Blonde Redhead / Algiers US
Blonde Redhead (US)
Widely admired in alternative & indie circles, the New York trio has released a consistent stream of mesmerising and emotionally punchy pop-rock albums.
Kazu Makino, Simone and Amedeo Pace are the names behind cult outfit Blonde Redhead, formed some 21 years ago. After nine albums and countless EPs, it has become obvious that the band which was born in the noise rock sounds of the late 80s has never made a record geared towards stardom. They make music, quite simply, because they feel the need to.
Algiers (US)
Franklin James Fisher and his altar children combine spiritual voices with sonic nihilism. Soul rage meets awesome literary power.
Chaos has found its (new) Messiah. Algiers combines the heart’s urgency with the head’s perspective. Natives of the awe-inspiring city of Atlanta and brought up on a diet of literature in the halls of British universities, the three shysters expel with rare awareness this rage born out of the oppression and violence of an ultra-conservative land. For them, white rock and black rap don’t exist. In an abandoned church atmosphere, they invoke both Nick Cave, Public Enemy, Depeche Mode, Nina Simone and even Houellebecq, in a post-punk catharsis that has never felt so moving.
