LOL TOLHURST x BUDGIE x JACKNIFE LEE
When an artist's gravity is so heavy, it is only natural that others will fall into its orbit. Founding member of punk, goth outfit The Cure, Lol Tolhurst along with Siouxsie & The Banshees drummer Budgie and electronic master Jacknife Lee initially battered an idea about doing a project together and what started as a rough idea turned from a loose concept to an instrumental record and finally into a full-blown extravaganza of industry icons all coalescing around Tolhurst and the collective draw of fellow heavy weights.
Tolhurst’s record is a cavalcade of contributors, each a giant in their own right, and each brings a seismic level of talent to the project. Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie features heavily throughout the album and for a man who holds such a stature in the industry, a man who oozes talent and whose vocals drip with style, it would be hard to resist the temptation to have him appear on any less than the three tracks he does. Each bears his name as they do his quintessential chic, ‘This Is What It Is (To be Free)’ a notable yet painfully real tale of love sung with the despair he canvases, ‘Ghosted At Home’ is right out of the Swastika Eyes playbook and ‘Country of the Blind’ with its wobbly electronics and impassioned directive harks to the burning energy Gillespie has harnessed so gracefully for so many years.
Not to be outshone, LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records creator, James Murphy, throws his considerable hat into the ring. Also appearing on several tracks ‘Los Angeles’ and ‘Skins’, Murphy's unmistakable pleading vocals blend effortlessly the old world and the new. A pioneer in his own right and the genre-defining records he alone has produced, pair with the old masters who undeniably laid down the path for such adventurous productions that Murphy and his contemporaries borrow from.
There are a few guitarists in the modern era whose pseudonym is so instantly recognisable and the mere mention of The Edge leads to only one conclusion. U2 founding member and guitar extraordinaire is yet another exceptional talent who also features on the record. Performing on ‘Train With No Station’ and ‘Noche Oscura’ his unforgettable style melds harmoniously with the diametrically opposite end of the musical spectrum that Jackife Lee inhabits. Instrumentals and absent of any traditional vocals, nothing is lost or underdone but welcomed sonic excursions positioned perfectly throughout the record.
Of the modern artists to feature with the established hegemony, the pairing of Strawcrawler’s Arrow de Wilde and IDLES Mark Bowen couldn’t be better. Both fearsome performers and simply menacing on stage, what raw energy they outwardly display in such dominant fashion is brought to bear on the single track to work together on ‘Uh Oh’. Feverish percussion, crazed vocals, and a disillusioned sentiment mix a potent brew of blood, sweat, and tears.
The other artistic pairing on the album is that of the hard-lived Lonnie Holley and harpist Mary Lattimore on ‘Bodies’. The guttural vocals of Holley commands attention and his presence demands his inclusion on the record purely through his irrepressible style. A style however that is delicately tempered by Lattimore’s intricate harp accompaniment.
Of the individual contributors, there are several, and Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse fame brings his eclectic style to ‘We Got To Move’. With high energy, choral accompaniment, and a pulsating beat, it charges off into the distance as it waits for no one. Pan Amsterdam adds a rap element to the record with ‘Travel Channel’ as he delivers his characteristic rhymes with the genre-bending style has that made him so famous. Broody, jazzy, and lo-fi, a heady mix that allows time to pause and ponder.
The two tracks that exclusively feature Tolhurst, Budgie, and Lee, ‘Everything and Nothing’ and ‘The Past (Being Eaten) both showcase the inherent strengths of each artist and also the record's evolution. Whether it is samples of bird songs taken by Tolhurt, precision drumming by Budgie, or synth experimentation by Lee, the culmination is an equilateral triangle of synchronicity and interplay. There is a deep and intuitive percussive aspect to all of the works and is the common thread that ties the entire project and its assembled cohorts together. The album is a musical education in artists, genres, generations, and geography. A who’s who in the respected world of peer-related musicians and it is only through an extensive and impressive individual career that the collective trio could summon so many great names to work alongside. Los Angeles is a unique body of work in the way it amasses and successfully collaborates such a varied and imposing set of artists to create one cohesive and powerful record.
