Jukebox Juicebox #12

Two Lone Swordsmen "Big Silver Shining Motor Of Sin E.P."
Despite my being a big fan of all things Andrew Weatherall, I've been incredibly slow on the uptake with this E.P. and it's parent album "Live From The Double Gone Chapel", both of which came out in 2004. The E.P. offers two exclusive tracks, a remix and instrumental/dub versions of same, providing just under half an hour of music. Musically, it ploughs a similar furrow to the Two Lone Swordsmen's previous output, but what sets the new material apart is Weatherall's additional role as lead vocalist and... it's pretty good. Weatherall 'sings' in a deadpan, almost spoken word style and the characteristically repetitive electro beat doesn't demand any challenging high (or low) notes. The E.P. kicks off with "Showbizz Shotguns" and it's repeated refrain "You've got the luck of a seventh son, but so do the men with the bigger guns." Follow up "Feast" is a more downtempo affair, with an infectious bassline by fellow Swordsman Keith Tenniswood and bizarre lyrics including "I've got red marks on my arms, the price of your peculiar charms / I've got red marks on my hips, the constant late night shopping trips". Final track is a remix of their cover of The Gun Club's "Sex Beat". I'm unfamiliar with the original track, but this version is great. Musically, it's their most early 80's sounding track, elements evoking other bands like PiL and The Comsat Angels. The vocal-free versions of each track are all good in their own right, and closer to the usual Two Lone Swordsmen sound, but I've really been drawn to this new, fuller experience and am looking forward to experiencing more.

Tracklisting: 1. Showbizz Shotguns / 2. Feast / 3. Sex Beat (remix) / 4. Showbizz Shotguns (instrumental) / 5. Feast (dub) / 6. Sex Beat (remix instrumental)

Visit the Warp Records website for audio samples