Part twenty-six of an array of CD mixes I made for my wife over a long number of years! Read more about it here!
I love the colors on this cover. I did not doctor or sweeten it apart from some merged blur to heighten a few facets. This photo was taken on the same London trip as XXV but, unlike XXV’s cover, it’s vibrant and is full of natural textures and energy. I guarantee you that my energy level the time I took the photo does not match the results as I snapped it very late at night riding a London bus back to our hotel.
That said? Why’d I double down on the same font as XXV and think that bolding it would improve matters? It does not.
Onto the music. Here are the late-night highlights:
ANNA CALVI! Calvi has it all. She has amazing guitar chops, a stunningly resonant voice, and an extremely vibrant look that perfectly accompanies her dramatic sound.
I saw her via yet another Schubas experience, lucky enough to get in on the ground floor for her US tour for her initial album. The small, narrow venue could hardly contain her talent. It was one thing to hear her virtuoso guitar work. It was another thing to see her do so up-close. Absolutely electrifying.
FIGHT LIKE APES, once again! I love me some filth, and FIGHT LIKE APES always delivers — especially when you have a song named ‘Ice Cream Apple Fuck’. The song goes out with a bang.
(Also? I love the title of the album it’s on: ‘The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner’.)
GATEKEEPER brilliantly crashes everything down in slow motion! Makes you want to sway while debris falls around you.
MELODIUM! Jaunty electro with its perky beats and sweeps and swoops!
Here’s the format for this rollercoaster ride! (Artist / Album / Song — links go to a video of the song, if available):
- THE DOUGH ROLLERS / The Dough Rollers / Where Shall I Be
- SLEATER-KINNEY / One Beat / Sympathy
- PULP / This is Hardcore / Like a Friend
- SHRAG / Life! Death! Prizes! / The Habit Creep
- CULTS / Cults 7″ / The Curse
- CIRCUIT DES YEUX / Ode to Fidelity / Barrel Down
- ANNA CALVI / Jezebel / Jezebel
- MELODIUM / Hum hum & bla bla / Hellomusic [Ochre]
- THE KNIFE + MT. SIMS + PLANNINGTOROCK / Tomorrow, in a Year / Colouring of Pigeons
- HAUSCHKA / Foreign Landscapes / Kamogawa
- BLOOD WARRIOR / Blood Warrior / Blood Letting
- GATEKEEPER / Giza / Storm Column
- THE BLACK ANGELS / Passover / Empire
- NATHAN OLIVER / Cloud Animals / Icicles for Fingers
- FIGHT LIKE APES / The Body Of Christ And The Legs Of Tina Turner / Ice Cream Apple Fuck
- BIG EYES / Why Can’t I / Why Can’t I