Reports from the Beachland with RW

Exciting news here at the Junk Drawer - we have a guest contributor!

My good buddy RW lives in Cleveland and he will be telling us about shows that he sees and other observations from his job at the Beachland.  

That is all I am going to put out as an introduction because I hope my faithful readers that don't already know RW will get to know him and the Cleveland music scene through his writing.  

Thursday 21 November 2013 at the Beachland

Saw Mono. For some reason they didn't do it for me tonight. I've always liked their approach to songs: quiet beginnings that lead to cacophonous walls of sound. 

But tonight the quiet beginnings struck me as precious. They didn't grab me, and I found myself twiddling my fingers, waiting for the feedback.

I remain a fan.

The surprise of the evening was Mick Turner, who opened. I wasn't familiar with him at all. In fact, I thought I'd missed the opening act completely. I thought the older guy on stage was sound-checking Mono's instruments.

He was doing the one-man band act, creating drum rhythms, loops, all with a lyrical and sometimes blistering guitar over the top. It was engaging and beautiful. I think I saw a member of Mono watching admiringly from behind the sound booth.

Cocksure

Is there a nation that is more fluent in swear words than Scotland?

I seriously doubt it - somehow the brogue really brings the filth to the forefront.

Earlier this week I was making a mix for Mitchell and I went out of my way (aka digging through boxes) to put on the eponymous track from Murder Inc. 

Released in 1992 during one of Killing Joke's many hiatuses, Murder Inc. featured Chris Connelly on vocals and his menace and swagger are used to a beautifully bruising effect when he declares - "Make no mistake, we've come to fuck you over"

21 years later - today - Connelly reaches out on Facebook with that sardonic and self-deprecating Scottish wit:

The Revolting Cocks (well, some of them) are back... now they're COCKSURE! If you ever had nostalgia for the giddy heights of 1987 but still have modern aspirations, you will not be disappointed -- the album is packed with grooves, laughs and dirty words!

In the parlance of our times, instead of a few well placed F-bombs there is a LOT of swearing on this track.  Definitely NSFW.



As someone who spent the last two days with Nitzer Ebb's "Belief"* in my car's tape deck, I feel I qualify as one who is open to something that is reminiscent of Wax Trax's glory days with current production values. 

"There was a laugh track at my arraignment..."

 I like this track and I want the rest of this album to follow suit. 

*"Belief" holds up very well, btw. back in the day I played this tape so much that the lettering faded off one side. 

Blank Project

When Neneh Cherry teamed up with The Thing, the result knocked me on my ass.  

One year later, The Cherry Thing is still an album I turn to when I want a heaviness that swings.  

So learning that I have to wait until mid-February to hear more of this upcoming solo album from Ms. Cherry is definitely going to test my patience. 

Produced by Four Tet?  Yeah, my instincts are telling me to bet high on this one.