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Friday 6th April 2012
All Day BBQ Festival

Sparrow and the Workshop
6 Day Riot
The Nuns
Singing Adams
Y Niwl
Colours
Dignan Porch
+more tbc

The Windmill
Brixton
Price tbc

On Our iPod

Golden Grrrls - New Pop 7”

Chris Devotion & The Expectations - Amalgamation & Capital (album)

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester (album)

Throwing Up - Mother Knows Best 7”

Howling Wolf - Complete Chess Masters 1951-60

The Ketamines - A Rotten Bond/1 Yr (from Oddbox Singles Club Pt 2)

Cardinal - Hymns (album)

Proper Ornaments - Taking the Gamble Out of Buying 12”

Darren Hayman - January Songs (album)

Various: Marshall Teller EP 12”

Latest Forum Posts

Album Review

Rowland S Howard
Pop Crimes Infectious Music

Article written by Ged M - Jun 22, 2010

Rowland S Howard: Pop Crimes

What turns out to be his final record first came out last October, after a quick recording process caused by the knowledge of the liver cancer that was to kill him on 30 December last year. You can remember him for his work in the Birthday Party, Crime and the City Solution and the Immortal Souls, or for his collaborations with Lydia Lunch and others, but this proper release is a fine tribute too.

On ‘(I Know) A Girl Called Johnny’ there’s another collaboration, with Jonnine Standish of HTRK, that’s full of dark energy and erotic charge: “she’s my narcotic lollypop” he exclaims, over the sort of backing that reminds you of the woozy moments of coming to after heavy slumber. Most other tracks have a heavy blanket of darkness too; the brilliant ‘Pop Crimes’ manages to cover off all the bases of history, religion, politics and the personal, its oppressive mood driven by a merciless bass and wailing guitar. The personal gloom is present in Howard’s cover of Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Nothin’ while on ‘Wayward Man’ he avers “I’m your constant disappointment”. But there’s redemption too; women ultimately save him more than once here, as they do on the passionate and intense love song ‘Ave Maria’.

On another occasion, I might have claimed that his version of Talk Talk’s ‘Life’s What You Make It’ was capable but unremarkable but here the lyrics seem be to speaking directly for him and his circumstances – which makes it all the more tragic that his body rebelled against him after he’d cleaned up and become enthusiastic about life, following years of substance abuse. He was clearly aging gracefully, without any of the clichés and cheats that 50 old musicians sometimes employ and Pop Crimes is a great legacy of an impressive musical history.

Links:
http://www.myspace.com/rowlandshoward