Showing posts with label howard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label howard. Show all posts

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Day 0509 - Junkyard

The Birthday Party "Junkyard" (1982)


The wild, rabid Aussie band had made the move to the UK.  Based on acts such as the Fall, they assumed that they would find a music scene full of kindred spirits; but instead found a country well in the grip of new-wave, new romanticism and various other 'news'.

They did find supporters in England for the turbulent last year or so of their existence (in an already turbulent life... the band used to take hard drugs, and steal cars, amongst other things).  Drugs, alcohol, in-fighting all the usual band noise plagued this punky, demented murder-blues band, before Nick Cave left to start up his new gothy murder-blues band.

The songs on this, their last album, are as buck-wild and bare-backed as anything they ever worked on, with the songs being clamorous enough in places that you could imagine that each member was working on a totally different song.  Working 'against' rather than 'with' each other, but  somehow still working.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Day 0408 - Real Life

Magazine "Real Life" (1978)

Another ex-punker's "new band" (after having looked at Public Image Ltd yesterday), this time Howard Devoto who had just recently departed from the Buzzcocks.

Whereas John Lydon went more abrasive and confronting, Devoto added layers of melody, musicianship and quirkiness.

There are still hints of a punk identity to the music but it also suggests a more complex pop sound along the lines of a band like Sparks.