Warmduscher
Too Cold to Hold
Strap Originals
Are you familiar with Irvine Welsh? You know, the guy that wrote the book Trainspotting that the movie is based on? I went through a phase of almost exclusively reading Irvine Welsh and Chuck Palahniuk. It was the turn of the century, and I wanted nihilism. Welsh and Palahniuk provided that in spades. Seeing Welsh’s name on the featured guests list on Warmduscher’s newest album, the cleverly titled Too Cold to Hold, was a bit of a shocker. I don’t think about The Acid House, or Filth, or Porno so much these days, but about 20 years ago, I was all about the UK-set debauchery of drug tales he wove. Much like how William S. Burroughs ended up on a Revolting Cocks album, I can see the allure of getting an esteemed author to guest on your record.
On Too Cold to Hold, Warmduscher reframe their punk-funk, bit of disco, bit of prog with gqom (South African house music), hip-hop, and jazz (all of which are conveniently covered by the catch-all “post-punk”). Formed in London in 2014 by six individuals from various other bands, the group’s metropolitan exposure and bohemian lifestyles meld into a cacophony of influences that are deftly melded by the band. It’s an album about difficult lives, from the perspective of the disenfranchised and exploited.
Let’s get to that name! Warmduscher is a German word, but the band is from London. A straight English translation means “warm showerer” but it’s a slang, derogatory term for people that have trouble stepping out of their comfort zone. The band is always tongue in cheek, dry, and sardonic as Brits tend to come across to non-Brits. I think it’s why anyone with a “British Accent” is deemed intelligent. This band actually is intelligent! Dedicated to being wanderers, in the practical, philosophical, and aesthetic sense, these are people of my own ilk.
Band member Clams Baker Jr. has this to say about Warmduscher: “My interpretation of who we are is pretty simple. A group of talented musicians and entertainers that have dedicated our lives to music and making a living doing what we love. We can’t do anything else really so here we are. What other people think of us is up to them.”
Lyrics are less sung than spoken in tune (except for the guest vocalists). They’re poems, anyway, so this works. Musically, songs are slinky. Horn sections are sometimes subdued sax melodies or sharp stabs of freakout solo (think the ending of Radiohead’s “The National Anthem”). Something from the underbelly of the city where all the “good people” are asleep and dreaming. Swirly guitars and a dancing bassline fade in and out over the top of typically locked-in dance beats à la house music.
Notable tracks (at least to this author’s ear) include “Staying Alive,” with its allusions to how politics are keeping the common person down. Single moms and drug use just to cope with the financial difficulties. You’re working hard just to stay alive at three different jobs, and everyone’s always sick because of the stress and cost of health care. “Top Shelf” bounces along with a narrative about the unpleasant realities of un-coupling. “Body Shock” seems to be about the life of prostitutes. Late nights, law enforcement, hustling to keep afloat in the oldest profession known to humanity.
It’s all a bit grim. Confrontational. Questioning the status quo, as anything that includes the descriptor “punk” should be. Having Irvine Welsh narrate the intro to the album makes perfect sense in the context of its narrative. Similarly to Welsh, Warmduscher on Too Cold to Hold are turning on harsh, un-healthy fluorescent lights to expose this world. A world that exists but is often ignored.
