Within seconds we're in cool territory. With the John Cale-ish voice of Edvard Graham Lewis booming out, and the mechanical rhythms of "Kinds of Whether" echoing around a grinding hook, this feels vaguely similar to Eighties Wire. Of course, Lewis was/is a member of that seminal punk band.
Alreet? is the new record. The Nick Cave-isms of "Diamond Shell" make this sound like a record steeped in another era. That doesn't really matter much as that other era was markedly better in some ways for an artist like Lewis. Far better is the clattering "I Still Remember", a number which has some of the momentum of Eighties Wire, and a sense of dramatic force that makes it engaging. The proto-industrial of "Bang!" marks another peak in this release, as does "Who the Hell", the languid closer.
Edvard Graham Lewis isn't seeking to shed the ghost of Wire here, and that's cool. There's a similar sensibility at work though, enough that lots of the better tracks here feel akin to what we heard on Wire releases from decades ago. That said, this isn't so much punchy alternative as something else. The synths and drum patterns give each of this cuts the sort of dark DIY appeal as the earliest releases on Mute Records had, for example.
Alreet? by Edvard Graham Lewis is out now. Details via Bandcamp below.
[Photo: Bandcamp]