Thursday 10 November 2022, 8pm
Excellent bill to celebrate the release of Jowe Head of Swell Maps' new album, 'Screeches, Scribbles and Scrawls', featuring SPeW, Rude Mechanicals and Jowe's latest band, Infernal Contraption.
Swell Maps released four singles and two albums in a brief but dramatic career, that led to them topping the UK independent charts, and influencing bands such as Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Blur. When they broke up, Jowe joined the Television Personalities, headed by another pioneer of UK Independent Music, Dan Treacy. Ten years with the TVPs saw Jowe making more influential records, touring Europe regularly, and playing in Japan and the USA.
Jowe's latest band is called Infernal Contraption, featuring the voice, xylophone, bowed saw and Theremin of Catherine Gerbrands (Valerie’s Week of Wonders, 7-Headed Raven), bass guitar by Lee McFadden (Cult Figures, ex-Alternative TV), drums and percussion by Ravi-Low-Beer (ex-Glass Glue), and also guitar & electronics by Cos Chapman (Rude Mechanicals).
"Angular, no wave, punk wonk sounds. Sax, bass, noise guitar. Danceable songs of toxic dirt, lust and grandma."
"The Art-rock inspired Rude Mechanicals has been compared to The Tiigerlillies, early Roxy Music, Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, and Can. Creating a music that been described as “wild, wicked weirdness... a little bit Flying Lizards, a little bit Native Hipsters and a great deal like nothing you've heard before..." (Tom Robinson BBC6).
