Monday's Long Song

 

When I was rummaging through my record collection to find another long song, I came across an old record by Louis Tillet. Tillet was an Australian musician, singer/songwriter, pianist and saxophone player who came to my attention in the early eighties when he was part of Ed Kuepper's Laughing Clowns.

At that time, a wave of Australian bands came to Europe, some of which were great or just very good. The Go-Betweens, Birthday Party and the Triffids are just a few to mention here. While many of these bands wrote catchy or brute songs, Louis Tillet turned to the darker side of music. Many of his songs are rooted in the blues and are performed with piano, saxophone and a sparse guitar and dominated by his voice, which sounds like an aged Nick Cave. This song is from his 2001 live album Live @ the Basement and is typical of his sound.

Louis Tillet - Window Pane

When We Were Beautiful And Young

 

Last week Mick Harvey, former co-founder of the Birthday Party and member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds announced a new album after almost a decade. His latest sign of life was when he released a couple of months ago a cover version of Marlene Dietrich's A Suitcase in Berlin which will also appear on his new album. I liked this version but forgot to write about it. Now he released When We Were Beautiful And Young another song from this album. And it one of those songs that you listen once and repeat it several times. The track is ethereal and haunting – a powerful reflection of the past delivered with moving grace and presence. The arrangements recall something from Burt Bacharach with a touch of Tindersticks: dramatic and melodic, the lyrics evocative and reflective. Weeping, sweeping strings augment the dramatic scenery and makes me looking forward to the full album.

Another Lost Band From The 80's

 

In the early 80's Manchester's Inca Babies appeared on the scene with a great fresh kind of post-punk and Rock and Roll. I was surprised what these kids are able to do because seldom in these days I heard this kind of mixing genres and influences by Link Wray, The Cramps of The Birthday Party with the energy of new wave. The spine of their sound was a deep rolling bass combined with sharp guitar riffs and drifty drums - perfect for three minute hymns. 

The Inca Babies - Opus Den 1985 Hulme

The Inca Babies - Devil In My Room

The Inca Babies - She Mercenary

Now they are back with a new record and it seems they didn't lost their power.

The Passover

A few months ago London based psychedelic noise rockers SEX SWING released their second album Type II an album I listened often to during the last weeks. I like their hard and heavy blues and industrial influenced sound that brings back the early Birthday Party to my mind. It is not only noise because they interrupt their songs babbles and breaks and reduced speed. Now they released a remix album of their current album that is also worth listen to.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Surely everyone knows the situation when you listen to music from your hard-drive and suddenly a song appears and you think for how long I didn't listen to this one. This deja vu happened to me yesterday on the way to the office. It was Barry Adamson with Something Wicked This Way Comes from his 1996 album Oedipus Schmoedipus a record I used to listen often at this time. It is a record that is very underrated maybe because you can't categorize this kind of music. The music is more like a soundtrack and many people didn't know how to handle this Miles Davis influenced jazz lounge sound. Since his first days with Magazine I loved the way he played the bass. He was also the one who stamped the sound of Birthday Party and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Because I couldn't get him out of my mind I selected his music on Spotify and had a good start into work accompanied with his music.

Barry Adamson - Something Wicked This Way Comes

His latest full length album features all his abilities in music and it is a kaleidoscope of all his musical influences from rock to folk to jazz. Even string arrangements are possible.



And finally a superb collaboration with Nick Cave:

Exploted View

Sometimes helps the chance: Some time ago the British musician, now living in Berlin, journalist Annika Henderson played a session with three famous local Mexican musicians and producers. The result was a new record played without overdubs in one take. Henderson made a few song produced by Portishead's Geoff Barrow. I missed these records but I think I will investigate for them. Base for Henderson sometimes mokant pondering, sometimes declaiming, sometimes wailing voice was up to now a rather electronic sound which referred anyhow to avantpop of Velvet Underground about Birthday Party to Sonic Youth. New, distraught and dark.

Indie Scene 1981

1981 was the year independent music changed his face. During the last years a lot of bands became highly rinsed playing short guitar based songs with a lot of verve. Now it seems that pop and the spirit of singer/songwriter get a foot in the door of new music. Fantastic bands like Haircut 100, Aztec Camera appeared on the scene as well as acts like Flock of Seagulls or Hazel O'Conner. I don't want to wail - it was a very good thing that happened to new music - they enriched us with their music. Now I could spread my musical spectrum to even this music.

In my hometown the first so called 'punk bands' showed up in some locations. Absolutely a few years too late but they had the power and the spirit in it. I remember a few concerts where there was for one hour totally weirdness listening to some young fellows playing mostly cover versions of their heroes. Still in 1981 the mainstream ruled my little town. The jazz purists refused to listen to this kind of music, the Deadheads were still smoking pot and the rest was listening to Phil Collins, Journey or Pat Benatar but the scene grew the more we outdistanced from them. I remember one of the first concerts by Fido and the Insects (one of the first local punk bands) in a very small club playing in front of 80 people watching them. Listening to them crudely sound wasn't fun at all but we loved their power and enthusiasm. A few month ago I watched them after more than 30 years when they played a reunion gig. Everyone's got older (and maybe wiser), the dudes learned how to play their instruments and the crowd was happy for another evening to remember these days.

Au Pairs - Inconvience
Aztec Camera - We Could Send Letters
Birthday Party - Release the Bats
Clock DVA - 4 Hours
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin - It's my Party
Pigbag - Papa's got a brand new pigbag
Southern Death Cult - Fatman
The db's - Big Brown Eyes
Toyah - I want to be free

More of stuff like these you will find in an older post of mine.