Former The Cure member Lol Tolhurst, former Siouxsie & The Banshees drummer Budgie, and producer Jacknife Lee have teamed up to create their debut album, “Los Angeles.” This 13-track masterpiece is out now through PIAS.
The trio describes the record as “a hard-hitting and compulsively exploratory 55-minute electronic mindscrew, founded on unrivalled rhythmic expertise, fleshed out with an armoury of synths, guitars (Jacknife’s forte) and supplementary percussion, often overlaid with elite-class strings and brass, then universally twisted, manipulated and quite masterfully sculpted by Lee, with his super-producer’s hat on.”
Joining forces with these music veterans are such artists as LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, U2’s The Edge, IDLES’ Mark Bowen, Lonnie Holley, Mary Lattimore, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock, and Pan Amsterdam.
The debut single, “Los Angeles”, features James Murphy’s lead vocals. The single comes accompanied by a music video, directed by John Liwag.
The tracklist for the album is the following:
01. This Is What It Is (To Be Free) (with Bobby Gillespie)
02. Los Angeles (with James Murphy)
03. Uh Oh (with Arrow de Wilde and Mark Bowen)
04. Ghosted at Home (with Bobby Gillespie)
05. Train With No Station (with The Edge)
06. Bodies (with Lonnie Holley and Mary Lattimore)
07. Everything and Nothing
08. Travel Channel (with Pan Amsterdam)
09. Country of the Blind (with Bobby Gillespie)
10. The Past (Being Eaten)
11. We Got To Move (with Isaac Brock)
12. Noche Oscura (with The Edge)
13. Skins (with James Murphy)
In related news, Lol Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure, is to release a new book titled “Goth: A History” on September 23rd. The book is a historical account of the genre and culture of goth music, building upon his first memoir, “Cured”.
In it Tolhurst identifies key players in the establishment of the genre, referring to them as the “Architects of Darkness”. This group includes Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, and The Cure. He further discusses a group of bands he labels as the “Spiritual Alchemists”, which includes Depeche Mode and Cocteau Twins, indicating their role in extending the reach of goth culture. The book also tracks the genre’s expansion from England to New York, Los Angeles, and other locations.