| CD REVIEW LoneLady |
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Band : LoneLady The moment I found out the editor-in-chief had downloaded a Warp release for review, I was on top of it! You see, usually Warp releases high-quality Electronic and Experimental albums (check LFO, check Aphex Twin, check Boards Of Canada to name but a few bands)…the kinda stuff the more open-minded music lover does nót want to miss out on! Imagine my surprise when listening to Nerve Up for the first time, as Manchester based LoneLady (in essence the person of Julie Campbell) has a sound which is rather remeniscent of the late ‘70s, early ‘80s Post-Punk “New Wave” bands such as Joy Division (later New Order), Wire, and The Fall, the difference being that those were male-fronted (by the way, I dó think this is the first time Warp has issued a female-fronted album)! And as it happens, all of these 3 references are mentioned as Campbell’s favourite bands (alongside ESG, Grace Jones, Suicide, and PIL) in the biography we got along with the download promo copy of the album! Another thing mentioned, is that she prefers debut albums (well, that’s one thing at least we have in common), often proof of struggle, real-ness, and wilderness. On a shoestring budget Campbell reverted an old mill in her hometown into a recording studio, then recorded her album in a 4-week period with the aid of producer Guy Fixsen, known from his work with the likes of My Bloody Valentine, The Breeders, Stereolab (among others). The end result is 10 fresh and varied songs, in which Campbell’s Telecaster guitar is a constant, although played in different styles (and mostly with a minimum of distortion). Some songs may have an overtone of keyboards, but the guitar is always there in some capacity. Apparently Campbell, akà LoneLady, took care of all instruments (the drums might be programmed, though), but in live conditions you’ll find her supported by a drummer and a keyboard/ second guitar player. By the way, the album was preceded by (limited) vinyl 7-inch single “Immaterial” (most definitely one of the stand-out songs on the album, as far as “intensity” is concerned), issued on November 9 of last year (and already sold-out, but available as free download)…and another limited 7-inch titled “Intuition”, released on February 8. In all honesty, when I gave the album its first listen, I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed with the offerings…but even with the second session I found out that LoneLady’s tunes have an uncanny knack of crawling under one’s skin and into one’s mind. Admittingly, Campbell has a great singing voice, which exhudes the emotions she felt when writing the songs (remember some of the Lady’s influences weren’t exactly cheerful bands either!). To give you a decent understanding of LoneLady’s music, I would almost have to review song by song, because they àre that diverse, going from calmer minimalist drum-guitar-keyboard (synth) songs to more excited “filled” tracks, and stuff in between. Best therefore for you to check out the music player at myspace.com/hiholonelady, where no less than the complete album is posted! I’m almost sure that, when having listened to the songs a first time, you’ll almost automatically press the play button again! If you’re not ready to buy the album after that, maybe you will when checking out LoneLady in live conditions? Because you can, you know, as from 23 March to 23 April the Lady and her band wiill be playing several shows in Europe (5 gigs in France followed by a show at Brussel’s Botanique on March 30, a gig at Amsterdam’s Paradiso the day after, 4 shows in Germany/ Austria, one performance at Rotterdam’s Motel Mozaique Festival on April 9 – then come additional shows at France’s Printemps De Bourges Festival and finally a new visit to Amsterdam’s Paradiso on April 23). 85/100 Tony. |