Do You Wanna Get Real

I had the immense privilege of seeing Alan Sparhawk live in concert last Thursday 6th March. An unforgettable experience...

...which I'll come to shortly. First though, the latest example of why you should always try to get to the gig in time to catch the support act(s). Case in point: Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux.

The second gig I've been to this year and my second visit to the Beacon in Bristol. However, unlike John Grant's concert in the main hall in February, this show was in the adjacent Lantern Hall, a smaller venue which on first impression had the same vibe as the Subscription Rooms in Stroud. 

Even so, the space was still sparsely occupied when Circuit Des Yeux took to the stage. I'd not heard any of Haley's music prior to seeing her check the mike, press a few buttons and wait for the sonics to bed in before adding her voice. 

If you checked out Friday's post, then you'll have an inkling of what Circuit Des Yeux is about. My initial reaction to what was unfolding before me was "Tanita Tikaram meets Diamanda Galas in a post-apocalyptic scrapyard" and that's truly not meant as a negative. 

It was an intense half hour, but one that increased in meaning and impact as it progressed. Haley's capacity for deep, deep notes in one breath and operatic soaring the next was astonishing. I made a similar comment about Joe Hicklin from Big Special when they supported John Grant in Bristol last month. Whereas their sound is rooted in the UK, the Midlands specifically, Circuit Des Yeux is informed and influenced by Haley's homes in Indiana and Illinois. 

Yes, there's a deep, deep darkness in the aural landscape, but moments of light and beauty poke through, offering hope, a lifeline. There wasn't a great deal of audience interaction during the brief set, until the end when Haley offered thanks to the relatively few that had turned up on time. It was worth it. 

Circuit Des Yeux has been releasing music since 2008 and Halo On The Inside, out last Friday, is I think the 8th album. I will start with it and work my way back.

It was of course a perfect primer for the main act. Last July, I posted about Can U Hear, the first indication of Alan Sparhawk's solo path, following the death of wife Mimi Parker in 2022 and the subsequent end of Low. Alan's album White Roses, My God followed in September but that one song remained the only one that I'd heard prior to standing in Lantern Hall, waiting for him to take the stage.

Much has been written about Alan's need to find expression whilst finding it impossible to hear the sound of his own voice. A chance encounter with a vocoder provided the solution, with Can U Hear, and reportedly the whole album, processing Alan's voice and words beyond recognition, over skittering beats and bass. The Beacon website listed a two hour song. What on earth were we going to experience?

Alan took the stage suddenly and without fanfare, followed by son Cyrus, who strapped on a bass and started playing over programmed beats, wrangled by Alan from a small pad on a stand, centre stage.

Not that I recognised it, of course, but the set commenced with album opener Get Still, albeit with an extended intro, stretched to the point that you may have been forgiven for thinking that this was an instrumental. Alan's frentic dancing around the stage only added to this strange sense that this aimed more at a club than a concert hall.

Yet, after a few minutes, Alan raised the mike to his mouth and filtered, processed vocals emerged from the PA. The breaths between corresponded with the bodily movements on stage, connecting the strange, alien sounds with the human who was making them. 

It was an astonishing start to the show, and set the tone for the next half hour. Alan played seven of the eleven songs from White Roses, My God in non-sequential order. About half way through, Alan started removing his sweatshirt, revealing his trademark dungarees over otherwise topless body underneath. At least two songs were performed in a mid-state of undress, the sweatshirt becoming an ad-hoc poncho. None of this seemed strange.

Cyrus Sparhawk's bass playing provided a weight and heft to the otherwise synthesised sounds coming out, groovy where it needed to be, solid and dependable throughout. It provided an anchor, a consistency to Alan's more unpredictable behaviour, whether whipping the mike lead like a skipping rope, bouncing around like a featherweight boxer or reaching out, beyond the audience, to something that was present but not visible. 

Even having heard just the one song prior to experiencing this all first hand, White Roses, My God makes perfect sense in a live setting. Yet, could Alan really keep this going for two hours?

The answer is no, that was never the intention. What was surprising and delightful though, was that the remainder of the set was a complete volte face. Alan strapped on a guitar and played with - and often to - his son. No other accompaniment than the two guitars and of course Alan's unfiltered, raw beautiful vocals.

What I hadn't expected what that of the nine songs that made up the remainder of the main set, six were new and/or unreleased. Few were introduced with titles, so I've had to rely on Setlist to reveal that these stripped down, achingly intimate songs included Screaming Song, Torn And In Ashes and set closer No More Darkness. All of which indicate the journey of healing and catharsis that Alan continues to make.

There were a few covers, mainly of Alan's other bands. The first was JCMF by Retribution Gospel Choir, which appears to have been in their live shows circa 2013, but doesn't feature on any of the albums that I own. Whereas Retribution Gospel Choir in the studio are a raucous, rocky proposition, this twin-guitar take was a deeply affecting experience.

There was also a song by Derecho Rhythm Section, a band featuring Cyrus and daughter Hollis Mae Sparhawk, who I was completely aware of until this gig. Alan and Cyrus played 2024 debut single Get High, followed by a new/unreleased song called Too High, Alan noting the irony of their side-by-side setlist placement.

The third cover was an impromptu cover of Liquid Love by Roy Ayers, who sadly passed a couple of days before. Alan introduced the song as "one of the first things we played together when Cyrus was learning to play guitar". A moment of unexpected and delightful grooviness, it was wonderful to see how in synch father and son were on stage.

After a few minutes off stage, Alan and Cyrus returned for a two song encore, and the only two songs recorded by Low. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the two picks were from what proved to be their final album, 2021's Hey What. Again, White Horses and Days Like These were presented in shortened, stripped back versions. 

More than ever, the absence/presence in the room was felt, the space between the notes, both the guitar chords and Alan's aching beautiful voice, inviting the listener to fill that void in whatever way felt right.

At one point, an audience member was sufficiently moved to pronounce, "Thank you, Alan, it is such a joy to have you here", to which another replied "I'll fucking second that" and a third added, "you've got lovely arms!". 

Which I think probably captures better than any of the prosaic paragraphs above just how bloody brilliant the night was for all of us in the room.

I missed my chance to see Low and I am so grateful that I took the opportunity to see Alan in this town on this night. 

I usually post a Dubhed selection to accompany a gig review, attempting as far as possible to recreate the setlist. Given that nearly a third of this show featured unreleased music, that was a non-starter, so I've gone for something a little bit different.

I have included the seven songs from White Roses, My God that Alan played on the night though, apart from the first, none of them are in the order that they were performed. I've also intentionally excluded the two Low songs from Hey What that were performed as the encore.

Instead, I've pulled togther all of the Low, Retribution Gospel Choir and Alan's other collaborations and solo ventures that existed in my music collections and picked a dozen more songs. 

One of them is Point Of Disgust, the song by Perfume Genius and Alan Sparhawk which featured on last year's excellent TRAИƧA compilation. Another is the first and shortest version of Sagrado Corazón De Jesú that Alan released on his 2006 album Solo Guitar.

The remaining ten songs are connected only in the sense that they increased incrementally in duration by a minute. That is, I first chose a Retribution Gospel Choir song that comes in at under a minute, and ended with a Low song (Landslide) that is just under ten minutes.

I played around with sequencing of all 19 songs, resulting in a 74-minute selection that seeks to recreate the drama and tension, conflict and harmony of Alan's work, past and present, with and without others. I think it works, but I would love to know what you think.

1) Get Still: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

2) The Last Of The Blue Dream: Retribution Gospel Choir (2010)

3) Lordy: Low + Dirty Three (2001)

4) On My Own: Low (2013)

5) Station: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

6) Can U Hear: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

7) Heaven: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

8) Landslide: Low (2015)

9) I Made This Beat: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

10) Sagrado Corazón De Jesú (First Attempt): Alan Sparhawk (2006)

11) Not A Word: Low (2016)

12) Project 4 Ever: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

13) Brother: Alan Sparhawk (2024)

14) Your Poison: Low (2007)

15) Shine Eye Dub #1: Retribution Gospel Choir (2006)

16) Point Of Disgust: Perfume Genius + Alan Sparhawk (2024)

17) For Her Blood: Retribution Gospel Choir (2008)

18) Electric Guitar: Retribution Gospel Choir (2010)

19) Over The Ocean: Low (1996)

1996: The Curtain Hits The Cast: 19

2001: In The Fishtank, Volume 7 EP: 3

2006: Solo Guitar: 10

2006: Tour EP #2: 15

2007: Drums And Guns: 14

2008: Retribution Gospel Choir: 17

2010: Retribution Gospel Choir 2: 2, 18

2013: The Invisible Way: 4

2015: Ones And Sixes: 8

2016: Not A Word EP: 11

2024: TRAИƧA: 16

2024: White Roses, My God: 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13

Do You Wanna Get Real (1:14:29) (KF) (Mega)

A note about the gorgeous photos in this post: 

I only took one pic all night (sparse crowd in Lantern Hall) as I was then so immersed in the performances that I forgot to take any more.

I trawled Bluesky and discovered a series of superb shots from other dates on the tour which mirrored my own experience that night in Bristol. A huge thanks therefore to:

Gonçalo (@gonch145.bsky.social‬) for the headline photo of mike and leads, Alan in red and Alan playing guitar, all from the Berlin gig on 25th February.

Andrea (@parramaterial.bsky.social‬) for the shot of Alan and Cyrus in Manchester the night after the Bristol show.

1 Of 100 (@weare1of100.bsky.social‬) for the picture of Alan reaching out in Glasgow on 8th March.

Waking Up From A Dreamin'

Today's selection is forty six minutes of Low. 

 

In just over a week from now (6th November), it'll be two years since Mimi Parker passed and Low effectively came to an end.

 

As a celebration of the music that Mimi and husband Alan Sparhawk created, I've curated a 10-song selection gleaned entirely from Uncut and Mojo magazine promo CDs, which were effectively my introduction to Low's music. I've since caught up with all of their studio albums, and it's an incredible body of work to say the least.

 

Low were regular features in both magazine's end of year Best Of countdowns and it's little surprise. The music was by turns abrasive and challenging yet also heartrendingly beautiful in it's complexity, especially when Mimi sang solo or harmonised with Alan. 

 

Most of these are lifted straight from the albums, with a few exceptions. Disarray appears on 2018 album Double Negative, here receiving a slight edit to the intro for the version given away with Uncut. 

 

Uncut magazine also presented cover version compilation CDs in 2019 and 2021, focusing on Wilco and Bob Dylan, so I think Low's contributions to both may be exclusive to those releases. Not wanting to be left out, Neil Young also gets a tribute, also an Uncut magazine freebie, this time with Dirty Three. It's an astonishing version, Mimi once again to the fore.

 

Given the disjointed way that the song choices for today's selection arrived, I'm pleased with the sequencing, which I think makes for a coherent and satisfying listening experience. Let me know what you think.
 
1) What Part Of Me (2015)

2) Witches (2011)

3) Just Make It Stop (2013)

4) Breaker (2007)

5) Down By The River (Cover of Neil Young): Low + Dirty Three (2001)

6) War On War (Cover of Wilco) (2019)

7) Disarray (Edit) (2018)

8) Everybody's Song (2005)

9) Hey (2021)

10) Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Cover of Bob Dylan) (2021)

 

2001: In The Fishtank, Volume 7 EP: 5 

2005: The Great Destroyer: 8

2007: Drums And Guns: 4

2011: C'mon: 2

2013: The Invisible Way: 3

2015: Ones And Sixes: 1 

2018: Electric Wonderland (Uncut magazine promo CD): 7

2019: Wilco Covered (Uncut magazine promo CD): 6

2021: Dylan Revisited (Uncut magazine promo CD): 10

2021: Hey What: 9

Waking Up From A Dreamin' (46:46) (KF) (Mega)

Recorded By Steve Albini

Celebrating Steve Albini, 22nd July 1962 to 7th May 2024.

I was hours behind everyone with the unwelcome news, only chancing upon it because I checked my phone just before I put my head down for the night. There was no doubt waking up this morning that I'd focus today's post on the merest hint of Steve's genius. He didn't like to be labelled as a producer, frequently credited as 'recorded by' but he was obviously so, so much more, which is clear from the transformative effect his presence in the studio has had on the hundreds of artists he has worked with. 

 

There are already many thousands of words out there paying tribute to his hugely important and influential career, his kindness and generosity, side-by-side with a no-bullshit attitude and a lifetime dedicated to music and being authentic, an overused term but you'll know what I mean when applied to Steve Albini.

 

Steve was only 61. Gone far too soon.

 

The limited time I've had to pull this selection together (I'm already at risk of being late for work but priorities, right?) means that there's so much more that I could say yet can't include in today's post. However, pop over to The Vinyl Villain as JC pulled a late shift last night to hold the presses and post an incredible Imaginary Compilation Album with superlative sleeve notes. I'm expecting more tributes to follow in this corner of the blogosphere, given how much Steve Albini has populated our respective record collections these past four decades.

At first, I was tempted to exclude all of the more obvious choices of artists, and whilst I managed to drop Nirvana, in all conscience I couldn't ignore The Wedding Present, PJ Harvey or Pixies, whose Surfer Rosa was the first time I'd heard an album recorded by Steve Albini.

I've also tried to include some more unusual song selections and possibly one or two artists that you may not have realised Steve worked with, such as Nina Nastasia and Anni Rossi. 

Cosmia by Joanna Newsom is a bit of a cheat: Steve 'just' recorded the vocals and harp, the other constituent parts worked on by Van Dyke Parks, Jim O'Rourke and Joanna; however, it sits beautifully between Low and Songs: Ohia and couldn't be left out.

 

The selection ends, as it probably should, with a song from PJ Harvey's 1993 album Rid Of Me. Man-Size was - and remains - a hugely important song, but the decision to include two versions on the album was a bold one. I've opted for Man-Size Sextet here as it demonstrated a different side to Polly's and Steve's work that I'd been familiar with up to that point.

 

Rest (and record) in power, Steve, you've left us with so much to treasure.

 

1) We Are The Snare: Spare Snare (2018)

2) Santa Ana Winds: The Wedding Present (2008)

3) Everything You Say Will Destroy You: The Auteurs (1996)

4) Bang On: The Breeders (2008)

5) Where Is My Mind?: Pixies (1988)

6) Quick, Before It Melts: Cinerama (2002)

7) Weight Of Water: Low (1999)

8) Cosmia: Joanna Newsom (2006)

9) Farewell Transmission: Songs: Ohia (2003)

10) Fuckingsong: Jarvis Cocker (2009)

11) Our Day Trip: Nina Nastasia (2006)

12) Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (1999)

13) Ecology: Anni Rossi (2009)

14) Man-Size Sextet: PJ Harvey (1993)

1988: Surfer Rosa: 5

1993: Rid Of Me: 14

1996: After Murder Park: 3

1999: Acme-Plus: 12 

1999: Secret Name: 7

2002: Quick, Before It Melts EP: 6 

2003: The Magnolia Electric Co: 9 

2006: On Leaving: 11

2006: Ys: 8

2008: El Rey: 2

2008: Mountain Battles: 4

2009: Further Complications: 10

2009: Rockwell: 13

2018: 'Sounds' Recorded By Steve Albini: 1

Recorded By Steve Albini (50:52) (KF) (Mega)

Bad Santa V

In what seems to be becoming an annual tradition, here's another festive Dubhed selection. 

 

Again, a mix of old and new, merry and maudlin, sincere and just flat out cheesy. Previous selections have tended not to outstay their welcome, coming in at under an hour. I've thrown caution (and common sense) to the wind this year, gifting inflicting an extra 50% on you lovely people, so you get nearly an hour and a half of Christmas drivel.

Lots of covers pf Christmas classics by the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Ash, Emmy The Great & Lightspeed Champion, Lenox Avenue and Cranes. I nearly went for Al Jourgensen's version of What A Wonderful World but BMX Bandits won out in the end. Sinkane also delivers an all-star cover of The Waitresses' Christmas Wrapping, featuring various members of LCD Soundsystem, Holy Ghost! and Beastie Boys.

One of my all-time favourite Christmas albums is by Low, who are represented here twice, with If You Were Born Today and a fresh cover of Just Like Christmas by Silversun Pickups, released a couple of days ago. Remembering Mimi Parker.

 

The selection closes with a prime example of the cheese/charm spectrum, Air Supply delivering a gleaming-white-teeth-and-hairsprayed-mullet version of Sleigh Ride. Following this, The Trash Can Sinatras perform Snow, a beautiful rendition of the Randy Newman song. 

 

Hopefully something for everyone here (well, maybe not everyone; I steered clear of Kanye West's Christmas song) for the week ahead. Enjoy!

 

1) Lonely Star (Christmas Song) (Single Version): Dream Nails (2020)

2) Everybody's Having Fun (It's Christmas Time): Natalie Prass (2016)

3) Swing Down Sweet Chariot: Elvis Presley ft. The Jordanaires (1960)

4) Be Good At Christmas: Katie Malco (2016)

5) Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Cover of Judy Garland): Phoebe Bridgers (2017)

6) Never Do A Tango With An Eskimo: Alma Cogan (1955)

7) Holiday Tylenol: Anni Rossi (2017)

8) Christmas Wrapping (Cover of The Waitresses): Sinkane ft. Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney, Money Mark, Nick Millhiser, Roxane Danset, Jordan McLean & Jas Walton (2020)

9) Merry Christmas Baby (Album Version) (Cover of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers): Chuck Berry (1964)

10) I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (2004 Version) (Cover of Wizzard): Ash (2004)

11) I Was Thinking I Could Clean Up For Christmas: Aimee Mann (2005)

12) What A Wonderful World (Cover of Louis Armstrong): BMX Bandits (1986)

13) Shitty Christmas: Babaganouj (2013)

14) Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Cover of John Lennon, Yoko Ono & Plastic Ono Band): Cranes (1996)

15) If You Were Born Today: Low (1999)

16) Commodore Xmas: The Saturnettes (2013)

17) Just Like Christmas (Cover of Low): Silversun Pickups (2022)

18) A Tiny Christmas: Lawrence King (2017)

19) Christmas In Prison (Cover of John Prine): Emmy The Great & Lightspeed Champion (2006)

20) The Dollyrots Do Christmas: The Dollyrots (2018)

21) Xmas To Forget: Nathaniel Rateliff ft. Elle King (2020)

22) No Cure For The Common Christmas: Saint Etienne (2010)

23) The Little Drummer Boy (Cover of Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati & Harry Simeone): Lenox Avenue (1970)

24) Sleigh Ride (Cover of Arthur Fiedler & The Boston Pops Orchestra): Air Supply (1987)

25) Snow (Single Version) (Cover of Randy Newman): The Trash Can Sinatras (1999)

Bad Santa V (1:27:30) (KF) (Mega)

Bad Santa IV

Bad Santa III

Bad Santa II

Bad Santa

Seeing Nothing But Blue Sky Shining On My Soul

I am heartbroken to read that Mimi Parker has passed at the age of 55, just under two years after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Singer, songwriter, drummer and co-founder of Low, Mimi's contribution to the band and music as a whole cannot be adequately expressed. 

Mimi's voice is beautiful, sweet, gentle, achingly melancholic when the song calls for it and, paired with husband Alan Sparhawk, an emotionally charged, soul-stirring harmonious sound seemingly not of this world. Mimi and Alan's acoustic cover of Bee Gees' I Started A Joke from 2008 is as good an example of this as any.

I have a dozen Low albums (a couple are technically mini-albums), from 1996's third album The Curtain Hits The Cast to 2018's Double Negative. I've been meaning to get last year's album Hey What for some time and I had also been hoping to see Low at Komedia in Bath on 15th November. Mimi had shared her diagnosis in January this year and in August, the band cancelled their planned tour as "Recent developments and changes in treatment have made extensive travel impossible at this time".

 

On Sunday, Alan posted the following message on Low's official Twitter:

 

Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message, but 

 

She passed away last night, surrounded by family and love, including yours. Keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. 

 

Love is indeed the most important thing.

 

I'm still trying to process the sad news but a couple of Mimi's performances immediately came to me. I remember seeing Low on Later With...Jools Holland but I hadn't realised that it was nearly a decade ago, promoting 2013's album The Invisible Way. It was the first of only two appearances on the show, including this version of Just Make It Stop, featuring Mimi on lead vocals.

 

The first song I ever heard by Low was the opening song of their 1999 mini-album, Christmas, a five-second shuffling beat and jingle bells before Mimi's angelic voice comes in. Just Like Christmas has been a festive staple at Casa K ever since and is one of my favourite Christmas songs of all. 

There are few live performances of the song available on YouTube, but this is a wonderful version from Low's "Christmas Tour" show at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon in 2010, the day after I turned 40.

Rest in peace, Mimi, you will always be loved.

Der Trommelschlag Knackt Im Takt

A random selection for Friday, the only connection being that I haven't listened to any of these songs in far too long. The title is a German translation of 'the drum beat cracks in time', a line from The Anvil by Visage, although in the German version of the song the line becomes 'magisch schlagen die trommel' which translates into English as 'beat the drum magically'. 

 

1) Inner City Life (Rabbit In The Moon's Return To Vocalic City): Goldie ft. Diane Charlemagne (1996) 

2) Shining Bright Star (Zongamin Remix): Black Strobe (2007)

3) Kowalski (Automator Mix): Primal Scream (1997)

4) Runark (Jokers Of The Scene Remix): Congorock (2009)

5) Aqualung (Dub): Spooky (1994)

6) Der Amboss (Vocal) (Remix By Visage & John Luongo): Visage (1982)

7) Little Bit (Loving Hand Remix By Tim Goldsworthy): Lykke Li (2008)

8) Laugh (Vox-Reverse Tele) (Remix By DJ Vadim): Low (1998)

9) Teardrop (Scream Team Remix): Massive Attack ft. Elizabeth Fraser (1998)

10) Fast Forward The Future (Buckets & Bongs Mixture By The Orb) (Album Edit): Zodiac Youth (1991)

Der Trommelschlag Knackt Im Takt (1:03:26)