I was listening to The Sugarcubes a while ago, sparked by a Twitter account that posts photographs of pages from the music press, in particular a run of issues of NME and Melody Maker from 1989. The Sugarcubes featured often in the live reviews, single and album reviews and interviews from that year. The Sugarcubes had hit the UK music scene hard when Life's Too Good was released in 1988. John Peel fell heavily for the single Birthday the year before, a song that sounded like little else- strange avant- pop about a girl who keeps spiders in her pocket and collects fly wings in a jar, sung in a unique voice. The album followed, a rush of post- punk, dance- pop played by a group of Icelandic punk veterans, spiky guitars, metallic drums, funky rhythms and a manic optimism with Bjork's squeals, hiccups and singing and Einar's spoken word voice. Delicious Demon, Motor Crash and Fucking In Rhythm And Sorrow were all perfect, wide eyed indie pop with audible punk roots but made for spinning round the floor to. Einar's interjections were funny, a counter balance to Bjork's otherworldliness. On Deus they muse about the existence of God.
The indie holy trio of Peel, NME and Melody Maker banged their drum throughout 1988. The Sugarcubes had front covers and went to the US, the album sold well. What the NME and Melody Maker cuttings on Twitter made clear was how sour the relationship turned and how quickly. The group's punk nature was never far from the surface. They became suspicious of all the fawning and didn't always take interviews seriously. The NME and MM printed stories about the band eating puffins and put their focus on Bjork (naturally maybe). This upset the rest of the band who wanted them to be seen as a group, a democracy, not Bjork and The Sugarcubes. Einar especially seemed prickly about it. As 1988 became 1989 The Sugarcubes released album number 2, Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! the NME and Melody Maker turned on the band, slagging the album (and listening to it again recently there's no denying it's a much weaker set of songs) and attacking Einar's contributions especially. It's amazing reading some of the reviews three decades later how vitriolic and personal some of the articles in the music press were (not just the ones about The Sugarcubes, more generally articles like weekly pages of singles reviews where bands, singers and individuals get savaged by whichever critic was in the chair that week. At the time it seemed funny I guess, and a bit edgy, a bit punk but it reads pretty cruelly now. There was a review of a Wedding Present single that read like Gedge and the boys had committed a war crime and I was left thinking that a bit of perspective was needed, it's just some indie pop).
I saw The Sugarcubes play at Liverpool Royal Court in October 1989, a gig reviewed by one of the two papers. The journalist was in the tour bus with them, reporting on the tensions and reviewing the gig. Things clearly got to Einar. That night in Liverpool he jumped off the stage to remonstrate with a heckler, grabbing hold of him in the pit. By that point there were plenty of fans who were wondering why Bjork needed a second vocalist alongside her, shouting lines in the gaps between her singing. On record Einar's vocals made more sense. Live his presence as a shouter/ dancer was part of the band's punk roots. Hot Meat came out as a B-side, a version of Cold Sweat from Life's Too Good, Bjork and Einar perfectly in balance with each other.
By the time of 1992's Stick Around For Joy the spark had gone and Bjork was already planning a solo career. She'd spent much of 1989 and 1990 in Manchester and London, soaking up the club scene. She'd recorded with 808 State, the wondrous Ooops coming out as a single and featuring on 1991's ex:el album (as well as another song Qmart). Bjork and 808's Graham Massey would write together throughout the 90s.
Stick Around For Joy had a decent single in it though- Hit- which obviously became one, their highest chart position achieved just before splitting up.
7 comments:
Loved seeing the Sugarcubes again on one of those old ToTP re-runs and being reminded of just how compelling they were. Plus it's fascinating to read old articles from the music press - very much agree with what you note about how savage some of the critics could be, the NME seemed particularly adept at this around that time too. I haven't read it yet but Mr SDS has just finished Nick Kent's autobiography 'Apathy For The Devil' (and has been reading bits out to me!) in which NK talks about just that. I think I can recommend the book on Mr SDS' response alone, if you haven't already read it.
Otherworldliness is 100% right. What a fabulous album that first one is. Eerie production and odd lyrics, nothing like anything else that was around at the time. I always thought that anyone who complained about Einar's interjections missed the point somehow... and he's particularly good on Deus.
Totally in agreement with Nick L about Einar. I thought he was essential to the Sugarcubes and I hated when he was ripped into by the press.
I also don't think that second album is as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The band was clearly trying out different things and there are still some cracking songs on it (Regina, Eat The Menu, A Day Called Zero, Planet).
One of my favourite bands. Saw them a lot live, Einar often lost his rag at the vile sexist stuff thrown at Bjork. Remember one awful show in Leeds, but thankfully they weren't all like that.
Always loved his contributions on record and live. Seeing him defend Bjork against the idiots only made me admire him more.
"I really don't like LOBSTER!"
C- I'll look out for that book, sounds right up my street.
Robster- agree about Regina and Planet, decent songs but I think the 2nd album fell victim to 'the shock of the new' syndrome and the lightness of touch that Life's Too Good had seemed to have gone. Like they were forcing it a bit.
Lighthouse- yep, good point about the stuff shouted at Bjork and Einar's defence of her.
I never got to see a Sugarcubes gig, sadly. Fair points about the differences between albums #1 & 2. When I recreated my mixtape for the Dubhed blog, those differences are even more apparent. That said, still much to love about the follow up and in retrospect, whilst I stuck around for remix album It’s-It, I wish I’d given the third & final album more of a chance when it originally came out.
And I’m firmly in the pro-Einar camp. I thought he was essential to the Sugarcubes dynamic.
And the 10” remix of Deus is even more stunning, if that’s possible
I'll second the recommendation for the Nick Kent book.....been a long while since I read it, but recall that he corrects a few myths about himself and many who were around him all his days.
Post a Comment