8. Lydia LunchQueen Of Siam
My brother had this record, and the cover alone was something else. Classy, big production-style photo, but with nails coming out of her bra; perfect for the album. Such a brilliant sound too, the direct opposite of No New York (which I loved, The Contortions tracks in particular) and Teenage Jesus records.
You get big band jazz with by Robert Quine freaking out all over it on ‘Trip To The Moon’, the cover of ‘Spooky’ is superb and just so odd and unexpected. ‘Knives In The Drain’ is absolutely storming big band sleaze meets dirty rock, and then there’s also really primitive no-wave minimalism but with this beautifully recorded sound.
It’s such an amazing record, and such a strong sense of a unifying attitude and overview from Lydia. Such a strong record, another statement album, you know, ‘here it is, this is it, deal with it.’ I ended up playing with Lydia lot over the years, with Ian [White] and Terry [Edwards] from Gallon Drunk and it’s great how paths can eventually cross if you stick to what you’re doing. I would never have expected it when I first heard this coming out of my brother’s bedroom.
