L&Q Weekly
A parting gift from Shopping, anti-nostalgia band Suede, Metronomy pub quiz, the return of some iconic L&Q merch, Will Smith did NOT use AI, okay?!
Track of the Week
Shopping have finally returned (hurray) with their last ever song (boo). The trio of Ray Aggs, Billy Easter and Andrew Milk, who formed in London in 2012 and released four excellent, danceable post-punk albums, were last heard of before the pandemic, with singer and guitarist Aggs’ active in their duo Sacred Paws since. Last week the band confirmed that they had split up, and this week came ‘White Noises’, a final song that reminds us what we’ve been missing and what we’ll continue to miss [sniff]. ‘White Noise’ was written pre-pandemic too, but finished this year. If this is your introduction to Shopping, the good news is that there’s lots more of them to discover.
3 sentence live review
SUEDE, ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL, LONDON, 26 AUG: There can’t be a more perfect gig for a band than an intimate performance of their brand new album to a stans-only crowd, in the round, where there’s no need to play any of the hits. After the forthcoming, unheard Antidepressants is received like ‘Animal Nitrate’ 12 times over, the “anti-nostalgia band”’s equally as long encore consists only of post-reunion material, of which there is now plenty that’s just as adored as anything from the band’s mid-90s Top of the Pop days. No one cares that the sound is boomy and crap in the Festival Hall’s most student union space when the band are this close and people are crying. Stuart Stubbs
The rise and fall of Vice
In her hilarious memoir Is This Ok?, in a chapter titled ‘Being A Dickhead’s Cool’, British music writer Harriet Gibsone wrote as witheringly and warmly as anyone should about their mid-aughts obsession with Vice magazine. “Despite the fact that I know I’d get eaten alive in the office for not being edgy enough – I’ve never heard of any of the artists they review and I have never taken acid at a funeral or during an abortion – I can still dream of being part of the clique,” goes one passage. “I daydream about being the kind of girl who could pull off a moustache finger tattoo,” her younger self confesses a couple of pages later… Continue reading
David Byrne mewing like a cat might not be Who Is The Sky?’s strangest moment
David Byrne says that people don’t always hear the emotion in his songs, which is something I’ve never considered before, but I get it. There’s always been something android about his singing style, like it’s coming from a blocky bot that can’t turn its head without moving its shoulders. I’m not talking about the big suits here, and for the record I don’t want any more feeling in ‘Psycho Killer’ than there already is. That perfect song is all jitters anyway, but even if we take a second look at ‘Everybody’s Coming To My House’, is that elation in Byrne’s voice when he cries “Now everybody’s coming to my house, and I’m never gonna be alone”, or the hot panic of man considering turning all the lights off and standing very still?... Continue reading
Back in stock! 20 Years of Loud And Quiet tee
Liz Hurley’s Versace dress, Lady Gaga’s meat ensemble, Alan Partridge’s badge and blazer combo. Truly iconic clothing doesn’t often come back for seconds, but the 20 years of Loud And Quiet commemorative T-shirt has. Available in all shades of black and all sizes. Order yours here
Metronomy pub quiz with special guest host
Metronomy are celebrating the release of their Greatest Hits album with a pub quiz themed around the band on 8 September at Signature Brew, Haggerston. There’ll also be a Q+A with the group and a signing session. The best bit is that the night will also raise money for a funding foundation set up by bassist Gbenga’s son, Ravi, which aims to raise £250k for two brain tumor charities (Ravi is already close to £150k). Is it too much to say that an even better bit is that I, Stuart Stubbs, will be the quizmaster for the evening? Sign up here
Albums for your diary announced this week
HighSchool – HighSchool (31 Oct, PIAS): Australian goth punk duo HighSchool (no gaps) have already released EPs and singles on indie label greats Dalliance and Speedy Wunderground. Their debut album will come via PIAS, featuring ‘Dipped’, which sounds like The Strokes being Interpol or vice versa.
Elias Rønnenfelt – Speak Daggers (17 Oct, escho): The Iceage frontman’s debut solo album, Heavy Glory, was only released 9 months ago – one of the best albums of 2024. Its rapid followup is looking in good shape too, preceded by the excellent, gloomy cowboy track ‘USA Baby’.
Also this week
With the help of Big Boi, washine machine manufacturer Whirpool released a limited edition machine that plays Outkast’s ‘So Fresh, So Clean’.
Mike Joyce will become the final member of The Smiths to release an autobiography, said to concentrate less on the well worn stories of the band and more on the feeling of being in it. The Drums is coming 6 November.
FKA Twigs is to appear in a new horror film based on the Bible called The Carpenter’s Son, which will be released this year. She’ll be playing Mary. Kind of sounds terrible, but with Nicholas Cage in the titular role, it’s bound to be… a film.
