New Music From Lydia Lunch
No Wave post-punk pioneer Lydia Lunch's first full-length recording in five years
will be released this November by Atavistic Worldwide. Titled Smoke in the
Shadows, the new album finds the legendary poet/songstress working with esteemed
avant-garde artist/guitarist Nels Cline, saxophonist Niels Van Hoorn (of the
Legendary Pink Dots) and Adele Bertei (of the seminal No Wave outfit The Contortions).
Perhaps best known for her nihilistic, violent and overtly sexual songs, Lunch spent the past two years collaborating with a variety of artists on the new album, laying down tracks at The Antechamber recording studio in Los Angeles, and also at Newzone Studios.
Over the years, Lunch has collaborated with dozens of artists, including members of Sonic Youth, the Birthday Party, Foetus and Einstürzende Neubauten. Smoke… finds her working again with underground artists Len del Rio and Tommy Grenas, who have played together in a number of punk-inspired music projects and are credited with laying down the bulk of the new record's instrumental tracks.
The founder of late-'70s New York No Wave outfit Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, Lunch
recorded with Cline (who has worked with former Minutemen bassist/solo artist
Mike Watt), drummer Alex Cline (Nels' brother), upright bassist Joel Hamilton,
vibraphonist Joe Berardi, and a brass section consisting of Vinny Golia, Chuck
Manning, Don Ostermann, and John Fumo.
Smoke… features vocals from the Geraldine Fibbers' Carla Bozulich on two tracks; Bertei sang backup. The song "Portrait of the Minus Man" was recorded at Sartorial Sound studio in London, with Terry Edwards (he's worked with numerous artists, including Nick Cave, PJ Harvey, the Jesus and Mary Chain) playing all instruments.
The new album follows Lunch's 1999 release, Matrikamantra. Influenced by everything from sultry jazz to spastic punk, Lunch has been inventing one-of-a-kind musical concoctions for more than two decades, releasing more than 20 solo albums, beginning with her 1979 solo debut Queen of Siam. — Jenny Tatone [Thursday, September 2, 2004]
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