Gary Gilmore murdered two men and was put before a Utah firing squad. His last words were a Christian blessing, but they are remembered in popular culture as “Let’s do this.” His corneas were donated for transplants, and this act inspired The Adverts’ classic punk hit, “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes.” TV Smith of The Adverts has now teamed up with Martin Bowes of Attrition for an updated re-telling of the tale.
Track of the Day
John Foxx and his sometime-collaborator, Louis Gordon, made some formidable music together. The title track from 2006’s From Trash is notable for the emphatic, glam-stomp of the bass line and Foxx’s distinctive and heart-felt vocals. DJs, shame on you, if you don’t get this out once in a while.
For everyone with a Eurovision hangover, we’d recommend taking a listen to this fine Spanish electropop and forgetting you stayed up to watch the voting. Destino Plutòn [EN: Destination Pluto] have a foot firmly in the space disco camp, and there are enough sweeps and bounces in here to satisfy fans of SMPJ and Vision Talk alike. This track, “Césped Artificial” [EN: “Artificial Turf”], is remixed from their most recent release, which translates as “The Importance of Virtual Contact.”
Keluar come from Berlin, where they are one of the most compelling of the new generation of warm wave acts. If the duo of Zoè Zanias and Sid Lamar seem familiar, it could be because Zoè was Alison Lewis of Linea Aspera and Sid is also known as Jonas Förster. This is the title track from their second EP, and it shows off Zoè/Alison’s magnificent vocals to fine effect.
You can catch Keluar live at the following events, which are curated by and feature Twice a Man:
A Warm Wave Concert (Stockholm): 30 May 2015, Facebook event page
A Warm Wave Concert (Göteborg): 29 May 2015, Facebook event page
Naked Lunch recently warmed up for Covenant, but they are stalwarts on the UK electronic scene, having appeared on the famed Some Bizarre album alongside Depeche Mode. Eddie Bengtsson of Page and Sista Mannen pa Jorden (playing in London on 19 April 2015 at The Lexington) has remixed one of the tracks from Rabies!, the most recent EP from the Lunch, and it’s a classy slice of dancefloor-friendly poptronica.
My God Damn Territory are back with new material. After The Stabby Sessions album comes a remix by Eddie Bengtsson of Page and Sista Mannen på Jorden (who are playing in London on 19 April 2015, don’t you know) of a track from their previous release, Who Are You Talk Show? Bengtsson and the band have met in the mix before: their third album, released in 2012, was billed as My God Damn Territory vs. Page. The combination is still potent, as this track shows.
Sweden’s Train to Spain were one of the very first bands to appear in Cold War Night Life. They were also first up on stage at our event, “An Evening with the Swedish Synth.” We like Jonas Rasmusson’s catchy, uptempo electronics. With great vocals from the Kylie-esque Helena Wigeborn, the band has enormous potential, so it’s fantastic to see them moving into video and raising the level of their production. There is an 80s thread running through “Keep on Running” that is brought out strongly here.
Six degrees of Trevor Horn: Horn was once told by Africa Bambaataa that his favourite song was by The Guess Who; Randy Bachman was in The Guess Who; Bachman ran a label called Legend; Trooper were signed to Legend; Trooper had a hit with “The Boys in the Bright White Sportscar” in 1979; Datafreq (Dave Rout of The Beautiful Spies and ex of Rational Youth) has recorded a new version that subverts the original with a hi-NRG feel.
Back in the 80s, The Leather Nun played ABBA covers with a homoerotic undertone and hung out with Throbbing Gristle and the Industrial Records set. They were much more in a rock tradition than their Gristlised peers, but wrote material that was accessible to fans in a variety of subcultures. Jonas Almquist’s brought the Nun back from time to time, but the promise of new material in 2015 is exciting – particularly if this taster sets the tone.
Oliver Jack and Tom Lenton are Delmer Darion. Their home-brewed project takes its name from a character in the movie, Magnolia, but the simmering bird-song, pads, horns and piano of this track owe something to Sigur Rós and Virginia Astley. The austere vocals of Emily Burns are a revelation. If this is what the youth of Britain are making, then there is still hope for a dubstep-free world.