001

Songwriters: Gwen Stefani/Tony Kanal/Tom Dumont/Rodney Price

Producers: Sly and Robbie/No Doubt

U.S. Chart Position: 5 (Billboard Hot 100)

Critical Reception:

"Hey Baby" received generally positive reviews from music critics. LAUNCHcast's Lisa Oliver described the song as a mix of "spacesynth" and ragga that "bursts with Batman punches." Colleen Delaney of Stylus Magazine was unimpressed by the lyrics' double entendres and noted that the toast and "deep, booming production save this song from being thin" but that it remained "inane and unengaging". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine found the song a return to the band's roots, and that it finds No Doubt "sunnier (and tighter) than ever" as a result. Entertainment Weekly included "Hey Baby" in a list of the band's top five songs. About.com ranked the song number three in a list of the top five singles from Stefani's career, with the band and as a solo artist, for her "simultaneously sounding like she understands the hippest of contemporary pop (the Bounty Killer guest rap doesn't hurt) while having the wisdom of an adult several years out of high school." The song was listed at number thirty-eight on the 2002 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau.

The band's endeavor in dancehall music received mixed reviews. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine viewed the toast as a mistake, and Blender's Rupert Howe found the foray into dancehall misguided, leaving Bounty Killer sounding bored. Alex Needham wrote for the NME that the song was a strong example of "white reggae" but that many listeners may not be able to tolerate the genre itself. For Entertainment Weekly, David Browne described the chorus as "big, bustling, and irresistible" and its hip hop influence as kicky. In the BBC review of The Singles 1992-2003, Ruth Mitchell wrote that the chorus was addictive and chiming and that the song had a "catchy dancehall groove" – Wikipedia

FEATURE: One for the Record Collection! Essential April Releases

FEATURE:

 

 

One for the Record Collection!

IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg/PHOTO CREDIT: Holly Whitaker for DIY 

Essential April Releases

___________

IT is that time of the month…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Confidence Man

where I look ahead to see which great albums are forthcoming you need to pre-order. I will get to the albums out next month that are worth getting. As I say in all of these features: some dates may be pushed back or change between now and the time the albums are due to come out. There is a bumper crop of April-due albums that everyone needs to pre-order. Let’s start with 1st April. There are no fools that week! Two great albums are out that week that I want to point people in the direction of. Australia’s Confidence Man are putting out the sensational and must-hear Tilt. Go and pre-order an album that is going to lift the spirits and be among the most engaging and finest of 2022:

“In this world, nothing is certain except taxes, death and Confidence Man. They are unstoppable, unquenchable, undeniable, and if you get in their way, you’re gonna get hurt. Not even a global pandemic could stop Janet, Sugar, Reggie and Clarence from producing an album so fierce, flirty and full of anthems that you might need to sit down before you hit play. Welcome to Tilt, Confidence Man’s second album on Heavenly Recordings. Confidence Man’s debut, Confident Music For Confident People, was one of the joys of 2018, laced with savage lyrics and rapturous melodies; a north star of euphoria in an increasingly joyless world. Since then they’ve teased us with the occasional dance-floor snack, but with their follow up album Tilt they are finally serving us the main meal. “We’ve been trying for the most epic, hands up, euphoric anthem for a while and this is the first time we’ve come close… Turns out it’s pretty difficult, but nothing’s too hard for con man.” Sugar Bones circa 2021 “No one tells Confidence Man what to do. Who said a Holiday can’t last forever? Spend big and live free, that’s our motto. And it can be yours too. A vacation is just sunburn at premium prices but a holiday is a state of mind.” Janet Planet circa 2021”.

Also coming in on 1st April is Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love. The legendary U.S. band are preparing their twelfth studio album. Not just an album for fans of the band, I would encourage people to check out and pre-order this album. It is going to be a stonker from a band who, since their formation in 1983, have given us some unbelievable music! I am certainly going to investigate the album when it comes out on 1st April:

“Red Hot Chili Peppers release their twelfth full-length offering, Unlimited Love. It notably marks their first recording with guitarist John Frusciante since 2006 and first with producer and longtime collaborator Rick Rubin since 2011.

Unlimited Love resumes a three-decade partnership with Rick Rubin [Johnny Cash, Adele]. Their creative collaboration spans legendary albums, including the diamond-selling Blood Sugar Sex Magik [1991], Californication [1999], By The Way [2002], and Stadium Arcadium [2006].

The interplay between the band borders on intergalactic once again - yet elevated to another stratosphere altogether. Unlimited Love represents the united spirit of four individual souls still fearlessly exploring the future of their eternal friendship and musical congregation”.

Hopping to 8th April, and there is a selection of awesome albums that you should think about pre-ordering. It is a bit of a cheat, but BANKS’ Serpentina is available from 8th July. I will cover it again nearer the time, but it is available for streaming from 8th April I believe. In any case, it is an album that you need to get involved with:

“Platinum-certified, Banks, releases her highly anticipated fourth album, Serpentina. The musician enters previously uncharted territory in every sense—from sound to lyrics to visuals, and everything in-between.

"In the past, I've been really tight and controlled, and I don't feel like that right now," says Banks. "I just feel more wild and free."

Featuring singles 'The Devil' and 'Skinnydipped,' the 13-track Serpentina started taking form in the early days of quarantine, when Banks decided to use the time under lockdown to master the production software Ableton.

Despite being heavily involved with the production across all of her previous three records, it was her first time fully in control. "It felt like opening up a whole new world," says Banks. "It feels like a journey listening to it from the beginning to end”.

Two albums that are out on physical formats on 8th April. Father John Misty’s Chloë and the Next 20th Century is a gorgeous album that you should pre-order. Father John Misty is one of the most original and special artists. Everything he releases is luscious, beautiful and highly listenable. This will be no exception:

“Father John Misty returns with Chloë and The Next 20th Century, his fifth album and first new material since the release of God’s Favorite Customer in 2018.

Chloë and the Next 20th Century was written and recorded August through December 2020 and features arrangements by Drew Erickson. The album sees Tillman and producer/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Wilson resume their longtime collaboration, as well as Dave Cerminara, returning as engineer and mixer. Basic tracks were recorded at Wilson’s Five Star Studios with strings, brass and woodwinds recorded at United Recordings in a session featuring Dan Higgins and Wayne Bergeron, among others.

Chloë and the Next 20th Century features the singles “Funny Girl”, “Q4”, “Goodbye Mr. Blue”, and “Kiss Me (I Loved You)”.

2LP++ - Limited edition deluxe 2xLP box set with a gorgeous hardcover book containing both LPs pressed on clear red vinyl, a poster, and two bonus 7” singles featuring covers of Chloë and the Next 20th Century songs, performed by Lana Del Rey (“Buddy’s Rendezvous”) and Jack Cruz (“Kiss Me (I Loved You)”)”.

Although The Linda Lindas say on their Twitter that their album, Growing Up, is out on 8th April, you cannot buy the album until June. Unlike BANKS, I am not sure whether the digital version is out on 8th April. Instead, I want to recommend is Jack White’s Fear of the Dawn. His fourth studio album, it is the first of two this year from him (Entering Heaven Alive is the other). I would advise everyone to go and pre-order Fear of the Dawn. Released on his Third Man label, Fear of the Dawn is going to be a great album. This article from January reacted to an interview White gave to ALT 98.7 FM, where he talked about the sound of his two new albums:

“Jack White is releasing two albums this year: Fear of the Dawn on April 8 followed by Entering Heaven Alive on July 22. Now, White has explained the distinction between the two albums, which are said to be very different-sounding projects.

In an interview with Los Angeles radio station ALT 98.7 FM on Friday (January 7), White put it like this: "This first album is called Fear of the Dawn and it's really hard — like, lots of really hard-hitting tracks like 'Taking Me Back.' They all seem to hit together in that sort of box. The other album is very mellow — almost sort of like a Sunday morning album to me."

He explained that he didn't intend to make two distinct albums, but as he begin working on music, the songs fell into two distinct styles.

"I usually just write and record, and then eventually it starts to tell me what it is," he said. "I usually don't say, 'This is the kind of record I'm going to make.' I didn't in this case either. I just kept writing and recording as it was happening, with no real urgency to it, because of the lockdown. 'Cause I was like, 'Well, who knows if we're going to be playing shows or when a good time for another record to come out would be anyway.'"

White said that his next single will be out this week. This time, he will be releasing a single from the more mellow album, Entering Heaven Alive”.

On 8th April, Kae Tempest releases their album, The Line Is a Curve. Go and pre-order this album from one of Britain’s most truthful and important songwriters:

“Kae Tempest the award-winning Sunday Times – bestselling author, poet and recording artist returns with the new Dan Carey produced album. It features guest spots from Grian Chatten, Lianne La Havas, Confucius MC, assia and Kevin Abstract.

The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. The core of the record is that the pressures we face do not always have to be heavy burdens, but can be reframed; the more pressure a person is under, the greater the possibility for release. The album plays like a chronicle of pressures - the mind-numbing pursuit of a comfortable life, the eternal striving for more, the pressures of the city, the country, the times. The pressures of maintaining relationships, of battling illness, addiction, poor mental health, the vacuous life of our online selves. As we move through these chronicles though, the mood brightens. The musicality becomes more expansive as the lyrical horizon broadens and we glimpse coastlines, high streets, scrap yards, train stations in the rain; the entire album begins to let go. We encounter the contributions of artists who I love and admire, guest vocalists and instrumentalists, and so we defeat the sense of isolation felt in the opening track with a sense of deeply connected community.

More Pressure, the penultimate song, is the essence of the whole album and the epiphany that leads to Grace, which is a prayer, a surrendering; ‘Please move me, please move through me, please unscrew me, please loosen me up.’ But once we get to the end of Grace, and the album, we loop back to the start – to ‘Kiss off the day with a mute mouth. Pass the commute like I can die faster than you.’ Because no matter how much a person grapples with, realises, deeply understands, about life and their place in it, we still wake up in the morning back to square one. Life isn’t solved the minute you figure something out about it. It’s a daily operation to increase your resilience, cultivate a deeper acceptance, let go of what’s chasing you and lean in to the pressures. It’s cyclical, as I believe all things are. And instead of trying to fight the cycles, this album asks us to surrender to them. To let go. • These general themes, of acceptance, resilience, surrender are also about where I’m at in my personal life, in my journey towards a greater acceptance of myself as an artist and as a human being. Being more honest with the world and my community about who I am and letting go of some heavy heavy shame, which is a glorious thing. • This album has a beautiful heart, there is so much love running through it and I can’t wait for people to experience it”.

Let’s Eat Grandma’s follow up on 2018’s I’m All Ears with Two Ribbons. This is another album I would point people towards, as it is going to be sensational and full of songs that will stay in your head for ages:

“Let’s Eat Grandma, the duo composed of songwriters, multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Rosa Walton and Jenny Hollingworth, release their third full-length album. Two Ribbons was co-produced by David Wrench and Let’s Eat Grandma. Standouts include the title track "Two Ribbons” which is a slow, melancholic moment of quiet that deviates from their almost industrial dancefloor fillers. The single contains reflections from Jenny on how the pair are still bound together through their compassion for each other, tight as ever, although slightly frayed and world-worn. “Hall Of Mirrors” is an ethereal, glistening pop song about a beautiful, intense moment remembered,

The band has been through a lot in the last three years, and Two Ribbons is the artefact that signals some kind of progression out of distressing times; a story of loss, change, and of survival; a proof of life. Such was the intensity of Jenny and Rosa’s bond that when they promoted their first album, they positioned themselves as twins. Friends since early childhood, they had graduated into a teenage friendship that was unbreakable and practically telepathic. Those intense and all-consuming friendships are subject to the same ebbs and flows as any other, and as they grew older the two began to find themselves as individuals, tastes differing here, reactions jarring there. There was a time when both felt a little trapped, and needed to fight to create the space to express themselves as individuals within their relationship. And so the partnership began to fray.

PHOTO CREDIT: SHOT BY PHOX 

Two Ribbons can be heard as a series of letters between the two of them, taking the place of conversations as they try to make sense of the rift in their relationships. It’s a cathartic blood-letting and a devastating realisation about the fickleness of life. Though it is still very much a Let’s Eat Grandma album, for the first time there are Rosa’s songs and Jenny’s songs. Both Rosa and Jenny found themselves more involved in the production of this album, experimenting with new sounds and diverse instrumentations within the studio, collaborating with David Wrench, also the primary producer of I’m All Ears. On this record Rosa in particular threw herself into the behind the scenes work and driving her own sonic agenda, whilst Jenny sought to synthesise new influences to forge new spaces artistically for the group. The backdrop to Two Ribbons is two women navigating their way through a lot, for the first time without the tiller of each other to guide them. The songs they wrote and eventually brought to each other are little pockets of light in the darkness, signals in the night to show each other how they were feeling and what they had lost. Two Ribbons is an album that treads a fine line expressing the most intimate feelings of, whilst making space for, the different perspectives of two women; an album that says this is not the beginning or the end but part of a never-ending circle. It’s cyclical in nature; there is sadness, and pain, and joy, and hope – and knows that no matter what detours we take, we are all connected”.

Another incredible duo who are releasing an album on 8th April are Wet Leg. Perhaps the most-anticipated debut album for some years, Wet Leg is an album that is already getting a lot of buzz. Having released a string of singles, we get a sense of what Wet Leg’s eponymous album might provide. It is one you need to pre-order:

“After releasing two of the hottest singles of 2020, Wet Leg’s Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers were catapulted from their confines on the Isle of Wight to sold out venues across the UK and packed-out tents at festivals causing giddy excitement wherever they went. Now, the duo unveil their debut album.

Wet Leg was recorded and produced in the main by Speedy Wunderground’s Dan Carey (“Chaise Longue” and “Angelica” were produced by Jon McMullen and Josh Mobaraki respectively). The album was mostly recorded in London, in April 2021, meaning they had a finished album before the world had even heard debut single “Chaise Longue” or played live.

Right from the start of Wet Leg, Teasdale and Chambers focus was fun, and a dry sense of humour ripples through the album.

Wet Leg is sad music for party people, and party music for sad people. It is cathartic and joyful and punk and scuzzy and above all, it's fun”.

There are five albums due on 29th April that I want to recommend. I will flip ahead to 22nd April and two albums you need to pre-order. Fontaines D.C.’s Skinty Fia is going to be a corker from the Dublin band. Available on a range of vinyl formats, do go and pre-order a very special album from a band who continue to grow and build on their debut promise:

“2020’s A Hero’s Death saw Fontaines D.C. land a number 2 album in the UK, receive nominations at the Grammy's, Brit's and Ivor Novello Awards, and sell out London’s iconic Alexandra Palace. Now the band return with their third record in as many years: Skinty Fia. Used colloquially as an expletive, the title roughly translates from the Irish language into English as “the damnation of the deer”; the spelling crassly anglicized, and its meaning diluted through generations. Part bittersweet romance, part darkly political triumph - the songs ultimately form a long-distance love letter, one that laments an increasingly privatized culture in danger of going the way of the extinct Irish giant deer”.

Produced by Jorge Elbrecht, also recently Grammy-nominated and known for his work with Sky Ferreira, Japanese Breakfast, and Wild Nothing, Giving the World Away is Hatchie’s most thunderous, sprawling work yet. Featuring extensive input from longtime Hatchie collaborator Joe Agius, it takes the celestial, shimmering shoegaze and pop sensibilities of her earlier releases, but with the volume knob cranked up tenfold. Built out with percussion from Beach House drummer James Barone, it’s synthed-out, sonic opulence, a more structured and ornate musicality with traces of ‘90s trip-hop and acid house influences.

Pilbeam initially intended for these songs to go in a higher-energy direction - she had the distinct vision of a Hatchie show turned dance party, inviting more movement and vibrancy into her live shows. But then, between Covid and the lockdowns in Australia, Pilbeam retreated more into herself, and that introspection and self-discovery served as the true inspiration for the record. Again and again across ‘Giving the World Away,’ she returns to that same theme – dismantling internalized shame and finding gratitude and steadiness, and finally being able to trust herself. Pilbeam grew up the youngest in her family, a self-described “big baby,” but says the last year and a half gave her the space to understand herself better. After years of emotional avoidance, here she excavates her fears fully.

Giving the World Away is an album about self-confidence, about reclamation, about the strange time in young adulthood where you begin to finally be able to see yourself clearly. Incisive and probing, Giving the World Away is the clearest look at Pilbeam yet, and a relic of the power and bravery that spring forth from embracing vulnerability and putting your heart on the line”.

Let’s concentrate on 29th April, and a day when quite a few terrific albums are coming out. The first is Honeyglaze, by the trio of the same name. The London-based band are going to share a very special album with us. Go and pre-order an amazing album that will get a lot of love:

“First Copies on all formats come with a fanzine. Honeyglaze are the South London based, Haiku loving trio comprised of vocalist and guitarist Anouska Sokolow, bassist Tim Curtis, and Yuri Shibuichi on drums. Born out of lead songwriter Sokolow’s un-desire to be a solo-act, the group met officially at their first ever rehearsal- just three days ahead of what was to become a near-residency, at their favoured ‘The Windmill’, Brixton. Forming a mere eighteen-months ahead of a subsequent eighteen-months of mandatory solitude, a parallel that’s both aligned and universally un-timely, Honeyglaze, at first appearance, are a group who play with chance, time, and synergetic fate, in mannerisms few others are able to do. Pricking the ears of seminal producer Dan Carey and his team of merry taste-makers: Speedy Wunderground (Tiña, Squid, Black Country New Road), the Speedy Wunderground / Honeyglaze partnership would manifest into a dynamic that, despite not having met prior, quite simply, just worked.

Much like the eponymously debuted statements of contemporary folk-singer Bedouine’s ‘Bedouine’, ‘Crosby, Stills and Nash’, or, dare we suggest Madonna’s ‘Madonna’, Honeyglaze the album presents to the world an audibly picturesque documentation of soul-searching, in all its figment’s of reality; a proclamation of cultivated intent which in turn creates a subliminal safe-space between relatability and self-projection, and creative-comradery paired with introspective artistry.

A self-described “opposite to a concept album” that sonically encapsulates the who, what, where and how of their individual circumstances coming together as one, Honeyglaze is a meticulously transformative feat of which, in their own eyes, is a “quite accurate” sonic encapsulation of who the trio believe to be. This is storytelling at its most soulful, and Honeyglaze presents human-instinct in a manner that accepts all of the insecurities that come from their present adolescence, whilst acknowledging the formative maturity that’s earned when we allow ourselves to embrace the unknown, of our futures ahead.

“If someone is going to find you special – then you want to show what’s most special about yourself” notes Curtis. “Then you can do what you want from there.” Mixing the personal with romanticised ideals in ways that are simultaneously heart-wrenching, and humorous to a dead-pan effect, there is no one trajectory for Honeyglaze who’s greatest ability, is finding ways to present what’s written in-between the lines, in moments of beautifully well-versed clarity. In their own words: “Hi we are Honeyglaze, and there’s no time to explain”.

Another tremendous album will come from Lola Kirke. The English-born, American-based actor and musician releases Lady for Sale on 29th April. From what I have heard of the album (singles released), it is promising to be a simply stunning release. I can confidently recommend that people go and pre-order an album that will put Kirke’s music in some new hands and ears:

“Lola Kirke stands out like a flash of neon magenta in this nostalgic landscape of Americana tin-types. While many of her singing, songwriting peers look further back for inspiration, Kirke’s sweet spot is decidedly in the excess of the 80’s. Anyone only familiar with Kirke through her on-screen performances (Mistress America, Gone Girl, or Mozart in the Jungle) may be surprised by just how dazzling Lola-playing-Lola can be. Just a few lines into “Better than Any Drug,“ it’s clear no written role could reveal more of Kirke’s wit, lust for life, and sense of humor than this record captures with the help of producer Austin Jenkins (White Denim, Leon Bridges).

The 10-song sophomore full-length album showcases Kirke’s unselfconscious, country-twinged vocals alongside a brightly coloured candy shop of glam-twang guitar riffs, department store tv commercial synth stylings, and swooping, lilting, unabashedly feminine background vocals. Lady For Sale channels a high-spirited insouciance that feels invigorating and familiar, decidedly more easy-going and fun-loving than what we’ve come to expect from its genre (and the world in general) in recent years. This is a party you’ll want to attend”.

Bloc Party’s Alpha Games is an album that you will want to check out. Their first album in six years, that is a reason to pre-order a pretty incredible release from a band who continue to evolve their sound and release really good music:

“Bloc Party return with their forthcoming sixth studio album Alpha Games, via Infectious / BMG. Alpha Games is the band’s first studio album since 2016’s Hymns, and the first Bloc Party album written and recorded as this four piece; adding the musicality of Justin Harris (bass) and the unbridled energy and power of Louise Bartle on the drums to capture the spark of their live shows and to deliver the most exciting Bloc Party album yet.

Alpha Games, produced by Nick Launay and Adam Greenspan (Nick Cave, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, IDLES), includes new single Traps, which sees the band returning to the raucous, high-octane sound of their earliest work in an outburst of propulsive post-punk. The album’s 12 tracks veer from the intense and confrontational (Traps, Day Drinker) to melodic and introspective (If We Get Caught, By Any Means Necessary), and marks a new and important chapter in one of music’s most important voices in Kele Okereke and important bands in Bloc Party”.

There are a few 29th April-due albums I want to include before finishing off. Melody's Echo Chamber’s Emotional Eternal is the first. The project is the work of French musician Melody Prochet. Her 2018 album, Bon Voyage, was one of the best of the year. The follow-up looks set to be incredible. Go and pre-order this gem:

“Emotional Eternal, the third studio album from Melody’s Echo Chamber, is a deeply human collection of songs full of prolonged moments of sonic transcendency – a record that clearly exhibits its maturity but still regards the world with a childlike wonder. Having swapped Paris for the clean air of the Alps, Melody hopes the record “has that uplifting quality. I made some big and impactful decisions and changes to my life. It took me to where it is peaceful, and I think the record reflects this”.

The final album I will highlight is Toro Y Moi’s MAHAL. Go and pre-order this one, as it looks like it will be one you cannot miss out on:

“Toro y Moi’s seventh studio album, Mahal, is the boldest and most fascinating journey yet from musical mastermind Chaz Bear. The record spans genre and sound—encompassing the shaggy psychedelic rock of the 1960s and ‘70s, and the airy sounds of 1990s mod-post-rock—taking listeners on an auditory expedition, as if they’re riding in the back of Bear’s Filipino jeepney that adorns the album’s cover. But Mahal is also an unmistakably Toro y Moi experience, calling back to previous works while charting a new path forward in a way that only Bear can do.

Mahal is the latest in an accomplished career for Bear, who’s undoubtedly one of the decade’s most influential musicians. Since the release of the electronic pop landmark Causers of This in 2009, subsequent records as Toro y Moi have repeatedly shifted the idea of what his sound can be. But there’s little in Bear’s catalog that will prepare you for the deep-groove excursions on Mahal, his most eclectic record to date.

The second the album begins we’re immediately transported into the passenger seat, jeep sounds and all, ready for the ride Chaz and company have concocted for us. Seeds of some of Mahal’s 13 songs date back to the more explicitly rock-oriented What For? from 2015. Mahal was mostly completed last year in Bear’s Oakland studio with the involvement of a host of collaborators, Sofie Royer and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Neilson to Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo and the Mattson 2.

“I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine,” he explains. “To have them live on that record feels grounded, bringing a communal perspective to the table.” As a result, Mahal is lush and surprising at every turn, from the cool-handed “The Loop,” which recalls Sly and the Family Stones, to the elastic psych rock of “Foreplay” and the dizzying Mulatu Astatke-recalling of “Last Year.”

Lyrically, the album zooms in on generational concerns, picking up where the Outer Peace standout “Freelance” effectively left off. Bear seems to be surveying the ways in which we connect with technology, media, each other, and what disappears as a result. Cuts like the squishy “Postman” and the “Magazine” take a deep dive into our relationship with media in a changing digital world. “It’s interesting to see how we adapt to this new age. We’re so connected, but we’re still missing out on things,” Bear ruminates while discussing the album’s themes.

It’s not all introspection. Bear cools things down near the album’s end with the Mattson 2-featuring “Millennium,” a laid-back jam with tricky guitar licks about ringing in new times even when everything else seems upside down. “It’s about enjoying the new year, even when it’s been shitty,” Bear explains. “There’s nothing else to do.” Finding a sense of joy in the face of adversity is embedded in Mahal’s DNA, right down to the jeepney that literally and figuratively brings the music out into the community. “We know that touring is messed up for now, and large gatherings are a fluke,” he explains. “It’s about the notion of us going out to the people and bringing the record to them.” And with the wide-open atmosphere of Mahal, Toro y Moi stands to connect with more listeners than ever before”.

Quite a few amazing albums out next month that you need to pre-order. There are a couple that have been announced but I cannot find anywhere you can order the album (I am writing this on 11th March; a link could appear near the end of the month). There will be other albums coming out next month that pass me by, though the above are all confirmed and should keep you occupied! With Wet Leg’s eponymous debut the highlight of the month, it is going to be pretty exciting! If you need some guidance about the albums to get next month, then I hope the above suggestions…

HELP you out.

FEATURE: Revisiting... BANKS - III

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Revisiting...

BANKS - III

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IN a feature that looks back…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Stephen Wilson

at great albums from the past five years that are worth a new spin and look now, I have spent some time with BANKS’ III. It was released on 12th July, 2019 through Harvest. Ahead of her fourth studio album, Serpentina, on 8th April (she released the latest single from the album, Holding Back, on 25th February), her current album needs spotlighting. It received some positive reviews but, in my opinion, many were more mixed and did not get to the heart of III. It is one of BANKS’ strongest works, filled as it is with incredible music. The California artist said the album was called II because it is about the beginning, middle, and end of her life. Reaching number twenty-one on the Billboard 200, perhaps it was a lower album placing than it deserved. III is definitely due some fresh love. I think the album has one or two songs not up to BANKS’ normal high, but the range of sounds are brilliant! More emotive and softer songs sit alongside the more upbeat rushes. III satisfied existing BANKS fans recruited new ones. I gained new appreciation for BANKS after hearing III. Before showing a couple of positive reviews for BANKS’ third studio album, there are interviews from 2019 that are worth highlighting. Vanity Fair spoke with BANKS, where we learn how III marked a moment of growth and change for her:

“At the beginning of her career, the musician Banks made the decision to tour nonstop. After a song she uploaded to her SoundCloud made it all the way to the BBC, she found herself opening for The Weeknd. She didn’t have time to think; she had to adjust quickly. “Especially as someone who is quite introverted in a lot of ways, it was definitely a big adjustment,” she said in a recent interview, reflecting on the road that led her album III, which is out today. “I never really took a break.”

Eventually it caught up to her. “I think I was past my limit of exhaustion, and I wasn’t physically feeling well at all,” the 31-year-old said. “I needed a break.” After dropping her sophomore album The Altar in 2016, she wanted to take some time for herself and remember her own identity as Jillian Banks, beyond her stage name.

So she decided to settle in one place. “I have been pretty much nesting in Los Angeles and really working through stuff and healing and writing,” the singer said. “When you’re touring and performing in front of all those people and you’re giving so much energy to so many people, it’s not quite normal…I needed some time to replenish my soul in really human ways.”

Recorded at Henson Studios in L.A., the new album represents a moment of growth for Banks, partially because she turned 30 while she was recording it. “[Thirty] comes with being more at peace with yourself and giving less fucks,” she said.

The album’s first single, “Gimme,” is meant to celebrate that maturity. “It felt like an unapologetic reintroduction,” she said. “It’s about knowing what you want, demanding it and saying it out loud,” she said. “In order to say, ‘Gimme what I deserve,’ you have to have a lot of confidence, and I think that’s what I love about it; it’s just about getting what you want, knowing what you deserve.”

Despite her internal changes, her trademark gospel-soul-tinged vocals remain. She also sought the help of a small group of collaborators: Frank Ocean’s music director Buddy Ross, Bon Iver producer BJ Burton, and DJ/producer Hudson Mohawke.

One collaborator in particular came as a surprise. While recording her debut album, 2016’s The Altar, Banks had an intense relationship with someone she coyly declined to name that fueled some of the songwriting. “It was very obvious, and I hadn’t spoken to him so I was scared to see him,” she said. But a few years later, they became friends. He wound up playing her a song that he couldn’t finish, called “Godless,” and said it was about her. While Banks typically writes her songs solo, she couldn’t help but want to finish it. “I pretty much finished this song that was originally about me,” she laughed. “But it turned into something about that relationship.… It’s beautiful, but it’s a little bit twisted if you look at it on the surface.”

Relationships are a throughline on III, but they don’t all come to such a pleasant end. On “Stroke,” she sings about the allure and simultaneous misery of dating a narcissist. “It’s really impossible to be with a narcissist,” she said. “If you’re an empath, it’s a dangerous combination.”

The record closes out, however, on a hopeful note with “What About Love.” She is more optimistic than jaded there, and the song ends with a snippet of her four-year-old niece saying “I love you.” “Something about [that song] feels really naïve, and I think that’s why I wanted to end on it,” she said. “Because despite whatever you go through, I always want to feel hopeful”.

When talking with Harper’s BAZAAR, BANKS explained how this was very much the same artist making III; she was addressing issues and traumas that, perhaps, were hidden or overlooked when she was recording previously:

“Making III meant revisiting previously "blocked out" traumas and finding a new way forward from them.

"I guess I’ve just grown a lot [since The Altar came out in 2016] and my music always reflects what I’m going through in my real life. I feel like I’m just in a different place and so the music sounds different. I mean, it’s still coming from me, so it’s not like a different human is making it. It’s just I was working through some things on this album that I had maybe blocked out in the past, with certain coping mechanisms or whatever.

"There’s like a youthfulness and a naivety that I wanted to capture on the album. Songs like 'Sawzall' and 'What About Love;—they feel to me like they come from this really pure place, when you’re really bright-eyed and young, before you’ve gone through stuff. It’s not that you’re naïve, but you haven’t been hurt yet, so you view things with a different-colored glasses on. I never wanna lose that. It was really important for me to capture that type of energy on this album."

"Gimme" is about staking a claim in whatever the fuck you want.

"['Gimme' is about] just, y’know, owning it. Getting what you want. Being loud about admitting who you are and what you want, and being proud of that, and having fun with it! It’s fun being a powerful woman, and playing around, and announcing your power. And I feel like, for me, that song does that, whether it’s about a relationship, whether it’s about getting a fucking raise… it’s about being like ‘I deserve what I want so I’m gonna get it, and if you don’t give it to me, I’m going to snatch it.’"

Women's reproductive rights are under attack and, like all of us, BANKS feels the very real political threat.

"It’s so sad what’s happening right now. I can’t even… I’m speechless about it. It feels unreal and unbelievable. For me, when I make music, it’s such a fluid process… it’s not really in my brain, it’s in my body. So, I’m sure things that I’m feeling subconsciously affect my music.

"But I don’t think I read politics, or anything that’s going on in that realm, and then think, 'That’s going to affect my music.' It’s more like, if you read that abortion is now illegal in some places, that is going to fuck with your head. That’s terrible. Then, if you go into the studio and you’re feeling pretty heavy, that might affect the song you make that day”.

Despite a few average reviews, there was general positivity for the incredible III. This is what AllMusic had to say in their review for one of 2019’s strongest and most personal albums:

“Three years after her electronically robust sophomore outing, The Altar, and Banks has grown. On her aptly titled third set, III, she continues her upward trajectory with improved vocals and production value, presenting a wiser version of herself with more mature lyrics focused on longing, love, and loss, and fresh, expansive atmospherics that toy with her usual alt-R&B stylings. There's a refreshed spirit coursing through III that transforms her typically chilly and hypnotic aura into something grander. Whereas her first two releases maintained a fairly homogeneous, dark synth energy, III features a number of surprises that elevate the effort to new heights in her catalog. Key collaborators help buffer her vision, with frequent Kanye West sidemen Hudson Mohawke ("Gimme") and Francis and the Lights ("Look What You're Doing To Me"), R&B crooner Miguel ("The Fall"), and Adele/Rihanna producer Paul Epworth ("Hawaiian Mazes") contributing to a handful of highlights. In addition to the aforementioned "Gimme" and "Hawaiian Mazes," the throbbing "Stroke" features a late-song funk-bass injection that not only shifts the mood of the track, but also of the entire album. Later, the tribal "Alaska" and '80s synth pop gem "Propaganda" have the same effect, hinting at exciting new directions for future compositions. These creative bursts help Banks deliver her most accomplished statement to date, a collection brimming with emotion, attitude, and unexpected delights”.

The final thing I want to include is CLASH’s review of III. They had a lot of positive things to say for a passionate and powerful artist whose lyrics – perhaps her strong suit – are at their most astonishing and direct:

“BANKS is a formidable artist. Her creativity as an avant-pop singer merges with her vulnerability in a way that she’s now mastered, making music that’s as provocative as it is heart breaking (at times) - and she’s maintained this with her latest album.

The opening track, ‘Till Now’, is a declaration of sorts (“And you been messin’ me around ‘till now”) and sets the tone for how the rest of the album will unfold, while ‘Gimme’ - the album’s first single - is electrifying with its synth-heavy sound and futuristic, electronic production.

BANKS’ lyrics are as direct as ever (“You want me to stroke your ego”). She isn’t afraid to share her feelings with listeners.

‘Sawzall’ begins life as an acoustic, stripped back track with BANKS’ vocals stripped back too, creating a very truthful feeling song. In this spirit of honesty, ‘Look What You’re Doing To Me’ (feat. Francis and the Lights) is an upbeat track, about the exuberance of being in love. The production is eccentric, but it works.

‘Propaganda’ is an attention-grabber of a song, as is ‘The Fall’, which exudes passion in its delivery. The final two tracks ‘Made of Water’ and ‘What About Love’ are soft, soulful tracks, both tinged with sadness. ‘What About Love’ is a beautiful ending to the record.

BANKS is ever-evolving and ‘III’ is definitely a progression for her as an artist. The more upbeat tracks are interspersed among softer, more delicate, heartfelt ones that represent the duality of her personality and also increase its replay value”.

A remarkable album from an artist whose upcoming album, Serpentina, is going to among this year’s most-anticipated and best. I really love III. I feel it didn’t quite get the same respect and airplay as it deserved. We definitely need more songs from III played today. Even though it has a lot of producers attached, and III was recorded at quite a few different studios, that does not detract from the singularity of BANKS’ talent. It is rife and in fertile evidence right throughout her…

THIRD studio album.

FEATURE: This Woman’s Work/And So Is Love: Kate Bush and a Natural Kindness

FEATURE:

 

This Woman’s Work/And So Is Love

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart/Popperfoto via Getty Images

Kate Bush and a Natural Kindness

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THIS sort of ties in…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush signing The Dreaming at the Virgin Megastore, Oxford Street, London in September 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Pete Still

with features I have in mind about The Dreaming. Kate Bush’s fourth studio album is forty in September. It is worth celebrating that anniversary, as it is a terrific album with so many interesting stories and moments attached. There are a couple of incidences of kindness from Bush that relate to The Dreaming. As I have been referencing UNCUT’s recent edition (where they have a twelve-page spread about The Dreaming), one thing that stood out to me is how much respect people had for her. This is no surprise. In previous features, I have talked about her hospitality, generosity of spirit and the way, as an artist and producer, she brought the best out of everyone she worked with. Reading anything about Bush and her albums, everyone who worked with her had something kind to say. She was keen to listen to everyone and have their voices heard. Bush’s niceness was evident during The Dreaming. Several people who worked with her received gifts. Howard Gray was sent chocolates and a signed copy of the album. Terri Reid was given a Nintendo Game & Watch video game for Christmas. For an artist so ahead of her time and visionary, she had her hands full recording that album. Even though it was exhausting and challenging, Bush managed to keep her finest qualities intact. Other artists would simply have recorded the album and left the personnel with a simple thanks. Bush seemed to go out of her way to reward and thoughtfully touch those who worked with her.

Rather than this simply blowing smoke a bit and finding a flimsy excuse to praise Bush, it is more a way of highlighting how a genius and music pioneer has this incredible human side. A warmth and enormous generosity that goes alongside immense talent and ability. Sticking with The Dreaming – and something I may return to -, and fans who attended signings of the album remarked how Bush had time for them all and let people kiss her on the cheek. Not someone who merely got things like this out of the way as quickly as possible, she was keen to see the fans and thank those who came out to get The Dreaming signed. It must have been slightly unnerving being faced with huge lines of adoring fans! Dignified, sweet and generous, she gave so much time and affection to those who bought her album. When she was working on The Tour of Life in 1979, it could have been easy to do a huge thing like this with so many people and having a somewhat collegiate relationship with many. As it transpires, she learned everyone’s name (right down to the cleaners) and created this family. Protective to everyone, the love and natural warmth she gave to everyone was reciprocated. Whether it was material goods or providing time and support, Bush’s kindness was evident. I know of times when Bush gave chocolates and a handwritten note to people (men) who worked with her.

There would have been one or two who wondered whether this was romantic or something more. It was just Kate Bush being herself and very giving! There was a time when Tony Visconti wrote a letter to Kate Bush and her was close to producing The Dreaming (Visconti produced David Bowie’s 1979 album, Lodger, and I think Bush took some inspiration from that album). Bush turned him down, but she was very sweet and kind about it, explaining if she was going to have another producer work on her album, then it would be him. One can look at her upbringing and how there was a lot of love and warm hospitality around. That was not the case for everyone who was young in the 1950s and 1960s. Bush was from a very loving and, yes, well-off family, so I think she was brought up to respect and be kind to everyone but be humble with it – rather than being very extravagant or throw wealth around. When Bush was awarded a CBE in 2013, she dedicated it to her family, friends and musical collaborators. Through the years, as I have written before, she has raised money for charities by selling her music at a pop-up shop, or donating items for an auction. CRISIS is a charity close to her heart that she has given so much to. Bush has also appeared on charity singles. She was part of a cover of The Beatles Let It Be in 1987 with a host of other artists. She appeared on Spirit of the Forest, a 1989 Live Aid-style charity single that also included Iggy Pop, Kim Wilde, Fish from Marillion, the Jungle Brothers and the Ramones.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at a fan convention in 1994 at the London Hippodrome

She gave so much time to everyone around her. Supporting important causes and giving gifts and lovely notes to people who worked around her, I feel this immense kindness and love has never dimmed. Bush was a regular contributor to her fanzine. She is said to have once interviewed herself in the guise of an American journalist called Zwort Finkle. She has always loved the fans and those she worked alongside. Even though she has not released new music for over a decade, she is still inspiring people and showing that natural and unflinching kindness and thoughtfulness. We have definitely not heard the last of Kate Bush, either as a recording artist or someone who appears (virtually) in the public eye. She is someone who is always thankful of the support she is given, and, in turn, she gives back so so much to so many others. I was thinking about The Dreaming and how she was so kind and giving to people who worked on the album. This sense of largess and benevolence goes back to before her debut album. It has continued to this day. I was eager to write about some of Bush’s generous moments and, if it needed to be reiterated, prove how respected she is. How much love she gave to other people. There is no doubt Kate Bush is someone with a beautiful soul and…

A huge heart.

FEATURE Paul McCartney at Eighty: Fourteen: The Essential Four Albums of the Underrated Paul McCartney & Wings

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Paul McCartney at Eighty

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney and Wings circa 1972/PHOTO CREDIT: AP/REX/Shutterstock 

Fourteen: The Essential Four Albums of the Underrated Paul McCartney & Wings

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WHEN it comes to the amazing…

 PHOTO CREDIT: GAB Archive/Redferns

Paul McCartney & Wings (or simply ‘Wings’ if you prefer), there is a lot of love for 1973’s Band on the Run, but not the other albums. The band released seven studio albums between 1971 and 1979.A Although there are a couple of less-than-sensational albums in the pack, I actually feel there are a few very strong albums that were written off at the time. As there is not great re-evaluation of Paul McCartney & Wings, I wanted to observe how the band are underrated, and also nod to four of their albums everyone should check out. As part of this run of features ahead of Paul McCartney’s eightieth birthday in June, I am assessing various moments and times of his career. His time with Paul McCartney & Wings is really interesting. I think he wrote some of his best tracks with the band. The band are often considered to be far inferior to The Beatles and even Paul McCartney’s solo work. I also think many of McCartney’s solo albums are undervalued. I have also compiled a playlist of the best Paul McCartney & Wings songs. Before coming to the four albums of their everyone should seek out, udiscovermusic.com wrote about how the band released a strong of successful singles and delivered some stunning live shows:

“It’s impossible to do justice to a career as diverse and creative in so few words. Paul McCartney doesn’t only have solo albums to his name, but also work with Wings, his post-Beatles break-up band: a revolving cast of musicians with Paul and Linda at its heart. During their lifespan, which was longer than that of The Beatles, Wings had 12 Top 10 singles in the UK and 14 Top 10 US singles. Their British No.1 albums included Band On The Run, Venus And Mars and Wings At The Speed Of Sound. Paul McCartney’s post-Wings work has also included its fair share of No.1 albums, Tug Of War, Give My Regards To Broad Street and Flowers In The Dirt.

When The Beatles finally called it a day in April 1970 the last thing that most people expected was for Paul McCartney to form another band so soon and embark on a rigorous and lengthy schedule of touring. He’d seemed set on pursuing a solo career on his own terms; his first solo album, McCartney, was recorded during the last days of The Beatles and was released in the same month that their break-up was officially announced. In an age when excess in music was becoming more prevalent McCartney, with its pared-down basic arrangements and almost demo-ish feel, was savaged by the press, which made no odds really because it was a No. 2 UK album and hit No. 1 in the US chart. It’s an album that has improved with age and in retrospect can be seen as a strong statement of intent from McCartney about the sort of songs he wanted to write in future and the way he wanted to present them. His enduring appeal was further emphasised the following February when the non-album single, ‘Another Day’, was a No. 2 hit. Now co-billed with his wife Linda, he made Ram, which was released in May 1971 and reversed the chart positions – it was a No.1 album in the UK and No. 2 in the US. A remarkable achievement by anyone’s standards as neither album contained a hit single.

Sensibly ignoring ‘critical’ indifference and obviously revitalised by the opportunity of making music on his own terms again, and the popularity of his new material, he decided to take his music out on the road and, in August 1971, formed his band Wings in order to do so. Consisting of himself on bass and vocals, Linda on keyboards and vocals, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine and ex-session drummer Denny Seiwell, they first made an album, Wildlife, released in December 1971, which the press had a field day with but which nevertheless reached No. 8 in the UK album chart and No. 10 in the US. With the addition of guitarist Henry McCullough from Joe Cocker’s Grease Band, they took to the road for the first time and played a low-key UK college tour in order to get the band into shape.

Controversy then surprisingly ensued when in February 1972 Wings’ first single, ‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish’, was banned from the radio. Written as a response to the events of Bloody Sunday the month before it was perhaps a naive gesture but it inflamed a section of public opinion on the mainland enough to dent its success. It was, not surprisingly, a No. 1 hit in Ireland. And then a few months later McCartney rekindled the fuss by releasing what amounted to a children’s single, ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’, which many people interpreted as retaliation for the censorship he’d been a victim of. None of this predictably had a long-term effect on Wings’ assured popularity.

Two Top 10 singles followed ‘C’Mon’ and ‘My Love’, the latter taken from their second album, Red Rose Speedway, a No.5 UK album. May and June 1973 saw them undertake a very successful UK tour and release another Top 10 single – the title song for the new James Bond film Live And Let Die – a recording that reunited McCartney and George Martin.

The following month rehearsals began for the band’s next album, which received a setback just before recording started when both Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough left the band. Reduced to a trio they flew to Nigeria to record Band On The Run at EMI’s studio there in Lagos. Conditions were a little less sophisticated than they were used to, and the country was in political turmoil, so it wasn’t an easy, comfortable ride, but Band On The Run, against all the odds, turned out to be both a critical and commercial triumph. In October 1973 ‘Helen Wheels’, again a non-album single originally, was a No. 12 UK hit and then in December the Band On The Run album came out, soared to No. 1 in both UK and US album charts, went triple platinum, yielded two Top 10 singles the following year ‘Jet’ and the title track, and became the best-selling UK album of 1974. The album is a pop masterpiece to this day and as thorough a vindication to his critics, as was possible. Even ever-discerning ex-songwriting partner John Lennon told Rolling Stone it was “a great album. You can call them Wings but it’s Paul McCartney music. And it’s great stuff.” It sold over six million copies during its period in both the UK and US charts, appeared regularly in lists of ‘Greatest Albums of All Time’ and was the last record McCartney made for Apple (the label). The striking cover was also a talking point, featuring the band plus six very assorted celebrities of the day – Michael Parkinson, Kenny Lynch, James Coburn, Clement Freud, Christopher Lee and John Conteh – posing as convicts caught in the spotlight whilst attempting escape. A 1999 25th Anniversary CD reissue of Band On The Run included a bonus disc of live material plus ‘Helen Wheels’. It remains Wings’ crowning glory and album to rank with the very best.

In May 1974 the trio line-up was expanded again with the addition of Jimmy McCulloch (ex-Thunderclap Newman and Stone The Crows) on guitar and Geoff Britton on drums. Britton only played on the subsequent ‘Junior’s Farm’ single before being replaced by Joe English in time for the recording of the next album, Venus And Mars, in November in the States. Preceded by yet another Top 10 UK single ‘Listen To What The Man Said’ Venus And Mars suffered critically in comparison to Band On The Run but it was still indisputably a huge success – a No.1 album in both the UK and US. And the touring continued relentlessly. The Wings Over The World tour, starting in the autumn of 1975, took in a staggering 10 countries in 13 months as the band swept through the UK, Australia, the US and twice around Europe before ending in a four-night stand at Wembley’s then Empire Pool. Almost as relentless was the continuing stream of chart albums and singles. In April 1976 the Wings At The Speed Of Sound album was released and ‘Silly Love Songs’ and ‘Let ‘Em In’ (both UK No.2 entries) extended the run of hit singles. A mammoth live triple-album, Wings Over America served to reinforce the growing view that Wings were a proper band as opposed to just McCartney’s backing group and was a No.1 album in the US and reached No. 8 in the UK.

The hit machine that Wings had become rolled on. In May 1978 ‘With A Little Luck’ was a No. 1 single in the US and a No. 5 here and the less strident and pop-orientated London Town album nevertheless charted in the Top 10. A Wings Greatest compilation at the end of 1978 marked time while McCartney worked on a solo album, McCartney II, a sign perhaps that Wings were due to land for good before too long. When a new single was released it was the disco-flavoured, Chris Thomas-produced ‘Goodnight Tonight’ and aroused sufficient interest to chart at No. 5 on both sides of the Atlantic. It was their last hit single though and the June 1979 album, Back To The Egg, confirmed for many that Wings had run its course creatively if not commercially. It still racked up a decent No. 6 UK chart placing but the press were almost unanimously dismissive.

There were still touring commitments to be met, however, and with a brass section, they toured the UK and were about to tour Japan when McCartney was arrested in Tokyo for possession of marijuana and sent back to the UK whereupon he released McCartney II and cancelled a proposed Wings tour of the US. And apart from some recording sessions for the still-unreleased Cold Cuts album of Wings’ outtakes, that was about it for the band called Wings. Life on the road eventually took its toll on McCullough and English though and they both departed at the end of the globetrotting tour leaving the band a trio once again. After a live version of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ only grazed the UK Top 30 the band took a well-earned break before re-emerging with perhaps their most contentious single, the love-it-or-hate-it ‘Mull Of Kintyre’. Thankfully for McCartney and friends enough people loved it to keep it at the top of the UK singles chart for nine weeks and to make it the biggest selling, non-charity, UK single ever until 1997, when Elton John‘s ‘Candle In The Wind’, re-released at the time of Princess Diana’s funeral, superseded it.

In recent years, Paul has gifted us a succession of old-time popular classics, specifically classical and original works, notably 2013’s aptly named New, produced with Giles Martin, Ethan Johns, Mark Ronson and Paul Epworth. Warmly received, it includes the standout childhood homage “Queenie Eye” and the title cut, and was promoted with select shows in well-chosen venues.

In 2016, the compilation Pure McCartney popped up. Available in standard and deluxe editions, it chronicled large chunks of the man’s career with Wings, along with his solo albums. More recently, Flowers In The Dirt became the tenth release in the Grammy Award-winning Paul McCartney Archive Collection series. Featuring the original 13-track album, remastered at Abbey Road Studios, it was also expanded with previously unreleased tracks, rare unseen footage, memorabilia, and special packaging. Check out the nine original acoustic demos recorded with Elvis Costello, Macca’s handwritten lyrics, Linda’s previously unpublished images, and a Linda McCartney exhibition catalogue from 1989”.

If you think that Paul McCartney & Wings are a band who are a minor music footnote or only released one great album, the four albums below, I feel, are ones that you need to hear. Yes, I am including Band on the Run, as I could not leave that out! In each case, I have tried to find a positive critical review for the albums, and I have selected the tracks from each that I think are the best. Paul McCartney & Wings lasted longer than The Beatles, and they put out more than their share of terrific albums and singles. Ahead of Macca’s eightieth birthday in June, I wanted to salute…

A fantastic band.

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Red Rose Speedway

Release Date: 30th April, 1973

Label: Apple

Producer: Paul McCartney

Standout Tracks: Big Barn Bed/Little Lamb Dragonfly/Medley: Hold Me Tight/Lazy Dynamite/Hands of Love/Power Cut

Key Cut: My Love

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/paul-mccartney-and-wings/red-rose-speedway

Review:

“All right, he's made a record with his wife and a record with his pickup band where democracy is allegedly the conceit even if it never sounds that way, so he returns to a solo effort, making the most disjointed album he ever cut. There's a certain fascination to its fragmented nature, not just because it's decidedly on the softer side of things, but because his desire for homegrown eccentricity has been fused with his inclination for bombastic art rock à la Abbey Road. Consequently, Red Rose Speedway winds up being a really strange record, one that veers toward the schmaltzy AOR MOR (especially on the hit single "My Love"), yet is thoroughly twisted in its own desire toward domestic art. As a result, this is every bit as insular as the lo-fi records of the early '90s, but considerably more artful, since it was, after all, designed by one of the great pop composers of the century. Yes, the greatest songs here are slight -- "Big Barn Bed," "One More Kiss," and "When the Night" -- but this is a deliberately slight record (slight in the way a snapshot album is important to a family yet glazes the eyes of any outside observer). Work your way into the inner circle, and McCartney's little flourishes are intoxicating -- not just the melodies, but the facile production and offhand invention. If these are miniscule steps forward, consider this: if Brian Wilson can be praised for his half-assed ideas and execution, then why not McCartney, who has more character here than the Beach Boys did on their Brother records? Truthfully” – AllMusic

Band on the Run

Release Date: 5th December 1973 (U.S.)/30th November 1973 (U.K.)

Label: Apple

Producer: Paul McCartney

Standout Tracks: Jet/Mrs. Vandebilt/Let Me Roll It

Key Cut: Band on the Run

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/778278?ev=rb

Review:

“Although Paul McCartney had previous and future albums where he played virtually every instrument, this album is probably his most important accomplishment. Beyond stepping in at the last moment to provide the bulk of guitars and drums, McCartney also forged fine vocal melodies and chameleon–like changes in tone and inflection to fit the mood of each track. His arrangements are spectacular, especially on the mini-suites, and the productions are rich. This was also the album where McCartney first really started to develop his own style on bass and brought it up to the forefront of the mix.

The opening title song “Band On the Run” is one of the absolute classics of McCartney’s solo career. This three-part medley follows sequentially (at least among album tracks) the 4-part medley which ended Red Rose Speedway. After a complex two-minute intro, the third, acoustic-driven title part is the melodic payoff. The song strikes the balance between being experimental with unique structure yet accessible enough to make it impossible to be ignored by the pop world. McCartney credits George Harrison for coining the term “Band on the Run” during an acrimonious Apple board meeting in the Beatles’ final days.

“Jet” is a great follow-up to the fantastic opener with layers of sound, and an exploding chorus (like a jet). This rocker has great harmonies and background vocals in general and the title may have been influenced by the McCartney’s Labrador Retriever. Unlike most of the rest of the album, recorded in Nigeria, “Jet” was recorded back at EMI’s Abbey Road Studios in London.

The first side concludes with a couple of unique rockers. “Mrs Vanderbilt” is a driving acoustic tune with chanting vocal inflections during the verses and a great bass line throughout, which really stands out. The opening lines borrow from a catchphrase from music hall performer Charlie Chester. While recording in Lagos, the studio suffered a power outage so overdubs were later added in London. “Let Me Roll It” contains a bluesy rolling guitar riff during the verses and use of tape echo on the vocals, following a Fafsa organ and bass intro. The tune has long been considered to be an answer to John Lennon’s “How Do you Sleep?” from his 1971 album Imagine.

Side two begins with the very bright and acoustic “Mamunia” with more melodic and bouncy bass throughout. The lyrics are a bit nonsensical, more wordplay than meaning, but a cool synth lead near the end adds some variety and a new level to the sound. “No Words” is an electric song with judicious use of orchestra and sounds a lot like Harrison, vocal-wise. It jumps through several sections rapidly with differing instrumental arrangements, sounding somewhat under-developed and confused. It was the only song on the album partially credited to Denny Laine. “Helen Wheels” takes a simpler rock/pop approach with some whining vocal effect above a hook good enough to make it a hit song, peaking at #10 in the U.S. and #12 on the U.K.

“Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)” is another attempt at a multi-part suite, starting as an acoustic, almost Scottish folk tune and evolving through sections with clarinets, heavy strings, and even some odd percussion added by Ginger Baker, who was also recording in Nigeria at the time. The repetitive nature tilts a bit towards the infamous “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)” with its repetitiveness and contains slight reprises of “Jet” and “Mrs Vanderbilt” in the mix. The album concludes with “Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five”, a great closer which really gets into the beat and rhythm with a vaudeville flavor. It takes some judicious breaks for vocal chorus with sustained organ before coming back to great effect and builds towards a climatic ending with heavy brass brought in to add to the tension before it finally breaks and abruptly reprises in the chorus of “Band on the Run” which fades the album out” – Classic Rock Review

Venus and Mars

Release Date: 27th May, 1975

Label: Capitol

Producer: Paul McCartney

Standout Tracks: Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Letting Go

Key Cut: Listen to What the Man Said

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=48955&ev=mb

Review:

“After the fantastic “Band on the Run” from less than 2 years prior to this album, it was becoming more clear as time went on that Wings was going to have the potential to be another legendary band like the Beatles—all with one guy being in and writing for both of them. Sure, “Wild Life” may have been just okay at best, but the likes of the underrated “Red Rose Speedway” and the aforementioned exceptional “Band on the Run” made it to where things were looking great for Macca’s second huge band. And even though Wings wouldn’t quite make it to that legendary status in the long run, they’re still remembered as a damn good underrated band by many, nonetheless—myself included. And this album would help continue to cement that forever, as this very well might be the band at their peak. While some could argue it’s not as straightforward as “Band on the Run”, it has it’s own qualities that make it every bit as good, but for different reasons. In fact, some aspects are simply better than anything the band has done previously.

One of those aspects is diversity. That’s not to say any of the previous albums had none, but I feel this one pulls it off the most flawlessly. And that’s because even though it has a lot of variety, it all still comes together as one complete package, and a damn fun one at that. Whether it be the hard rockin’ “Rock Show” and “Medicine Jar”, the beautifully hypnotic title track (both versions) and “Love in Song”, the adorable and wonderful ragtime dance callback “You Gave Me the Answer”, the bouncy and hooky “Magneto and Titanium Man” and “Listen to What the Man Said” (the former being awesome comic book references), the slower, yet soulful “Letting Go”, the bluesy and ambiguous “Spirits of Ancient Egypt”, the boisterous and heartfelt “Call Me Back Again”, the beautiful and mature “Treat Her Gently - Lonely Old People”, or the rockin’, yet orchestral instrumental “Crossroads” that wonderfully closes the album, there’s more than enough here to warrant this album having something for everyone—and yes, I did just cover the whole track list in one overly long sentence. And while I may have included two songs in some of the examples I gave, there’s still no song here that sound quite the same as any other on this album.

And it’s not just diversity that this album excelled at. It’s the writing, as well. It was clear that Macca and company wanted to go above and beyond compared to their last album. And they did that by not just incorporating more diversity, but some more themes as well. Examples being the aforementioned comic book inspired “Magneto and Titanium Man”, as well as the aforementioned rocker and tragically ironic anti-drug song “Medicine Jar” sung by Jimmy McCulloch, who passed away far too young due to heart failure brought on from morphine and alcohol poisoning. Still a great song, and one good way to help cement his legacy as an underrated rock musician. That’s not all though. Even love songs like “Spirits of Ancient Egypt” and “Listen to What the Man Said” have themes of their own to push the creativity of them as high as possible—much like the rest of the album. Mix all of that with every song having excellent hooks, and what you’ve got here is a collection of songs that really really work.

Overall, it’s a damn shame how mixed the reception of this album seems to have been, because there’s really nothing about it I dislike. The music is great, the composition is superb—even from Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch, the production is consistently great, the structure is solid, and the focus is still there. It is one of the most creative and rewarding albums I’ve ever heard at this point, and one that I’m happy to see get more attention as time goes by. Do yourself a favor and check this out, because this is one hell of a rock show that will prove difficult in letting go, as it’ll give you the answer to what a mid ‘70s masterclass is—regardless of what some critics may say” – Sputnikmusic

London Town

Release Date: 31st March, 1978

Labels: Capitol (U.S.)/Parlophone (U.K.)

Producer: Paul McCartney

Standout Tracks: London Town/Backwards Traveller/With a Little Luck

Key Cut: I’m Carrying

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/1034649?ev=rb

Review:

“Reduced to the core trio of McCartney, McCartney, and Laine after the successful Speed of Sound tour, London Town finds Wings dropping the band façade slightly, turning in their most song-oriented effort since Band on the Run -- which, not coincidentally, was recorded with this very trio. And although its high points don't shine as brightly as those on its two immediate predecessors, it's certainly stronger than Speed and, in its own way, as satisfying as Venus and Mars. What London Town has in its favor is Wings' (or, more likely, McCartney's) decision to settle into slick soft rock, relying on glossy, synth-heavy productions as he ratchets up the melodic quotient. This gives the album a distinctly European flavor, a feeling that intensifies when the lyrics are taken into the equation, and this gives London Town a different flavor than almost any other record in his catalog. And if its best moments aren't as strong as McCartney at his best they, along with the album tracks, find him skillfully crafting engagingly light, tuneful songs that charm with their offhanded craft, domesticity, and unapologetic sweetness. McCartney's humor is in evidence here, too, with the terrific "Famous Groupies," which means there's a little of everything he does here, outside of flat-out rocking. It's a laid-back, almost effortless collection of professional pop and, as such, it's one of his strongest albums” – AllMusic

FEATURE: Funtime: Iggy Pop’s The Idiot at Forty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Funtime

Iggy Pop’s The Idiot at Forty-Five

___________

THERE is a bit to cover off…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Iggy Pop and David Bowie during the tour for Pop’s 1977 album, The Idiot/PHOTO CREDT: Rex Features, via Associated Press

when it comes to the upcoming forty-fifth anniversary of Iggy Pop’s The Idiot. Released on 18th March 1977, it was released following the breakup of The Stooges in 1974 (the band since reformed), it was co-written by David Bowie. He also produced the album. I often wonder whether The Idiot is more a collaborative album that an Iggy Pop solo album. I am not sure if that is a concept. Like, today, Charli XCX and Taylor Swift recording songs together and producing together. It is definitely something that should happen more. Struggling addiction and compelled to rehabilitate and stop, Pop accepted an invitation to accompany David Bowie on his Isolar Tour. Bowie was also struggling with drug addiction (1977’s Station to Station found him heavily involved with cocaine). The fact was each wanted to help the other. Bowie agreed to produce the album, and, between them, they created something wonderful! Even if The Idiot is a dark album and is a tough listen in places, it has endured and influenced so many others. I will come to the impact of the album soon. Before then, there are articles and reviews that are worth combining, just so we can get a feeling of how important and enduring The Idiot is. Maybe not as regarded and acclaimed as Pop’s next album, Lust for Life (also released in 1977), The Idiot is a fascinating album that features some of Pop’s best tracks. UNSUNG discussed the brilliance of The Idiot, and the fact both Iggy Pop and David Bowie were in bad places in 1976 (it was recorded between June and August of that year):

“In the middle of the 1970s David Bowie and Iggy Pop were both struggling with the demons of their drug addictions. Iggy Pop had destroyed his mind through heroin and David Bowie had numbed his emotions through cocaine.

Iggy Pop had struggled with substance abuse throughout his tenure as the frontman of The Stooges. The band fired bassist Dave Alexander in August 1970 because he was an alcoholic and the band broke up for the first time in July 1971 (the same month Jim Morrison died). The band then briefly reunited in 1972 to record Raw Power. Their roadie and touring bassist Zeke Zettner died of a heroin overdose at the age of 25 in 1973. The Stooges broke up for a second and final time in 1974. Dave Alexander died at the age of 27 due to his alcoholism in 1975.

Iggy Pop checked himself into a drug rehabilitation clinic in a mental hospital in Los Angeles in 1975. During that same year David Bowie's cocaine psychosis was rapidly spiraling out of control as he recorded the sessions for Station to Station in Cherokee Studios.

In 1976 David Bowie left L.A. behind to return to Europe. He invited Iggy Pop to embark with him on this voyage. David Bowie had already begun to immerse himself in the experimentation of Krautrock pioneers such as Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger of Neu! (whose incorporation of industrial noise on the track "Negativland" from their December 1971 sessions for their self-titled debut would later inspire Bowie's Berlin period especially the opening track "Speed of Life" from Low.)

Fun House was recorded in a frenetic and furious two weeks in Los Angeles with an acid-fueled Iggy who was only 23 years young. L.A. was the city of hell for Iggy. The album cover of Fun House showed Iggy swarming and writhing in a fiery maelstrom. In complete contrast Iggy's solo debut was recorded during multiple months in a series of sessions at the Chateau d'Herouville in France as well as Musicland Studios in Munich. It sounds different than any other album he ever created.

The album cover of The Idiot showed Iggy standing and staring into the void surrounded by falling snow. Iggy was contemplative and introspective on the cover and in the songs. He was reflecting on the ruins and wreckage of his past.

The Idiot saved Iggy from certain self-destruction.

It was also musically innovative.

The original Rolling Stone review aptly summarized The Idiot as "the most savage indictment of rock posturing ever recorded" and "a necrophiliac's delight."

The album's songs can be split into three categories: 1.) tormented love/lust ballads ("Baby" / "China Girl" / "Tiny Girls") which were already part of Iggy's lyrical consciousness (examples from The Stooges are "Ann" & "Dirt"); 2.) celebrations of Berlin's nocturnal culture ("Nightclubbing" / "Funtime"); 3.) autobiographical exorcisms ("Sister Midnight" / "Dum Dum Boys").

"Sister Midnight' is the bastardized '70s child of The Doors' "The End"--Iggy's Oedipal dream of sex with his mother and being hunted by his father. It is an amalgam of funk and Krautrock led by Carlos Alomar's menacing and super cool guitar.

"Nightclubbing" is a decadent 1930s German cabaret piano combined with a drum machine. It's dance music for zombies.

"Funtime" is The Stooges' visceral hard rock turned inside out and transformed into a horror movie train stop party.

"Dum Dum Boys" is Iggy's detached and weary farewell to his 20s as he entered his 30s. It is a poignant and soul-searching lament for his former bandmates who disappeared and vanished. It lays the foundation for post-punk.

The closing track "Mass Production" was Iggy's dissection of industrial life. As he said in the book Gimme Danger: "I would always talk to Bowie about how much I admired the beauty of the American industrial culture that was rotting away where I grew up. Like the beautiful smokestacks and factories—whole cities devoted to factories." "Mass Production" is a dystopian nightmare with mechanical sounds sampled on tape loops grinding away harshly while Iggy groans and moans disturbing lyrics concerning dehumanization.

"I like to drive along the freeways

See the smokestacks belching

Breasts turn brown

So warm and so brown

Though I try to die

You put me back on the line

Oh damn it to hell

Back on the line, hell

Back on the line

Again and again

I'm back on the line

Again and again

And I see my face here

And it's there in the mirror

And it's up in the air

And I'm down in the ground"

The Idiot heavily influenced countless bands and musicians including Ian Curtis (of Joy Division) who committed suicide while listening to its bleak hallucinations.

The Idiot's title was taken from Fyodor Dostoevsky's philosophical novel. It is the darkest and greatest album of Iggy Pop's career”.

Quite a moment of recovery and resurgence for Iggy Pop in 1977. After the dissolvement of The Stooges and struggles with addictions, things could have gone a different way for Pop were it not for The Idiot and the support of David Bowie. I wonder whether Pop and Bowie knew, when making the album, that this was something that would inspire and motivate both of them to such a degree! Far Out Magazine wrote about The Idiot last year and highlighted how it turned things around for Iggy Pop:

“Over a tape-loop of industrial noise, the landscape of The Idiot was crafted by two of the greatest musical architects ever. It was this gritty, urbanise, creative expanse that resurged Pop’s artistry, as he once told Bowie, “I admired the beauty of the American industrial culture that was rotting away where I grew up.” This notion of recapturing youth became the lifeblood of the record, much in the same way the Stooges’ visceral energy is built on youth’s passion. This upsurge led to a slew of songs, which were later taken back to Berlin to be polished up at the legendry Hansa Studio’s where Tony Visconti would assist with the final mixes.

At this stage, it might be expected that I eulogise the brilliance of the record and betray opinions about ‘Nightclubbing’ featuring the greatest production and drum-sound in music. However, its legacy stretches beyond the sumptuous strength of the record. It is no exaggeration to save that it saved Iggy’s creatively, and it may have even saved his life full stop.

The Idiot charted at 72 in the US; it broke the top 30 in the UK and was a hit in Berlin and beyond. The title of the record is taken from the Fydor Dostoyevsky novel of the same name, and as if it was woven into place by some mystic figures of fate, Pop and Dostoyevsky traversed a very similar path. The two artists shared issues with excesses, greatness, threats of the gulag or institutions, brushes with being forgotten and a way of capturing life with veracity but eviscerating all the banal burdens that realism can sometimes entail.

Ultimately both artists now reside rightfully amongst the greats, but without The Idiot, it would have been very different”.

I will finish with reviews for the magnificent The Idiot. In terms of the legacy and the album’s standing through the years, Wikipedia collated facts about its impact and importance:

“Although reviewers consider The Idiot good in its own right, Pop's fans have criticized the album as unrepresentative of his repertoire and as evidence of his being "co-opted" by Bowie for the latter's own ends. In his contemporary review of the record, Riegel comments, "As the star of The Idiot ... Iggy Pop seems more under David Bowie's manipulative thumb than ever before, a condition that can be taken as positive or negative. Furthermore, Jones described it as his "second favorite David Bowie album". When reviewing Lust for Life, Pete Makowski of Sounds magazine felt The Idiot suffered from "being a part of Bowie's come down," calling it "a Low disco platter". O'Leary considers The Idiot a Bowie album just as much as a Pop one. Although Bowie's "Berlin Trilogy" is said to consist of Low, "Heroes", and Lodger (1979), O'Leary argues the true "Berlin Trilogy" consists of The Idiot, Low, and "Heroes", with Lust for Life a "supplement" and Lodger an "epilogue". Bowie himself later admitted:

Poor [Iggy], in a way, became a guinea pig for what I wanted to do with sound. I didn't have the material at the time, and I didn't feel like writing at all. I felt much more like laying back and getting behind someone else's work, so that album was opportune, creatively.

Bowie later re-worked "Sister Midnight" with new lyrics as "Red Money" on Lodger, while his version of "China Girl" on 1983's Let's Dance became a major hit. Bowie and the Sales brothers would reunite in the late 1980s and early 1990s to make up three-quarters of the rock band Tin Machine. Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees described it as "re-affirmation that our suspicions were true – the man was a genius and what a voice! The sound and production is so direct and uncompromised." The album has been cited as a major influence on post-punk, industrial, and gothic rock artists, including Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and Joy Division; the latter of the three formed in the months between the releases of Low and The Idiot. Pegg writes that their debut album Unknown Pleasures (1979) drew heavily on the "industrial soundscapes" and "relentless percussion" of tracks like "Nightclubbing" and "Mass Production", also noting that The Idiot was still playing on the turntable of the band's singer Ian Curtis when he was found having committed suicide in 1980. In addition, Seabrook cites "Mass Production" as an influence on modern alternative rock acts like the Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. In 2011, Killing Joke's Youth described The Idiot as one of his 13 favorite albums. In 1981, Grace Jones covered "Nightclubbing" as the title track to her album of the same name. Pop's version of "Nightclubbing" provided the kick drum sound for Nine Inch Nails' 1994 song "Closer". Pitchfork would later rank The Idiot number 96 in its list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1970s in 2004. The aggregate website Acclaimed Music lists The Idiot as the 20th most acclaimed album of 1977, the 172nd most acclaimed album of the 1970s and the 612th most acclaimed album in history”.

Although it must have been idyllic to record at Château d'Hérouville - and things seemed smooth, continuing like that when they located to continue work in August 1976 at Musicland Studios in Munich -, The Idiot could have been a mess. Iggy Pop was not necessarily in the best frame of mind but, as Bowie showed on albums like Station to Station, he can produce magnificent work when gripped by addiction issues – though, of course, artists are definitely more productive and better off clean and sober! I want to finish with some critical impression of The Idiot. AllMusic observed this in their review:

“In 1976, the Stooges had been gone for two years, and Iggy Pop had developed a notorious reputation as one of rock & roll's most spectacular waste cases. After a self-imposed stay in a mental hospital, a significantly more functional Iggy was desperate to prove he could hold down a career in music, and he was given another chance by his longtime ally, David Bowie. Bowie co-wrote a batch of new songs with Iggy, put together a band, and produced The Idiot, which took Iggy in a new direction decidedly different from the guitar-fueled proto-punk of the Stooges. Musically, The Idiot is of a piece with the impressionistic music of Bowie's "Berlin Period" (such as Heroes and Low), with it's fragmented guitar figures, ominous basslines, and discordant, high-relief keyboard parts. Iggy's new music was cerebral and inward-looking, where his early work had been a glorious call to the id, and Iggy was in more subdued form than with the Stooges, with his voice sinking into a world-weary baritone that was a decided contrast to the harsh, defiant cry heard on "Search and Destroy." Iggy was exploring new territory as a lyricist, and his songs on The Idiot are self-referential and poetic in a way that his work had rarely been in the past; for the most part the results are impressive, especially "Dum Dum Boys," a paean to the glory days of his former band, and "Nightclubbing," a call to the joys of decadence. The Idiot introduced the world to a very different Iggy Pop, and if the results surprised anyone expecting a replay of the assault of Raw Power, it also made it clear that Iggy was older, wiser, and still had plenty to say; it's a flawed but powerful and emotionally absorbing work”.

To finish off, I want to highlight Pitchfork’s review of The Idiot. In a year where Iggy Pop put out the magnificent Lust for Life, and David Bowie released Low and “Heroes”, The Idiot arrived. Low came out a couple of months before The Idiot, and it is amazing to think how fertile and productive Bowie was in 1976/1977! This is what Pitchfork say:

“The Idiot, Pop’s solo debut, decisively shut the gates on his time with the Stooges. Where once he was infernal and freewheeling, he now became cool and restrained by Bowie’s careful, calculated producer’s hand. He still sang in a tone of abjection, still retained his sense of being a debased and decrepit subject, but where he once showed a grimace he now wore a smirk. His Cold War surroundings provoked icy, glib reflections; taking cues from Kraftwerk over in Düsseldorf, Bowie and Pop adopted cool detachment as a primary artistic mode.

Predictably, The Idiot enraged those who championed the Stooges for their unhindered squalls; the legendary music critic Lester Bangs called it “phony bullshit.” And it’s easy to see how a voice beloved for its fire would turn fans cold after dimming its spark. But by reining in Pop, Bowie and his effete European sensibilities drew out a new range of nuance in the singer. The Idiot may lack fury, but it compensates with sardonic humor and perfectly tuned melodrama—both tools that would become wildly popular across all artistic media in the 1980s.

Against clipped percussion, whining guitars, and thin synthesizer tones, Pop’s voice turns barbed and sour on The Idiot. The closest he comes to unfiltered emotion is “Dum Dum Boys,” an elegy of sorts for the Stooges, and even there his keening is ringed with a sneer. Mostly, he sounds distant; the sleazy, hilarious “Nightclubbing” is less an ode to Berlin’s vibrant nightlife than it is a monument to alienation—the numbness of being among people in their moments of joy and sharing none of it. Pop’s circular lyrics reveal the song’s emptiness: “We see people/Brand new people/They’re something to see”.

A remarkable album that turns forty-five on 18th March, I wanted to spend a bit of time with Iggy Pop’s incredible solo debut. Inspiring artists such as The Smashing Pumpkins and Grace Jones, The Idiot will go on to influence so many other artists. If The Stooges was all about anger and this Punk energy, then the more inward-looking The Idiot was different…

TO anything he has recorded before.

FEATURE: Inspired By... Part Fifty-Four: Massive Attack

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired By...

IN THIS PHOTO: Robert del Naja (right) and Grant Marshall

Part Fifty-Four: Massive Attack

___________

I have not included many groups…

in this feature. One that I have overlooked until now are Massive Attack. Their debut album of 1991, Blue Lines, is one of the most important albums ever. The Bristol Trip-Hop group (formed in 1988 by Robert ‘3D’ Del Naja, Adrian ‘Tricky’ Thaws, Andrew ‘Mushroom’ Vowles and Grant ‘Daddy G’ Marshall) are such an important act who have inspired so many others. Their most-recent work, the 2020 E.P. Eutopia, is a typically fine listen. Such an inventive and pioneering group, Massive Attack will continue to inspire and move artists for years to come. I am finishing with a playlist of songs from artists who have cited them as influences, or one can tell they have been inspired in some form. Before getting there, here is some biography about Massive Attack from AllMusic:

“As the genesis point of the trip-hop movement, Massive Attack originated the genre's hypnotic sound: a darkly sensual and cinematic fusion of hip-hop rhythms, soulful melodies, dub grooves, and choice samples. The group created some of the most influential and trend-setting sounds of their era, with the groundbreaking albums Protection (1994) and Mezzanine (1998) informing decades' worth of acclaimed artists including Portishead, Beth Orton, Radiohead, TV on the Radio, and Tricky, a Massive Attack alumnus.

Massive Attack's roots date back to 1983 and the formation of the Wild Bunch, one of the most successful sound system/DJ collectives to arrive on the early-'80s U.K. music scene. Renowned for their seamless integration of a wide range of musical styles, from punk to reggae to R&B, the group's parties quickly became can't-miss events for the Bristol club crowd, and at the peak of their popularity they drew enormous crowds with their shape-shifting sets.

When the Wild Bunch folded during the mid-'80s, two of its members -- Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall -- teamed with local graffiti artist 3D (born Robert del Naja) to form Massive Attack as a production team in 1988. Another Wild Bunch alum, Nellee Hooper, split his time between the new group and his other project, Soul II Soul. Massive Attack's first single, "Daydreaming," appeared in 1990, featuring the sultry vocals of singer Shara Nelson and raps by Tricky, another onetime Wild Bunch collaborator. The classic "Unfinished Sympathy" followed, as did another compelling effort, "Safe from Harm." Finally, in 1991 Massive Attack issued their debut LP, Blue Lines. While by no means a huge commercial success, the record was met with major critical praise and was heralded as an instant classic in many quarters. Nelson, featured on many of the album's most memorable tracks, exited for a solo career soon after, and the group then changed their name to simply "Massive" to avoid any implication of approval for the U.N.'s policy toward Iraq.

After a three-year hiatus, Massive Attack -- their full name now properly reinstated -- resurfaced with Protection. Again working with Hooper and Tricky, they also brought into the fold vocalist Nicolette, as well as Everything But the Girl's Tracey Thorn. Three singles -- "Karmacoma," "Sly," and the title track -- were released from the LP, which was also remixed in its entirety by dub specialist Mad Professor and issued as No Protection. A lengthy tour followed, and over the next several years, Massive Attack's output was primarily confined to remixes for artists including Garbage. They also worked with Madonna on a track for a Marvin Gaye tribute album. Finally, to promote their appearance at the annual Glastonbury music festival, the group issued the EP Risingson during the summer of 1997.

The third full-length Massive Attack effort, Mezzanine, appeared in mid-1998. In addition to reggae singer Horace Andy making his third consecutive LP appearance with the group, vocal chores were handled by the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser and newcomer Sara Jay. Mezzanine became a hit among critics, clubs, and the college crowds, spinning successful singles such as "Teardrop" and "Inertia Creeps." The album topped the U.K. chart and crossed into the Top 60 of the Billboard 200 in the U.S. A tour of America and Europe followed, but Vowles left the band after disagreeing with the artistic direction of Mezzanine. Del Naja and Marshall continued as a duo, later working with the likes of David Bowie and the Dandy Warhols. Marshall later took a brief leave of absence to raise his family and producer Neil Davidge picked up the slack.

In February 2003, after a five-year wait, Massive Attack released their fourth album, 100th Window, including collaborations with mainstay Horace Andy as well as Sinéad O'Connor. The record was the group's first effort to be free of samples or cover songs, but it still performed well commercially, eventually selling more than a million copies. For much of the 2000s, members of Massive Attack moonlighted in film score work, often under the 100 Suns pseudonym. A contract-fulfilling collection of hits and unreleased material entitled Collected was issued in 2006.

The fifth proper Massive Attack studio album, Heligoland, released in 2010, featured collaborations with Horace Andy, TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Elbow's Guy Garvey, and Martina Topley-Bird. Burial remixed the album's "Paradise Circus" and the unreleased "Four Walls" for a limited 12" release in 2011. The four-track EP Ritual Spirit appeared in 2016 and featured cameos from Roots Manuva, Young Fathers, and for the first time since 1994, the return of original Massive Attack collaborator Tricky. Later that year, the band issued new songs "The Spoils," with vocals by Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval, and "Come Near Me," which featured U.K. singer Ghostpoet.

In July 2020, the group returned with the conceptual three-song EP Eutopia. The material was recorded in three different cites during quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic and featured contributions from Young Fathers, Saul Williams, Algiers, and several spoken word artists. The audio was paired with video counterparts, with charged visuals further emphasizing the overt political themes of the song”.

A tremendous group whose political views, human rights stance and anti-war advocacy has also inspired as much as their musical genius; Massive Attack are titans. With classic albums like Blue Lines and Mezzanine (1998) considered among the best albums ever, small wonder other artists have been compelled by what they have put out! Massive Attack’s influence has touched musicians from various corners and quarters of...

THE musical map.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Alice Glass

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

Alice Glass

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MOST of the time in Spotlight…

I feature artists that are very new or starting to come through. Alice Glass is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is the co-founder and former frontwoman of the Electronic band Crystal Castles. She began her solo career in 2014. Her debut solo album, PREY//IV, came out last month. That is the reason why I wanted to highlight her. Such a remarkable artist whose recent interviews have revealed the personal pain and experiences she put into an extraordinary album, I wanted to proffer the brilliance of Alice Glass’ music. One of the most honest and exceptional artists of her time, the release of her debut album confirms Glass as a mesmeric artist who is going to be an icon. I know her story, songs and words have helped and supported a lot of other people. I want to source a few interviews later on. Before that, I have been looking at the interviews Glass conducted around the release of PREY//IV. DIY spoke with Alice Glass last month. She discussed her new work, in addition to her complicated feelings regarding nostalgia:  

“For anyone who grew up in the noughties, it goes without saying that Alice Glass has long been a star. A microcosm of the fucked-up Tumblr cool that capitivated young millennials, she was an icon of the Skins generation, topping cool lists and raising awe for her whiskey-chugging, stage-diving antics. It’s painful to realise that she was merely a teenager herself, joining Crystal Castles at the age of 15 and instantly coerced into the fabrication of ‘enigmatic’ PR folklore.

“There was that whole thing of, ‘Oh, it was a mic test’,” she says, recalling the infamous origin story of her ‘Alice Practice’ vocals. “No, it wasn’t. Everything was an allegory; how we met reading to the blind and all this fucking bullshit. None of it matched up; how could I be this fucking feral creature but also be playing hundreds of shows a year all over the world? It just didn’t make any sense. It was hard to keep up, so it was easier to back down.”

The more her ‘damaged’ onstage persona was praised, the further Alice retreated. “When I was crowd surfing, I wasn’t trying to, like, be hype and have fun,” she nods. “Honestly, it was more that I was a bit suicidal that whole time, and it was like, fuck it. If anybody wants to… I don’t know. That was my mentality.” Like a feeling of having nothing to lose, we suggest? “Yeah, exactly. I mean, I was around a bunch of dudes that were all like, at least 10 years older than me, where everybody treats me in a really weird way. It was not very pleasant.”

With the internet abuzz with a so-called ‘indie sleaze’ revival, Alice’s own feelings of nostalgia are understandably complicated, but she remains proud of the musical contributions she made to Crystal Castles and her subsequent growth since. Though ‘PREY//IV’ definitely makes use of the cathartically-dark narrative and ethereal electronics with which she has become well known, a distinct melodic knack shines through her newly-undistorted vocal, breaking down the notion of any ultra-hip pop snobbery.

“Definitely not!” she laughs. “I just did this radio show where I played a Babyshambles song, ‘Fuck Forever’, which I’ve loved for years. I really like Ariana Grande too, the vocal tone on some of her songs. I don’t really like major chord music, you know? Nothing too happy. But the perfect mix is despair, sprinkle a bit of hope in the chorus, and then back to despair again.”

Nowhere does hope hit harder than on recent single ‘FAIR GAME’. Working closely with Jupiter Keyes (previously of HEALTH), she uses spiky synths to reclaim manipulative sentiments once aimed at her by Kath (“Where would you be without me / I’m just trying to help you”), stating them slowly in order to remove their sting. “It sounds silly now, but when I first left and started to talk to a therapist, she said that he treated me as if I was in a cult,” says Alice. “You stay in a situation like that because your self esteem is crushed, but then ironically, the only thing that could make me feel like I was worth anything was writing music and performing. I didn’t think I was going to put it out at all, but Jupe was like no, you should. It was SOPHIE’s favourite song too; SOPHIE was going to remix it. I wanted to do it in respect for her.”

Given Alice’s previous brushes with online trolls, her nervousness was more than understandable, but the response was overwhelmingly kind. “People started writing me back; people who had been gaslit by similar phrases and could relate to it. So now it’s like that song doesn’t really belong to me anymore. And it feels good”.

This Spotlight feature is a chance to highlight an artist who is adored and an astonishing talent. I will return to rising artists soon enough, but I have not featured Alice Glass before. Looking at DORK’s interview, we learn about Glass’ transition from her former band, Crystal Castles, and her experiences leading up to PREY//IV:

“Even a decade and a half from her first introduction, Alice Glass might well still be one of the most iconic characters in music. Since she left Crystal Castles in 2014, she’s kept a relatively low profile with a solo EP, sporadic single releases and a burgeoning career as a DJ. This slight step back from the alt-pop spotlight is understandable, though.

After leaving the band, Alice revealed the abuse she experienced while in the group. That part of her life was traumatic and harrowing and inspired her creative and artistic rebirth as a fully-fledged solo star on her debut album ‘PREY//IV’. Happy and creatively energised living in LA, re-emerging into the spotlight is an experience fraught with both excitement and trepidation. “I’m excited and nervous because this is the most personal piece of art that I’ve ever released,” she explains. “I’m nervous about expressing myself for maybe the first time as an artist.”

The last six years have been a period of self-care and self-reflection for Alice. “It’s been intense,” she reflects. “When I started in that band, I left high school. It was like going from not having your frontal lobe developed to being an adult and being in a fucked up situation where you have to start from scratch. I’m lucky that I can pay for a psychiatrist. I’ve been doing a lot of self-help work. I’ve been medicated.”

Moving to LA and finding new friends and collaborators – like the producer Jupiter Io who she worked with on the album – was a catalyst for a new brighter period in her life. “I didn’t really have a circle of people that I trusted, let alone have a group of artists that I trust. It’s been another world to be in LA. Just to have peers and friends who are doing things that are really inspiring. Being able to trust other artists and feel comfortable and confident, like you belong. That’s been really life-changing for me.”

The album she has created is a staggering achievement. Immensely powerful and with a pulsing dark heart, it’s electro-pop full of hooks and memorable bangers, but with a starkly compelling emotional tension. The songs are predominately Alice’s reflection on a bleak time in her life – at once both sad and invigorating but always vital. “I wanted to make sure it meant something to me,” she reveals. “I’ve been writing music this whole time, but I’ve felt the pressure to have a record speak for my experience, rather than having songs and singles here and there that I was working on at the time. I wanted this record to be a statement.”

As she talked more about her experiences, she realised that putting these feelings and emotions into one body of work felt necessary. Frustratingly though, she still had to deal with extricating herself from her past. “I was dealing with things that just kept on happening,” she explains. “It wasn’t like leaving the band, and that was it. It was an intense hurricane of lawsuits and online harassment. There was always seemingly something that would put me back in time and make things harder. I had more to write about then. I think I started talking more about what had happened, and I started to get a lot of messages personally. I never really talked to a lot of survivors and people like me because I was so isolated. It was eye-opening to see that I wasn’t alone and how frequently it happens to all types of people who can find themselves in shitty abusive relationships. Seeing how common this is made me want to put the record out more, and not just for my own artistic reasons. I wanted to have something to comfort people with”.

The album’s title – ‘PREY//IV’ – exemplifies the power imbalances that Alice has previously experienced. Unfortunately, no matter how many progressive steps have been made, they’re also still horrifyingly present today. “Young women are not going to be predators in this cultural ecosystem,” she explains. “They’ve always been told that there are predators and prey, but you can choose to be a predator, and you can choose to stop whenever you want, but you can’t choose to stop being prey. For some people, that’s how they’ll always see you. You might not even realise that you’re being preyed on.”.

The juxtaposition between dancefloor ecstasy and crushing emotion is at the heart of the record. “I really like writing melodies that seem like they’re happy, but once you get deeper and they get stuck in your head, it’s actually pretty dark. I’ve always loved Jupiter’s production. He has an ability to make sounds sound really sad,” she says. “I definitely like sad music, but I don’t listen to it all the time. I like to dance when I’m sad”.

There have been a lot of positive reviews for the Canadian artist’s debut solo artist. PREY/IV is one of the most powerful and important albums of this year. This is what DIY wrote in their review:

“Haunted music box twinkles; punishing industrial throbs; glitching, limit-pushing electronics. Before you even begin to dissect the lyrical content (not-so-spoiler alert: it’s bleak) of Alice Glass’ solo debut, there’s little that makes for easy or comfortable listening within the claustrophobic, unsettling world of ‘PREY//IV’. It should come as little surprise both to fans of her work in Crystal Castles - the early ‘10s flag-bearers of the ‘indie sleaze’ era that’s found itself somehow back in the cultural lexicon - and of those who’ve followed her story since leaving the group in 2014, later accusing bandmate Ethan Kath of continued sexual, physical and mental abuse. ‘PREY//IV’ does not shy away from Alice’s story; instead, its imagery is violent and visceral, with portraits of isolation (‘PINNED BENEATH LIMBS’) and self harm (‘BABY TEETH’) riddled throughout an album defined by a sort of constant itchiness, a wish to rid itself of trauma by occupying it so fully. Much has already been made of the lyrics to ‘FAIR GAME’, which repurpose direct quotes from Kath - “I’m so embarrassed for you / I’m so embarrassed for us”, but the scars of the relationship are to be seen all across the record. You just hope that ‘PREY//IV’ has gone some way to exorcising them”.

I guess a lot of people will compare Alice Glass’ solo work to that with Crystal Castles. Glass made a statement about the abuse she has suffered. It adds to the sense of struggle and trauma that one can hear through PREY/IV. CLASH had this to say about such a remarkable album:

“It’s almost impossible to listen to Alice Glass’ solo debut without certain expectations – not only musical expectations, but personal ones, in a way that can hardly be entirely helpful even if they’re well-intentioned. In 2014, Glass left the hugely innovative group Crystal Castles which she’d formed with Ethan Kath, and three years later accused him of prolonged abuse throughout the time she’d known him. Other women came forward with similar claims, and the Toronto police confirmed in December 2017 that Kath was under investigation.

But even if those allegations had never been made public, 'PREY//IV' still clearly announces itself as an album about trauma. Over 13 tracks, Glass dissects her experiences from every angle: she sounds alternately enraged, broken, contemptuous, and often surprisingly matter of fact, marking these changes in tone with virtuosic shifts in her vocal performances. In Crystal Castles her voice was frequently semi-audible, buried under distortion and strange effects (including, famously, video game bleeps ripped from an Atari 5200). Here, though, the vocals take a front seat, exposing us not only to the extreme imagery of Glass’ lyrics but to the extreme variation of her delivery.

Nowhere is this more evident than in 'THE HUNTED', where she screams “Watch the hunter be the hunted!” before swooping down to a breathy sigh, confident and unerring. But these polarised lurches can be found all over the album, informing every decision in creatively productive ways. 'LOVE IS VIOLENCE' sets off its fat bass growls and knife-like synths with gaps of vertiginous silence; 'EVERYBODY ELSE' juxtaposes the sound of a music box with imagery of sexual violence (“Tie up my wrists like I’m nothing”); 'ANIMOSITY' doesn’t even stay put for the time it takes to sing the chorus, as Glass howls, then almost whispers, then howls again across three lines.

The effect is to draw attention not only to her voice, but to what she’s using it to say, literally or otherwise. Like Manic Street Preachers’ 'The Holy Bible' or Nick Cave’s 'Skeleton Tree', 'PREY//IV' is not simply music to listen to: it’s an attempt to communicate genuine pain in ways that simply aren’t possible through a written statement posted online. Little surprise, then, that the lyrics go for the jugular on occasion (“You taste like rotten meat”; “Are you picturing my insides outside of me?”).

However, they’re at their most effective when their visceral imagery gives way to narratives of coercion and control, as it does on 'FAIR GAME'. It’s no coincidence that 'FAIR GAME' falls slap bang in the middle of 'PREY//IV', as it's the album’s heart and ambiguous fulcrum, a withering put-down built around the question “Where would you be without me?” That question has echoes of Glass’ allegations: according to her, Kath “often told me how replaceable I was”, and “that all the people that came to our shows were only interested in his instrumentals and that I was ruining the band”. Sung by Glass, though, the words take on a new meaning. Her rebirth as a solo artist has taken almost a decade, but it shows how central she was to Crystal Castles’ success, and how little she needs anyone else to create thrilling music”.

To end, I want to source NME’s review of PREY/IV. Now, if you do not know about Alice Glass, is a time to listen to her music and learn more about an artist who has put so much of her personal experiences into her music. True art, this is an artist whose voice and words will resonate and resound for years to come. NME provided PREY/IV a very positive review:

“As well as functioning as a pun, the title of Alice Glass’ debut solo album ‘PREY//IV’ is a strong statement. Continuing with the Roman numeral naming-scheme used on the three albums she released with former electroclash band Crystal Castles, it’s a clear middle finger in the direction of her ex-collaborator Ethan Kath, whom she accused of abuse and manipulation (which he denies).

Kath touted their hit ‘Alice Practice’ as having emerged from an accidental recording, arguably positioning Glass as some kind of unwitting muse, but everything she has done since leaving the band feels incredibly intentional. Though its horror-show cover seems fairly tongue-in-cheek, the relative lightness is deceptive. Pain has been made cartoonish here, and deliberately so.

Here vocals often occupy a menacing high register – see the stuttering ‘Pinning Down Limbs’ or the helium-fuelled ‘Love is Violence’, for instance – but Glass creates an intensity in other ways too. On the cavernous ‘Fair Game’, her speaking voice cuts through the industrial beats as she asks in a near-whisper: “Would you like… another pill?” It’s completely chilling.

Yet there’s deep humanity here, too: as deep as her lyrics dig into shadowy darkness, the record’s unrelenting pulse feels like a cathartic release. Many of these songs are couched in layers of rave, industrial dance and even flickers of upbeat and slightly saccharine contemporary pop (albeit twisted and gnarled pop). Often, Glass’ music recalls hyper-pop as she blends genres, drawing on everything to trap and hip-hop beats to ambient electronica. The LA-based artist’s music also has much in common with the early macabre imagery of fellow Canadians Purity Ring, who blended fairytale with body-horror on 2012 debut ‘Shrines’. “I’ll cut your tongue out your mouth,” Glass warns on ‘Suffer and Swallow’, “and wear your fingers.”

An astoundingly honest, and at times brutal, listen, ‘PREY//IV’ still ends on a note of hope. Far softer-sounding than the rest of the record, there’s a gentleness to ‘I Trusted You’. In the opening verse, Glass is mad at herself for wasting something she doesn’t specify – time, perhaps. As the song reaches a close, her words have softer edges. “I trusted you / are you mad that I wasted it?” she asks. “You know I’d rather be wasting this.”

By the time the album’s closer ‘Sorrow Ends’ – less a conventional song, more a sweeping piece of sound art – drifts off into the ether, it feels like the opening of a new door. Barely comprehensible, Glass’ voice whispers beneath its rich waves of synth, just on the brink of resurfacing”.

An utterly superb artist who will go on to release a lot of albums, this is sort of a spotlight of the start of a new chapter for Alice Glass. Having achieved so much already in her career, who knows how far this future legend will go! Whatever she does, it will be original, daring, uncompromising, spectacular and memorable. Make sure you follow and listen to the music of…

THE mesmeric Alice Glass.

_______________

Follow Alice Glass

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/_alice_glass/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ALICEGLASS

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/aliceglass

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ukk0IyB7vL97QirpOcNr3?si=DXZJfPlZTOGGTcl_qprnJA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpHdc3ijPmYOPeBWA5_8I1A

FEATURE: An Instinctive and Experimental Producer... Inside Kate Bush’s The Dreaming

FEATURE:

 

 

An Instinctive and Experimental Producer…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Rapport 

Inside Kate Bush’s The Dreaming

___________

INSIDE the new edition…

of UNCUT, there is a great spread about the making of Kate Bush’s fourth studio album, The Dreaming. I am going to model features around various things I learned from the piece, as it is fascinating to read. As The Dreaming is forty in September, I will save most of them until nearer the time. One of the things that struck me when looking at the piece is that Bush, as a producer, was so innovative and instinctive. When Bush was playing Sat in Your Lap and beginning to shape it on piano in a small studio at 21 Denmark Street, drummer Preston Heyman noticed a resemblance to Dave Brubeck’s Take Five. He started to drum along. Instead of it hanging in the background, she asked if he could not hit the snare and cymbal. Instead, she suggested using the tom-toms. She wanted the same rhythm and groove, but she could hear that it would sound ideal on tom-toms! It was this sort of sense of taking something promising or ordinary and leading it in a different direction. This one interaction seems to define how Kate Bush approached The Dreaming as a producer and musician. Before continuing down this line – her experimentation and intuition as a pioneering and original producer -, it was clear that Bush wanted to change.

Differing from her previous albums, Bush said in interviews how The Dreaming was a step forward. It is an album that was a real statement:

“After the last album, 'Never For Ever', I started writing some new songs. They were very different from anything I'd ever written before - they were much more rhythmic, and in a way, a completely new side to my music. I was using different instruments, and everything was changing; and I felt that really the best thing to do would be to make this album a real departure - make it completely different. And the only way to achieve this was to sever all the links I had had with the older stuff. The main link was engineer Jon Kelly. Everytime I was in the studio Jon was there helping me, so I felt that in order to make the stuff different enough I would have to stop working with Jon. He really wanted to keep working with me, but we discussed it and realised that it was for the best. ('The Dreaming'. Poppix (UK), Summer 1982)

Yes, it's very important for me to change. In fact, as soon as the songs began to be written, I knew that the album was going to be quite different. I'd hate it, especially now, if my albums became similar, because so much happens to me between each album - my views change quite drastically. What's nice about this album is that it's what I've always wanted to do. For instance, the Australian thing: well, I wanted to do that on the last album, but there was no time. There are quite a few ideas and things that I've had whizzing around in my head that just haven't been put down. I've always wanted to use more traditional influences and instruments, especially the Irish ones. I suppose subconsciously I've wanted to do all this for quite some time, but I've never really had the time until now. ('The Dreaming'. Poppix (UK), Summer 1982)”.

I am not sure what it was like for her working with producer Andrew Powell on The Kick Inside and Lionheart in 1978. It is clear that, for 1980’s Never for Ever, she wanted to take more control and do things a different way. Alongside Jon Kelly, she produced an album that was more expansive, daring and forward-looking. Bush was using musicians much the way groups like Steely Dan did in the 1970s. Doing multiple takes to find that perfect sound, she was mixing her hunt and passion with new technology like the Fairlight CMI. Whilst that synthesiser/sampler played a bigger role on The Dreaming, it was being used on Never for Ever. As opposed artists and producers who would do something ordinary or commercial, I feel Bush started to build The Dreaming on the basis that it would be unlike anything that had gone before; nothing like she had ever released. Bush went from recording Sat in Your Lap and immersed herself in The Dreaming (Sat in Your Lap, released in 1981, was the album’s first single). Rather than her employing a more solid and structured band of musicians, she was using a lot more players. There was a core at work, though there were a lot of other musicians who were just playing on the odd song. Employing more accents and tones to her vocals, there was a focus and singularity too. Part of this innovation and instinctive production came from the fact Bush was leading everything.

Rather than quickly recording songs, she wanted no outside influence. Because of that, songs came together more slowly. One of the benefits of this was a dense and more layered sound. The Dreaming is never cluttered or crowded; instead, tracks unfolded and revealed new layers each listen. Aside from Bush working with musicians and coming up with fresh ideas and interesting ways of playing, she understood how something like the Fairlight CMI could be of huge sonic benefit. Peter Gabriel introduced Bush to the Fairlight CMI, and she bonded with it straight away on Never for Ever. As The Dreaming’s producer, Bush used the Fairlight CMI but never overdid things. Knowing what was needed for each song, her drive and long working hours resulted in her most exciting and thrilling songs. Creating soundscapes, sound effects and completely different worlds, she was stepping away from the three-minute Pop songs that were easier to digest and spending time making music that was much more immersive and detailed. Also compelled by Peter Gabriel (when he used it on his song, Intruder; she heard it played at the Stone Room at London’s Townhouse studio), the gated drum sound – that would become widespread from the early-1980s – was another great innovation. Buried into songs rather than dominating and smothering, it showed how smart she was as a producer. Able to identify breakthroughs and interesting sounds, she reminds me of the way George Martin produced for The Beatles.

The lack of guitars was a noticeable change from her previous albums. She was still using her long-time guitarist Brian Bath but, unlike on other albums, his playing was moulded in a new way. For instance, Bush asked him to play like a helicopter for the track, Pull Out the Pin. In fact, that was the only track he was used on for The Dreaming. He recorded parts for other songs on the album, though Bush must have felt that she wanted to go in a different direction. If her first three albums featured guitar and piano prominently, the risks she took almost eliminating guitar and upgraded (not for all of The Dreaming but most) to synthesisers and the Fairlight CMI proved how adaptable and flexible she was. Clearly understanding how, in this new decade, she needed to push her music forward and also take inspiration from different artists and areas of music, few people talk about Kate Bush’s skill and endless hard work as a producer. A further instance of Bush thinking about dynamics, studio set-up and sound came when she recorded Sat in Your Lap. Inspired by seeing Stevie Wonder in concert (following a period of writer’s block for her), she rehearsed the song at KPM. Engineer Preston Heyman was called to Townhouse in May 1981. With mics in the corner of the ceiling able to pick up sound as it circulated the Stone Room (as the mics were heavily gated). One of Bush’s gifts was recognising odd sounds or less-than-perfect takes and realise that they would work – or would sound good when everything came together.

Preston Heyman (in the UNCUT feature) said that, for Sat in Your Lap, there was something missing. He and Bush’s brother Paddy snapped garden canes. Something rhymically different that had a higher register, at one point, Heyman broke the cane and threw it on the floor. That can actually be heard in the mix. No doubt Bush heard it but left it in, knowing that it would sound beneficial in the final mix! Whereas she could be rigorous and demanding when it came to takes, ensuring each musician gave her their best performance, small errors, oddities and experiments were tolerated and featured. Few producers operate this way! Bush, as a person, is very collaborative and kind. Never a producer who only trusted her own methods and was not willing to communicate, she sought suggestions when it came to making her songs as good as they could be. Synth expert Dave Lawson delivered an Edward G. Robinson impression (think Chief Wiggum from The Simpsons for the voice) for There Goes a Tenner. A song about a crime caper was the right place for it. Even though Lawson suggested it jokingly, Bush was keen to leave it in. Bush wanted to move away from the straightforward Pop structure, so it should come as no surprise to her collaborators and musicians that she wanted to take risks and be more explorative. Inspired by musicians like Peter Gabriel and what he did on Melt (1980), Bush was receptive and nurturing of enthusiasm in the studio.

Sonically, you can feel her breaking from her past. Bush also embraced happy accidents. Bassist Jimmy Bain played on several tracks through The Dreaming (including Sat in Your Lap). The two met by chance in a corridor at the studio, and Bush invited him to play. I think there is something paternal when it came to her communal vibe. Almost adopting and fostering a wide array of musicians, she crafted this odd-but-brilliant family. As was apparent on The Dreaming’s follow-up, Hounds of Love, there seemed to be this mantra: the right instrument and the right musician. She travelled to Ireland, as she felt that a celidh band would be just right for the chorus to Night of the Swallow. She would return to Ireland for Hounds of Love (songs like Jig of Life are elevated and defined by Irish instrumentation). The literal lengths she would go to get the right people involved is another facet of her production! Kate Bush’s openness and eagerness was radiant and infectious. Think about the animal noises provided by Percy Edwards for The Dreaming’s title track. Unconventional, eccentric and very different, how many other producers were doing this?! Above everything else, it was Bush’s graft and endless working hours as a producer that led to such an accomplished album. Often in the studio until dawn, Bush was living off the occasional joint, grapes and tea to get through the long hours (her diet was overhauled before she started working on Hounds of Love). Knowing what she wanted, she had say over which monitors and tape decks were in the studio. Preferring the JBL 4350 monitors over the UREI 813 (the former provided better top-end sound), this was a producer who knew the kit and technology. Having learned a lot from her first three albums, she was not going to leave anything to chance!

If Bush building her own studio for Hounds of Love was a reacting to utilising multiple studios and being all over London for The Dreaming, having different spaces benefitted the album. She worked at all three of Abbey Road’s studios. Recording vocals in different booths, rooms and a canteen, one can feel the influence of The Dreaming on an artist like Björk. She recorded the vocal for There's More to Life Than This (from 1993’s Debut) live at the Milk Bar Toilets in London! Whilst a costly process, taking advantage of studios and the potential to capture unique sounds and takes adds so much to The Dreaming. Bush sung a vocal on Leave It Open backwards and then reversed it on the tape. That created a distorted vocal sound. Bush used her father’s tape machine as a child and taught herself how to sing backwards! When the strings were being arranged for Houdini (one section arranged by The Kick Inside’s producer Andrew Powell, another by Dave Lawson), it was clear Bush was trying to create a mood of that era – when Harry Houdini was alive. Lawson was asked to create a picture and image of that time. Bush realised, when she made Hounds of Love, that she needed her own space as she was more and more immersing herself in the songs as a producer. As a producer on The Dreaming, she stepped into unknown territory in the pursuit of releasing something that was true to her. She gave herself license to do whatever she wanted to. No longer following the guidance of another producer, she was fearless and an incredible producer through The Dreaming. Ahead of the fortieth anniversary of The Dreaming in September, I wanted to do some features about the album. Starting with Bush’s obvious talents and innovations as a producer, it paid dividends on a remarkable album! Although The Dreaming got to number there but slipped down the album charts soon after (it slightly underperformed commercially), it is an album that has been reappraised and has connected with a lot of fans. On The Dreaming, Kate Bush showed herself to be…

ONE of the very best producers.

FEATURE: A Buyer's Guide: Part Ninety-Five: Sinéad O'Connor

FEATURE:

 

 

A Buyer's Guide

Part Ninety-Five: Sinéad O'Connor

___________

ALTHOUGH she is known as…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Donal Moloney

Shuhada Sadaqat, professionally, she is known as Sinéad O'Connor. One of the most inspiring and wonderful artists we have ever seen, her eleventh studio album, No Veteran Dies Alone, has been announced (though I am not sure when it is being released). To showcase the brilliant work of O’Connor, this A Buyer’s Guide is all about her. Before getting there, AllMusic give us some biography about an incredible artist:

“Sinéad O'Connor ranked among the most distinctive and controversial pop music stars of the alternative era, the first and in many ways, the most influential of the numerous female performers whose music dominated airwaves throughout the last decade of the 20th century. Brash and outspoken -- her shaved head, angry visage, and shapeless wardrobe a direct challenge to popular culture's long-prevailing notions of femininity and sexuality -- O'Connor irrevocably altered the image of women in rock. Railing against long-standing stereotypes simply by asserting herself not as a sex object but as a serious artist, she kick-started a revolt that led the way for performers ranging from Liz Phair to Courtney Love to Alanis Morissette.

O'Connor was born in Dublin, Ireland, on December 8, 1966. Her childhood was often traumatic: her parents divorced when she was eight, and she later claimed that her mother, who was killed in a 1985 automobile accident, frequently abused her. After being expelled from Catholic school, O'Connor was arrested for shoplifting and was shuttled off to a reformatory; at the age of 15, while singing a cover of Barbra Streisand's "Evergreen" at a wedding, she was spotted by Paul Byrne, the drummer for the Irish band In Tua Nua (best known as protégés of U2). After co-writing the first In Tua Nua single, "Take My Hand," O'Connor left boarding school in order to focus on a career in music, and began performing in area coffeehouses. She later studied voice and piano at the Dublin College of Music, and supported herself delivering singing telegrams.

Upon signing a contract with Ensign Records in 1985, O'Connor relocated to London; the following year, she made her recorded debut on the soundtrack to the film Captive, appearing with U2 guitarist the Edge. After scrapping the initial tapes for her debut LP on the grounds that the production was too Celtic, she took the producer's seat herself and began re-recording the album, dubbed The Lion and the Cobra in reference to Psalm 91. The result was one of the most acclaimed debut records of 1987, with a pair of alternative radio hits in the singles "Mandinka" and "Troy." Almost from the outset of her career, however, O'Connor was a controversial media figure. In interviews following the LP's release, she defended the actions of the IRA, resulting in widespread criticism from many corners, and even burned bridges by attacking longtime supporters U2, whose music she declared "bombastic."

Nonetheless, O'Connor remained a cult figure prior to the release of 1990's chart-topping I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, a harrowing masterpiece sparked by the recent dissolution of her marriage to drummer John Reynolds. Boosted by the single and video "Nothing Compares 2 U," originally penned by Prince, the album established her as a major star, but again controversy followed as tabloids took aim at her romance with Black singer Hugh Harris while continuing to attack her outspoken politics. On American shores, O'Connor also became the target of derision for refusing to perform in New Jersey if "The Star Spangled Banner" was played prior to her appearance, a move that brought public criticism from no less than Frank Sinatra, who threatened to "kick her ass." She also made headlines for pulling out of an appearance on the NBC program Saturday Night Live in response to the misogynist persona of guest host Andrew Dice Clay, and even withdrew her name from competition in the annual Grammy Awards despite four nominations.

O'Connor also continued to confound expectations with her third album, 1992's Am I Not Your Girl?, a collection of pop standards and torch songs that failed to live up to either the commercial or critical success of I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. However, any discussion of the record's creative merits quickly became moot in the wake of her most controversial and damaging action yet: after finally appearing on Saturday Night Live, O'Connor ended her performance by ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II, resulting in a wave of condemnation unlike any she'd previously encountered. Two weeks after the SNL performance, she appeared at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, and was promptly booed off the stage.

By then a virtual pariah, O'Connor's retirement from the music business was subsequently reported, although it was later claimed that she had merely returned to Dublin with the intent of studying opera. She kept a low profile for the next several years, starring as Ophelia in a theatrical production of Hamlet and later touring with Peter Gabriel's WOMAD festival. She also reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown and even made a half-hearted attempt at suicide. In 1994, however, O'Connor returned to pop music with the LP Universal Mother, which, despite good reviews, failed to relaunch her to superstar status. The following year, she announced that she would no longer speak to the press. The Gospel Oak EP appeared in 1997, and in mid-2000 O'Connor issued Faith and Courage, her first full-length effort in six years. Sean-Nós Nua followed two years later, and was widely hailed for its return to the Irish folk tradition as its inspiration.

O'Connor used the press exposure from the album to further assert her pending retirement from music. In September 2003, the two-disc She Who Dwells... appeared through Vanguard. It collected rare and previously unreleased studio tracks, as well as live material culled from a late-2002 date in Dublin. The album was positioned as O'Connor's swan song, though official word was not forthcoming. Collaborations followed in 2005, a compilation of appearances on other artists' records throughout her long career. Later that year, she released Throw Down Your Arms, a collection of reggae classics from the likes of Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley that managed to reach the number four spot on Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart. O'Connor returned to the studio the following year to begin work on her first album of all-new material since Faith and Courage. The resulting Theology, inspired by the complexities of the world post-9/11, was released in 2007 through Koch Records on the artist's own imprint, That's Why There's Chocolate & Vanilla.

O'Connor's ninth studio album, 2012's How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?, tackled familiar subjects like sexuality, religion, hope, and despair, all of which were topics that dominated her post-Theology personal and public life. After a relatively quiet period, O'Connor found herself once again embroiled in controversy in 2013 after a personal dispute with singer Miley Cyrus, whom O'Connor wrote an open letter to warning her of exploitation and the dangers of the music industry. Cyrus also responded with an open letter, which seemed to mock the Irish singer's documented mental health issues. O'Connor's tenth album, I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss appeared in August 2014. Inspired by Lean In's female empowerment campaign "Ban Bossy," the set was a rock-oriented and melodious affair as heard on the lead single "Take Me to the Church”.

As we await a new album from the magnificent Sinéad O'Connor, have a listen back to her amazing back catalogue. I have recommended the four albums you need to own, one that is underrated and worth a listen, her latest studio album, in addition to a book related to her. This is the lowdown about…

ONE of music’s finest.

_______________

The Four Essential Albums

 

The Lion and the Cobra

Release Date: 4th November, 1987

Labels: Ensign/Chrysalis

Producers: Sinéad O'Connor/Kevin Moloney

Standout Tracks: Jerusalem/Troy/I Want Your (Hands on Me)

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=51566&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/60gQ6EG1JFQWWUcasx7wKc?si=HzAVxjs2SROS3naV6VQjSQ

Review:

“The Lion and the Cobra, like all of O’Connor’s albums, requires active participation: a listener on the edge of their seat, a hand near the volume knob, a constant feeling of unease. O’Connor has confessed to furnishing the Irish mountaintop home where she lives alone with “deliberately” uncomfortable chairs: “I don’t like people staying long.” Her albums take a similar approach. They seem to peak with negative space. Even at her most accessible, O’Connor wants you to hear the way she summons this music from the dark, quiet places where it has been buried; it floods and calms and stretches beyond our sight, like the sky after a storm.

In songs like “Mandinka” and “Jerusalem,” the magic is in the interplay between O’Connor’s voice and the bed of cavernous rock music: how she stretches the titles into one-word choruses, weaving the syllables through their knotty arrangements. In the refrain of “Mandinka,” a song about a young woman refusing tradition, the guitar riff rises and falls as drum rolls echo in the right and left channel. Even with these flourishes, her voice, double-tracked and coated in reverb, is the center of everything. The song is delivered like a miniature symphony. You can sing along with every little moment, each placed just so in the soundfield.

O’Connor never considered herself a pop artist, but she immediately had a knack for getting in people’s heads. Before she broke through with a ghostly rendition of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” she sought a different thrill in The Lion and the Cobra’s “I Want Your (Hands on Me).” It’s her rare song that feels modeled after hits of the era, an early attempt at blending her blunt-force, hip-hop influence with gentler melodic gifts. At the time, she called it a “tongue in cheek song about sex,” and it would eventually receive a dance remix with a verse from MC Lyte about how, despite the seduction in its title, “When I say no, yo, I mean no.” The hook feels almost preverbal as she finds ways to subvert the directness: “Put ’em on, put ’em on, put ’em on me,” O’Connor sings until the words bleed into the rhythm.

These simple pleasures exist in a different universe than “Troy,” a dark, ambitious ballad with lyrics ranging from Yeats allusion to dragon-killing fantasy, breathless apology to full-throated rage. On the album, her words are backed by a string section responding to each shift in her inflection. In concert, she would sing it with just a 12-string guitar, her voice trembling then crashing like something heavy dropped suddenly from above. It is one of the only songs on the album she admitted to being autobiographical at the time. The lyrics were addressed in part to her abusive mother who died in a car crash when O’Connor was 19, but who would haunt her life and work long after. “I couldn’t admit it was her I was angry at,” she would later reflect, “so I took it out on the world” – Pitchfork

Choice Cut: Mandinka

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Release Date: 20th March, 1990

Labels: Ensign/Chrysalis

Producers: Nellee Hooper/Sinéad O'Connor

Standout Tracks: I Am Stretched on Your Grave/The Emperor's New Clothes/Jump in the River

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=51591&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/34hQFIwGTLf03BZQmGL0iy?si=mMmyuuy2TiCJF4DX_eRKMw

Review:

“Second albums — especially much-anticipated second albums — are a well-known jinx. And so after her debut two years ago with the sometimes lush, sometimes hard- rocking The Lion and the Cobra, Sinead O’Connor might have given us almost anything. A pop album, a rock album, an impossibly mannered album — anything.

Instead, it’s as if she tore her skin off. ”God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,” she mutters at the beginning over sober strings, intoning a prayer that serves — however O’Connor might have found it — as a credo for people in 12-step programs. But she sounds tense. Maybe God hasn’t granted her that serenity yet.

Strings keep cropping up on the album, as they did on The Lion and the Cobra. There they sounded passionate; here they seem spiritual, like a musical halo or a continuing prayer.

But then there are songs without strings, songs that blow on a rock & roll wind, even a denunciation of British racism called ”Black Boys on Mopeds,” which balances mainly on a single acoustic guitar. And of course there’s O’Connor’s voice, which, despite widespread amazement at its range and strength, is in no way dependable. It pales and cracks. And through those cracks pours truth, as if O’Connor were strong enough not to be afraid to let herself break.

She sings several songs about how to carry on after losing love, among them the album’s first single, a song written by Prince called ”Nothing Compares 2 U.” But mostly she sings about her quest for serenity. That quest gives the album a large-scale arc, in which the prayer at the start is answered at the end by the title song, ”I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.” This O’Connor sings unaccompanied, letting her philosophy, like her voice, stand before us naked. It’s not a polished or nuanced philosophy (O’Connor is only 23), but she does sound as though she earned it, not just picked it up from an inspirational book.

Astounding things happen. There’s one song luridly titled ”I Am Stretched Out on Your Grave.” It’s not the horror-film scenario you might expect; instead, it’s almost like an ancient romance, in which a woman won’t be separated from her lover even by death. O’Connor intones it over a stark but absolutely unexpected accompaniment: a bare-bones dance track, clattered out on what sounds like a drum machine. The result is like a marriage of the 14th and 21st centuries, ancient myth played out against a backdrop of urban decay.

In this way, O’Connor transforms pop-music styles, never doing quite what you’d expect. But will she wander outside pop and fall into clichés in styles she doesn’t know as well? There’s a distantly secondhand smell, for example, in the quasi-classical way she uses strings. But let her confront that danger later. This album continues a journey into unexplored country, a journey whose end I wouldn’t dare try to predict. A” – Entertainment Weekly

Choice Cut: Nothing Compares 2 U

Universal Mother

Release Date: 13th September, 1994

Labels: Ensign/Chrysalis

Producers: Sinéad O'Connor/John Reynolds/Tim Simenon/Phil Coulter

Standout Tracks: My Darling Child/Famine/Thank You for Hearing Me

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=51634&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/0zQllKtOtx3i7QFccbAWvL?si=TvTnxbDlQaO7CfpMy9FI0w

Review:

“It seems that when pop stars address their own family sagas, they turn to the pop psychology of their times: John Lennon screamed ”Mother!” primal-therapy- style in the ’70s. Now Sinead O’Connor exorcises her inner child on her latest, most reflective album, Universal Mother (Chrysalis). Interweaving meditations on her late mother and her own maternity, O’Connor finds metaphors for religion, reproductive rights, and even the infantilization of Ireland. In the album’s opening, she cleverly probes the contradiction between mother- worshiping and mother-blaming: An excerpt from a speech by Germaine Greer calling on women to change government by finding the ”trick of cooperation” is answered with ”Fire on Babylon,” a song that screams ”What about Margaret Thatcher!” without ever mentioning her name. As usual, O’Connor is uncompromising when on the attack-she has the zeal of religious fervor behind her-although she’s primarily interested in healing and love. ”Fire on Babylon” has flashes of passion, and ”Famine” is an assured rap, but these songs are mostly soft and small; a few are actual lullabies. Happily, her voice is emerging from effects-land, although its tremulous quality still sounds overdone. B+” – Entertainment Weekly

Choice Cut: Fire on Babylon

How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?

Release Date: 20th February, 2012

Label: Shamrock Solutions Republic of Ireland

Producer: John Reynolds

Standout Tracks: Reason with Me/Queen of Denmark/I Had a Baby

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=412190&ev=mb

Review:

“Ever colourful and controversial, Sinead O'Connor returns with her ninth album, following her Twitter pleas for a partner, the marriage to a drug counsellor that was almost scuppered by a wedding-night attempt to score weed, and contemplations of suicide. Business as usual then – although the songs address love, hypocrisy and parenthood to surprisingly breezy, even humourous effect, that unscathed stark, crystal voice notwithstanding. The sublime Reason With Me sees her adopt the character of a junkie pleading for redemption, but the album's most startling moments come when the 45-year-old lays herself wide open. Take Off Your Shoes lambasts the Catholic church paedophilia scandal with scathing vigour ("I bleed the blood of Jesus over you"). Very Far from Home is a serene, touching confession of vulnerability. Elsewhere, V.I.P. skewers celebrity culture, materialism, MTV and (surely) Bono in one mighty, pious rage; Old Lady is pure pop, and John Grant's savagely funny Queen of Denmark could have been written for her. The album is a tuneful emotional rollercoaster, and it's thrilling to hear such vitriol and indignation – qualities in short supply in current pop” – The Guardian

Choice Cut: Take Off Your Shoes

The Underrated Gem

 

Am I Not Your Girl?

Release Date: 22nd September, 1992

Labels: Ensign/Chrysalis

Producers: Phil Ramone/Sinéad O'Connor

Standout Tracks: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered/Don't Cry for Me Argentina/Gloomy Sunday

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=51619&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1186Oo3LkL5tauDVEemxGU?si=mWyoeteuRmKrM2ZhQjVNRw  

Review:

“Based on Sinéad O'Connor's version of "You Do Something to Me" (a highlight on the Red Hot + Blue album), an album of pop standards performed with a big band might have actually worked. At times, such as on "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," Am I Not Your Girl? does work. However, O'Connor runs into trouble with acknowledged standards and songs heavily identified with other vocalists. She doesn't offer a new perspective on these songs, and her airy voice is buried by overwrought string arrangements. Plus, there's O'Connor's bizarre two-minute rant on love, hatred, herself, and the Catholic Church” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home

The Latest Album

 

I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss

Release Date: 11th August, 2014

Label: Nettwerk

Producer: John Reynolds

Standout Tracks: How About I Be Me/Your Green Jacket/8 Good Reasons

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/list?master_id=718722&ev=mb

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/6Fhg99Hdf8ycurebhHq0WD?si=iuWRGckCQ76b8t8c4TnCvg

Review:

“Look no further than the title and striking cover photo of Sinead O’Connor’s tenth studio release to understand that this is a remake/remodel.  When she opens the disc with the declaration “I wanna make love like a real full woman, everyday” in a dusky, husky, lioness voice then shifts up a few octaves to continue “I’ve got to find what I’m dreaming of,” it’s clear that the singer-songwriter, never shy to begin with, has hit a feisty, middle aged, sensual I-want-your-hands-on-me swagger.

O’Connor is also upping the volume, even heading into blues rock territory with the crushing, nightmarish “The Voice Of My Doctor” and the swampy “Kisses Like Mine.” She gets Afro-funky and invites Fela’s son Seun Kuti for the groove-a-thon rhythm of “James Brown,” arguably the most fun track she’s done. Her voice has taken on a deeper hue but remains instantly recognizable.

One spin of the mid-tempo “Your Green Jacket” where she smells her boyfriend’s titular coat and wishes her nose was buried in her lover instead will convince even doubters that O’Connor remains one of the most talented and distinctive singers of her generation. Occasionally, as on the album’s first single “Take Me to Church” (“I’ve done so many bad things it hurts”), the old anger takes over, amping up the drama over a throbbing beat. The album’s two ballads, “Harbour” which morphs from a gentle first third to a raucous end, and the closing, piano based “Streetcars” spotlight the shape shifting vocal dynamics that have always been O’Connor’s most striking attributes.  On “8 Good Reasons” she slides from a subtle whisper to a defiant roar as she rails against the industry that both gave her fame and took her down (“you know I love to make music/but my head got wrecked by the business”) with honesty and a bit of reflective introspection.

While O’Connor never really went anywhere, this self-assured and confident release feels like a comeback. It has elements of what made her so strong and startling back on her still dynamic 1987 debut but tempered and matured with the wisdom of a quarter century of experience” – American Songwriter

Choice Cut: Take Me to Church

The Sinéad O'Connor Book

 

Rememberings

Author: Sinéad O'Connor

Publication Date: 1st June, 2021

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Synopsis:

“Outspoken, provocative and enormously talented, singer Sinead O’ Connor has lived her life very much on her own terms and, in this forthright and considered memoir, she reveals all about stardom, motherhood and calling out hypocrisy.

The landmark memoir of a global music icon.

Sinead O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the age of twenty-one. Her recording of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television. O'Connor was unapologetic and impossible to ignore, calling out hypocrisy wherever she saw it. She has remained that way for three decades.

Now, in Rememberings, O'Connor tells her story - the heartache of growing up in a family falling apart; her early forays into the Dublin music scene; her adventures and misadventures in the world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll; the fulfilment of being a mother; her ongoing spiritual quest - and through it all, her abiding passion for music.

Rememberings is intimate, replete with candid anecdotes and full of hard-won insights. It is a unique and remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist” – Waterstones.co.uk

Order: https://www.waterstones.com/book/rememberings/sinead-oconnor/9781844885411