Tag Archives: Lorna Irvine

Overlooked Classics: The Birthday Party- Junkyard

Few albums sound like their cover art. Junkyard is one such record. The follow-up to debut Prayers on Fire, it’s a riot. The Birthday Party were like a marauding razor gang. Every track is a little electric shock: pure viciousness, matching the Ed Roth/ Dave Christensen artwork. GrIpped by drugs and demons, the Australian post-punkContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: The Birthday Party- Junkyard”

Book Review: Alex Rigg- Mouth to Mouth: Short Stories 1997-2001

Oceanallover’s artistic director Alex Rigg seems allergic to cliché. His site-specific theatre work- whether in performance, costume, music or text- is never about empty sensationalism; he reacts to, and transforms, the spaces around him. The work is unique, often something otherworldly and satirical. So it is with this collection of his short stories., gorgeously illustratedContinue reading “Book Review: Alex Rigg- Mouth to Mouth: Short Stories 1997-2001”

Lost In Music: Aphex Twin- Come To Daddy

In these terrible days of Boris and his cronies’ collective hubris, we need an anthem to guide us into the light- a song which, heads raised aloft like Boudicca, we sing to raise spirits and gladden hearts. It’s what Dame Vera stood for and by jingo, it’s what we need right now. Bollocks we do.Continue reading “Lost In Music: Aphex Twin- Come To Daddy”

Slang King

It’s been four years since Mark Edward Smith passed away and I can’t think of many curmudgeons who inspired so many bands and people, despite being such a divisive figure (Moz, maybe). My favourite lyrics by Smith can also be found in some of my favourite Fall songs. He’s particularly scathing when it comes toContinue reading “Slang King”

Bjork: MTV Unplugged/ MTV Live

Bjork Unplugged? Sounds like an oxymoron, and kinda is. This film compilation of MTV appearances, released in 2002, is one for completists only. Capturing the divine Ms Gudmunsdottir in 1994 at the height of her Debut success, both the performance and sound are too subdued to really impact. She tentatively prowls around the stage inContinue reading “Bjork: MTV Unplugged/ MTV Live”

Narcissism and Social Media

We’ve all seen them on Instagram- perfect; peerless pristine people in gorgeous settings, showing off abs, teeth and hair while a nutritious yet yummy dinner bubbles away in an immaculate kitchen. Or the famous, sexy do-gooder, cutting ribbon on an animal sanctuary bearing their name, the sunlight bathing them in golden hues,as if the luminosityContinue reading “Narcissism and Social Media”

Album Review: Boris-W

For well over two decades, Japanese experimental doom band Boris have been treading their own path, through line-up and label changes. Too avant-garde for the mainstream, they nonetheless have a loyal fan- base, not least because of working alongside collaborators like Sunn 0))). This, their first album for Sacred Bones, has enough light and shadeContinue reading “Album Review: Boris-W”

What Is Goth?

What is Goth? I see Goths all over Instagram,generally doing excessive glam make up tutorials, but as an old, and old school, Goth, it leaves me feeling somewhat alienated. Have they ever even heard Fields of the Nephilim or Sisters of Mercy? I suspect not. Young people, eh?!? Inspired by the spiky grandeur of art,Continue reading “What Is Goth?”

Always Tip The Waitresses

Before Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning and sundry damp post-punk/ new wave- inspired bands so beloved by Lammo etc, there was a band formed by a bunch of Ohio misfits, The Waitresses. Effortlessly cool, the band fused skronky saxophone, a la No Wave band James Chance and The Contortions, with pop sensibilities. When Chris Butler, whoContinue reading “Always Tip The Waitresses”