Black Box Recorder
England Made Me
Jetset
Black Box Recorder is Luke Haines’ best chance at international pop overthrow yet. The Auteurs almost made it, Baader Meinhoff (think German terrorist funk) never quite tried, but Black Box Recorder, they’ve got the goods. Misanthrope-for-life Luke Haines leads this band of not-so-merry minstrels, abetted by John Moore (ex-Jesus and Mary Chain) and vocalist Sarah Nixey. The innate beauty of Black Box Recorder is that Nixey can sing so sweet and innocently about kidnappings, murder, and the decay of Swinging London while Haines strums along with that maniacal glint in his eyes. By god, Black Box Recorder must become superstars, I won’t stand for any less.
How could anyone stand for less after taking in the sublime perfection of “Girl Singing in The Wreckage,” title track “England Made Me,” or “Ideal Home”? How can the discerning listener in good conscience deny a band who can make the chorus of “Life is unfair/ Kill yourself or get over it” sound like the most hummable choice you could ever make? The songs stick to me like barbed wire. Haines and Nixey pervert “Seasons in the Sun” to its most evil and base nature. “Kidnapping an Heiress” and “Lord Lucan Is Missing” delve into the subject matter of Baader Meinhoff, but with ten times the sugar. England Made Me is a pipe bomb wrapped in pure melancholic pop perfection. Do not handle with care.
Jetset, 67 Vestry St, Suite 5C, New York, NY 10013
