Soaked

Walking in sunshine
Shirt soaked with sweat, eyes stinging
Longing for sweet rain

Spy vs Spy by John Zorn

Some albums are not easy to listen to, not for the subject matter, but simply because the form of the music is so far outside of your regular comfort zone. Extreme forms of thrash metal or avant garde experimental pieces are the usual examples, but in this case it’s a John Zorn with a blast of free jazz riffing off pieces by Ornette Colman as seen though the lens of thrashcore punk.

These are all short tracks and the first impression is of a relentless sonic assault, but this definitely repays giving it your full attention so that you can make sense of what is happening. Listening on headphones is a must, not least because you will probably get some funny looks from anyone else who hears this, but also because there are two alto saxophones at work here on opposite sides of the sound stage - Tim Berne on the left channel and John Zorn on the right.

The effect is a little bit like the classic duelling banjos piece, where they lay down challenges and try to top each other (or sometimes just see who can honk the loudest).

Nice!

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Hammering F5

Feast of Wire by Calexico

This was a pleasant surprise, combining mariachi with jazz to give something that sounded in places like the soundtrack to a lost Sergio Leone spaghetti western and in others like a Lynchian fever dream. The songs are all fairly short with an impressive variety of styles and instruments including mandolin, bowed banjo and pedal steel which is always a positive in my book.

I wasn’t surprised to see that founder members Joey Burns and John Convertino were also part of the Friends of Dean Martinez project who are best known for their soundtrack work, particularly on Red Dead Redemption, which should give you an idea of what to expect from this.

Quirky-cowboy-tastic!

Flurry

My toughest rival
On Words with Friends, the mighty
Alice McFlurry

Ju Ju by Siouxsie & The Banshees

Interesting to compare and contrast this album with Talk, Talk, Talk by The Psychedelic Furs that the random generator gave me yesterday. Both albums are from 1981, both described as Post Punk but listening to them one after the other shows that they are very different in tone and feel. Siouxsie was one of the original Bromley contingent of punks and can be seen in the background of the notorious Sex Pistols interview where they - gasp! - swore on live tv. To be fair, the lecherous Bill Grundy really was a dirty old fucker.

As with just about everyone on that scene she didn’t hesitate to form a band and quickly established a unique sound that was darker and more sophisticated than contemporary punk thrash. Although she doesn’t like the term, this is definitely one of the roots of both goth rock and the associated fashion sense - Siouxsie single handedly invented the goth archetype of huge black hair, black clothes and heavy black eyeliner.

This album has a lot going for it - distinctive heavy bass, interesting guitar sounds (using an odd little gadget called a Gizmo to good effect), phenomenal drumming from Budgie (who would later form the Creatures spin off band with Siouxsie) and most importantly Siouxsie’s dark, shimmering vocals giving a unique feel to this album. The lyrics are also edging into dark (and dare I say Gothic) territory - not quite a concept album but there’s a definite air of the macabre here.

Definitely-not-goth-no,siree-tastic!

Sail

We set sail today
Under skies of polished bronze
Endless wine dark seas