
Laddermen – Welcome To the 20’s
We may love Johnny Thunders and the rest of the fashionably wasted rock stars. But, the truth of the matter is that the music world, like most aspects of life, belongs to people who are ambitious and take themselves pretty seriously.
Few crowds of musicians take themselves more seriously than those who have been touched by the influence of Joy Division, or, alternatively, by their modern-day followers, Interpol and the Editors. These are very good, that create murky soundscapes. They are also good businessmen, and models, never betraying a smile that might upset the value of their brand.
Of the groups that’s embraced the sparse, gloomy, stylish sound and look of modern post-punk few are as instantly convincing as Swiss group Laddermen. Welcome To the 20’s is a melancholic, tense affair that should greatly please fans of post-punk revival offered with flair and ambition.
Grated Heads – LSD Cleopatra
Acting is likely the closest humans ever got to art that is truly vital to the species. After all, as Marlon Brando used to say, everyone acts as a means of survival. A great show involving marvellous actors is all about showing things that aren’t really there and making the audience forget about the things that are.
In that sense, the moody psychedelic-rock bands whose lineage can be traced back to the Velvet Underground and the Jesus and Mary Chain, are incredible actors. They present themselves in black clothes, they create sonic illusions, and they tell stories that can be interpreted in many different ways.
Grated Heads’ LSD Cleopatra gets to the very heart of why this style of music is terrific. The German group is able to summon an air of restrictive ceremony. This is nighttime music, best enjoyed when the mind is already getting busy creating brand new images on an empty slate. It’s acid cool.