Faded

I've been enjoying the new album by The Liminanas, the French husband/ wife duo who've released umpteen album since 2010, an exhilarating fusion of French ye ye, psyche and garage rock. On Faded they've brought in a whole raft of guest vocalists- Bertrand Belin, Bobby Gillespie, Jon Spencer, Pascal Comelade, Penny, Rover and Anna- Jean. The songs sound like a French Velvet Underground, the Mo Tucker backbeat and rattly guitars the bedrock for the vocalists to sing above. It's really good fun and shoots by in a whirl, an album that creates its own universe. Back in autumn last year J'Adore Le Monde lit up a grim November, singer Bertrand Belin reminding us of what's worth holding onto. 

This one, Degenerate Star, has Blues Exploder Jon Spencer and Pascal Comelade giving twin vocal over the thumping drums and wheezy organ. 

And on Ou Va La Chance, Lionel and Marie paid tribute to the late Francoise Hardy with a cover that closed Faded in gloriously romantic style...

Boss Hog

Recent postee Jon Spencer has had a variety of projects outside his Blues Explosion, the most commercial being  Boss Hog, a band formed with his wife Cristina Martinez. They still play the punk blues, it's just got some of the rough edges smoothed out. Jon and Cristina met at a Jesus And Mary Chain gig.

Ruby

That's It Ladies And Gentlemen, Blues Explosion!

So says Jon Spencer. It turns out, following finding this recently and then going digging, that I have three Jon Spencer Blues Explosion albums, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. If someone asked me what bands I liked we'd be talking for some time before I mentioned them. When they're good though, they're very, very good. And I haven't got the album I've always thought I had (Now I Got Worry)- or if I did ever have it, I haven't got it now. This song, 2 Kindsa Love, is off Now I Got Worry. This live performance from Australian TV is phenomenal for several reasons.
1. The riff.
2. Jon Spencer's performance, which removes the fourth wall. And the backdrop while he's at it.
3. It was recorded in the morning.
4. Extended use of the theremin.
5. The band are bang on the beat.
6. As a look black shirt, black trousers and white shoes works.





HSD- I think you'll like this.

It Came From Outer Space

Camping companero H tipped me off about this one which I completely missed last year. Jon Spencer (who has featured here before with his Blues Explosion and with his Heavy Trash) also has an on-off side project (Boss Hog) with his wife, Cristina Martinez (that's her up above). I've got an album of theirs which I haven't played for years but may go back to. Last year they teamed up with Solex to make an album called Amsterdam Throwdown and this was the freebie mp3 to promote it- Galaxy Man. Super funky, sexy, blues with modern beats, filtered through 1950s science fiction movies. It's as good as that sounds.

Galaxy Man

On The Pill

In a similar vein musically to yesterday's Chain And the Gang song this is The Pill by Heavy trash. Jon Spencer (of Blues Explosion fame) is a man for side projects, forming Boss Hog with his wife and Heavy Trash with Matt Verta-Ray (formerly of Madder Rose). Heavy Trash lean towards the rockabilly and country end of garage rock. This track is less rockabilly and more psychedelic bad trip.

The Pill.mp3#1#1