Dominique – Help Me Decide
Genre: Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, Psychedelic / Freak Folk, Art Rock
Similar artists: Laurie Anderson, Sinead O’Connor, Angel Olsen, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Kath Bloom, Nico, Jane Sibery
Make no mistake about it, women, for the most part, were the true innovators of rock as an art form. They had no choice. They became revolutionaries because there was no other way around it. Those that wanted to be involved in pop music either had to take charge, or become the bass player in the ego-driven alt-rock vehicle of some washed-up singer.
Their only choice then was to create their own language. The likes of Laurie Anderson or Sinead O’Connor aren’t important to the story of pop music because of how many records they sold, or because of how many imitators they produced. They’re important because they managed to create a line of communication with their audience in a totally unique style.
Dominique’s Help Me Decide has no point of reference. It’s a sound that belongs entirely to the songwriter. This is an art class disguised as pop music. It’s created as naturally as children will play with their toys. This is all rather overwhelming, but what else could Dominique do? To reshape sound was the only way.
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys – Risk
Genre: Psychedelic / Freak Folk, Shoegaze, Indie Rock
Similar artists: Aldous Harding, Marike Hackmann, Sonic Youth, Broadcast, King Hannah, Chelsea Wolfe, Angel Olsen
Witnessing rock musicians performing their craft used to be a voluptuous, even lascivious kind of experience. At the very least, this was the unspoken promise of records and shows. Teenagers who sought these out knew it. So did their parents who tried to keep them from it.
For some, the combination of sounds, excitement, and potential violence closely resemble the characteristics of desire. For these people what pop music has become is, oftentimes, a safe, sanitized version of the old pagan artform. These are listeners who demand that their rock stars both thrill and frighten them.
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys‘ Risk is an unfriendly love song. At the heart of the song stands a poem that is rivetting, but not made by someone you would comfortably invite for Sunday dinner. It’s music meant to keep you on your toes. It’s violently sensual music. Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys echo the rock heroes of old in an era where listeners are generally over-protected.
