Live + On Record: Lush - Live in Brooklyn, Mark Crozer And The Rels record review

Over a year ago came the announcement that a much clamored for reunion by one of the few remaining classic 90’s era dreamgaze pioneers (that had resisted up to this point) would in fact be happening. The tour dates were set and calendars were marked – Lush would be playing New York in September of 2016.

Those of us dedicated to this “beautiful noise” period of music had just experienced The Jesus and Mary Chain playing here, and now we had a whole year to look forward to this.

Sometime after tickets for the initial Terminal 5 show was put on sale for the 14th, a second show was added for the day before in Brooklyn at The Music Hall of Williamsburg, giving fans a choice of venues that suited them best. Although many no doubt went to both performances, attending their first NYC show in 20 years on September 13 created an additional level of historical importance.

Social Media anticipation continued to build, as planned gatherings with like-minded friends were hatched for some pre-show revelry.

Once the band hit the stage everyone in the audience were immediately transformed back to the golden era of heavy, hyper dreamy music.  The "beautiful noise" once more.

--

Opening with one of their most popular and recognizable songs in “De-Luxe,” the intro chords initially build at a slower tempo than the studio version, before bass and drums enter the mix bringing everything up to speed and the audience now fully engaged.

Although we've gotten to know Phil King over the years as a touring member of The Jesus and Mary Chain, (and who is also featured in a very popular in-depth interview and career profile here on this site) he correctly stepped out of that support role to resume his rightful place as a full partner in Lush.

--

The live show was all one could have hoped for.  One brilliant explosion of light and sound after another.

The central focus is as it always has been - the persona of Miki Eleonora Berenyi.

She effortlessly commanded the stage with charm (bantering with the audience on a few occasions) while going about the task of executing a set drawing heavily from their first two 4AD albums and early EP’s with a smattering from their later, crossover-to-Britpop hits.

Emma Anderson continues to provides essential harmony vocals and precise guitar melodies behind Miki’s shimmering 12 string chords.

Veteran drummer Justin Welch (a founding member of Elastica) masterfully delivered on all percussion duties.

A reverential moment occurred when the band played “Lost Boy” – a track from their recently released new EP “Blind Spot” live for the first time. Dedicating it to founding member/original drummer Chris Acland, whose 1996 suicide led to the eventual dissolution of the band at that time, Miki’s lyrics express the heartbreak of that loss.

Free roaming the venue, previous viewing locations (with fellow concert mates in full view) made for interesting images.

Perhaps its due to all the new bands that emulate and try to sound like them, but the music of Lush seems to have a timeless quality to it.

Listen to how their live sound fills up this high ceiling venue, allowing for both the songs intricacies and ambient overtones.

--

The full Setlist played

With significant debuts and milestones achieved.

One of these can certainly be helpful in gaining access to opportunities.

Ultimately having an eye for the main chance is your best asset when doing the post-concert dance.

- - -

- - -

With this North American leg of their tour now completed, the band have three major dates remaining in November playing the Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavic, the Rolling Stone Weekender Festival in Germany before ending the month at the Academy in Manchester, UK.

Find out anything else about Lush here

* * * * *

Long-time friends of this site Mark Crozer and the Rels have released a brand new 10 track album titled “Sunny Side Down.” Recorded at Mitch Easter's studio in North Carolina (where Mitch engineered and co-produced with the band) the legendary Lets Active frontman who also produced R.E.M.’s early breakthrough albums has captured Mark and The Rels at their best.

 There is an honest “live” quality to the recordings that allows the songs shine through. What you don’t get is artificial studio trickery or ridiculous autotune. The current pop airways are currently full of that (unfortunately) and it’s truly a breath of fresh air to hear something as true and organic as this. That said the sound quality is perfect and the songwriting superb. This is the true definition of “indie” (independently released) music.

An eerie mood is set within the pop confines of opening track “Haunted Head.” Though the 1-2, 1-2 chord progression moves things along with a mid-tempo pace, a disquieting sentiment shimmers within the sound. Describing those sleepless moments that “keeps me awake with thoughts and emotions” the memorable hook high-point “oh I think it’s alive” turns apprehension into beauty.

Although “Toxic Town” establishes a quicker stride, the overall wistful atmosphere evokes first-wave British invasion classics like Chad and Jeremy’s "A Summer Song" and “I Go to Pieces” by Peter and Gordon. The universal tale is told of desiring to leave a soul-stifling town that can only offer “sad memories and shells of burnt out factories.” The chorus provides emotional uplift via beautiful chord structure and lyrical hope indicating the “light beyond” and now being “a perfect day to make a getaway.”

The introspective disposition on “Corners Of Your Mind” pair gently strummed guitar against dramatic deep hall drum accents. “Glide like a bluebird climbing high, searching for sunshine” provide lyrical gravitas to a poetic daydream. With the full band joining in, familiar Crozer themes of “redemption” are revisited and how “life can take you way beyond” the limitations you put on yourself.

There are many more equally wonderful tracks on this record, all well worth checking out. Find out how to digitally acquire this as well as everything else from Mark and the Rels current catalog here.

An ultra-limited edition vinyl version of “Sunny Side Down” is in the works and will be released by Planting Seeds Records (PSR093). Keep an eye on their official site (and their Facebook, Twitter pages, etc) for more detailed information.

* * * * *

 Previous features on this site about Mark Crozer and the Rels:

Bubblegum Track and Live Show Review

Late September Features: Mark Crozer and The Rels, etc.

Mark Crozer and the Rels - Album Review

International Jetsetters - Heart Is Black – Album Review

* * * * *

Previous features on this site about Planting Seeds Records:

http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2013/08/true-independent-music-labels.html

http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-jesus-and-mary-chain-live-in-new.html

https://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2009/05/lovetonespsr-showcase-may-1-2-2009.html

http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2009/05/linda-draper-live-googies-loungethe.html

* * * * *

Phil King - Exclusive Interview

In celebration of The Jesus & Mary Chain’s return to live performing this year – and in particular a much anticipated September US tour – longtime band bassist Phil King agreed to answer some questions that relate specifically to his time with this most influential group.  Regular readers of this blog are all too aware of my passion for the music this band has produced.  Links at the end of the interview will provide more than adequate testament to that fact. 

Here then, the DaveCromwellWrites exclusive interview with Phil King

It’s been pointed out from time to time that you first began playing as a member of The Jesus and Mary Chain during end of their initial period together in 1998. Was this only as a touring member or did you play on any of the band’s final recording - the album called “Munki?” The reason I specifically ask this is there have been published reports stating that you did play on the record.

Phil:  Yes, I've seen it written that I played on “Munki” – but this is not true as by the time I started playing with them the album had been long finished. I was brought in to play on the live shows as Lincoln Fong couldn't do it. The only recordings I am on from that period are a Radio 1 session in April 1988 and a show we played at The Electric Ballroom in Camden, London in the same month. These are both on the bonus disc of “Munki”. I am also in the video for ”I Love Rock 'N' Roll” . I remember having to borrow a pair of sunglasses for that as I forgot they were de riguer.

The original JAMC bassists were (first) Douglas Hart, then Ben Lurie replaced him. Do you have any kind of relationship with either of these men? Have you discussed playing styles or anything related to playing those particular songs with either of them?

Phil: Actually Ben never played bass with The Jesus And Mary Chain. I did get an audition for them around the time of “Automatic.” This was to play guitar. Ben got the job. They tossed a coin and I lost according to Jim. My shoes were too pointy according to William. I got my audition through my friendship with Douglas Hart. We shared an apartment with a friend of his from East Kilbride called Stephen Sands who was in a group called See See Rider that I played guitar with prior to be in Lush. Douglas played guitar on one of their songs called See See. There is actually meant to be a See See rider compilation coming out sometime soon. We lived at the time in Maida Vale but ended up moving to a squat in Kilburn that was nicknamed 'Disgracelands'. On my first day of rehearsing with The Jesus And Mary Chain all they said to me was that I knew the songs better than they did – and let's go to the pub.

Head On – live at Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, June 2012– shot by Rob Dobbs from the stage:

Since you are also an accomplished guitarist (and from what I gather was your first instrument), wasn’t there a point in the mid-2000’s (possibly around 2005/6) when Jim Reid was putting together a post-Freeheat solo project, and asked you to play guitar in it? How did that project come about? Wasn’t Mark Crozer enlisted to play bass in that Jim solo project as well?

Phil: This came about because Freeheat came to an end and Ben went back to Australia. First of all we went out as a two piece with a drum machine and Mark was actually our agent and guitar tech towards the end of that period. Then when we thought of putting a group together Mark offered to play bass and said that he thought he might be able to get Loz Colbert to play drums.

When the Jesus and Mary Chain finally decided to reform again in 2007, you and Mark switched roles and you moved back to bass and Mark played second guitar in the band. Was this role switching at the request of anyone in the band or did you, Mark and the principal bandmembers - William and Jim - discuss it and decide this is the way it should be? Do you feel more comfortable on the bass in the live environment?

Phil: I was offered the role of the second guitarist when the group originally reformed – and also when we started playing again this year – but although I started off playing guitar I have been playing bass live now for 32 years so feel more comfortable in that role.

Talk about the differences between playing live shows with the band in 1998, 2007/8 and now. Is there any difference to how you approach a show? What happens on stage? How you interact with your bandmembers?

Phil: There's been no difference at all really apart from when I started playing with them we seemed to spend more time in the pub opposite The Drugstore recording studio they owned rather than rehearsing.

(Some of the earlier bands Phil played in)

Let’s talk tech a bit. What bass and amp do you use? Is this your preferred setup or would you go with something else if you had no limits? What about effects pedals? Do you try to recreate what was recorded on the JAMC records or are you allowed some creative musicianship there?

Phil: I used the Mary Chain's Fender Jazz bass and hire an Ampeg SVT amp and speakers. I play through that without any effects apart from a bass fuzz pedal that I use on Sidewalking, Teenage Lust and Reverence. When we toured in 2007/8 I used a Wooly Mammoth pedal that belonged to our guitar tech at the time. This time round I had a clone made of it which I have used although recently I have been using a pedal supplied by our guitar tech John Kassner.

“Reverence” - live at Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, June 2012.  Shot by Rob Dobbs

In addition to being a musician, it is often reported that you work as a picture researcher for major print (and now I’m assuming online) publications. A recent feature on you has you revealing you first did this sort of thing as early as 1988. Can you explain a bit about what a picture researcher actually does? I only have a vague notion of what this entails.

Phil: I get in the images for articles in the music magazine Uncut. To do this I use the archive of prints and transparencies we have in the files that we share with the NME. There are also the images from the Melody Maker collection in there as well. I also use images from various picture agencies such as Getty and Rex. I can download these from their sites. Also, I contact photographers to get their images. Luckily because I am a freelancer I can easily take time off to go on tour.

What about writing? Besides songwriting (which I assume you still do) do you also write stories or articles for publications? I am aware that you contributed significantly to a recently released book titled ‘Wired Up! Glam, Proto-Punk & Bubblegum European Picture Sleeves 1970-76.’ What did you provide for this book?

Phil: I only write when it is something of interest really. I did a short piece on The Jesus And Mary Chain's trip to China recently for Uncut, there were some recollections on Felt for a book/fanzine on them a couple of years ago, I wrote about David Bowie and New Order for The First Time I Heard series of books and more recently some interviews I did with Jesse Hector, Brett Smiley, Sal Maida from Milk 'N' Cookies and Chris Townson from The Jook - that I did about five years ago for Shindig and Bucketfull Of Brains magazine - are being collected in the Wired Up book. I also supplied them with record sleeves, ads from the music press of the day and photos.

Anything else in the publishing pipeline?

Phil: To be honest I am busy enough with The Jesus And Mary Chain, working at Uncut and spending time with my family in Portugal to even think about doing much writing at the moment. Saying that, I am writing something on Sal Maida's career as a bassist (Roxy Music, Milk 'N' Cookies, Sparks, Kim Fowley and The Runaways – he ghosted bass parts on their album Waiting For The Night) for a future Shindig magazine.

You were best know in the US during the 1990’s as the bassist for influential female-fronted dreampop band Lush. Much like JAMC, the influence of Lush on emerging bands today is quite noticeable. Yet it appears that both Miki and Emma are truly done with the music business. There doesn’t seem to be anything capable of enticing either of them back - even for a one-off show. Is this noble or selfish (to the fans who would love to see Lush perform one more time)?

Phil: I guess that is really a question you would need to ask Miki & Emma but I would say noble of course. The problem is that we have had offers to play but because we have families and day jobs they really need to be financially worthwhile as we would need to rehearse and take time off from work and none off the offers we have had so far have really made it worthwhile enough to do it. If we did get back playing I certainly can't see us ever doing just a one-off show.

You recently told a story about how back in the early days (I believe in the mid-to-late 1980’s) you attempted casual friendly banter with both Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth (at separate times) and they both summarily dismissed you as unworthy of an answer. In hindsight can you attribute this to the brashness of youth? Did you ever meet either of them later on in your career and have a different experience with them?

Phil: I did meet them later on when I was in Lush and they were much nicer than in 1986. This would have been in 1994 when we were promoting our "Split" album. We were doing an interview at a radio station in New York and they had just been interviewed before us.

You also mentioned that you wondered if Glen Branca would have been so rude. Who knows? Are you a fan of the particular twisted orchestral guitar compositions that Mr. Branca has engaged in for lo these many years? What about Rhys Chatham (who was a contemporary of Mr. Branca, and in recent times has mounted similarly ambitious sound exhibitions)?

Phil: I remember reading about Glen Branca back in the day but I can't say I have ever heard him or Rhys Chatham. I for the most part like to listen to music that soothes me these days and I can't imagine they would ever do this.

Moving back to the present, in June you completed a series of shows with The Jesus & Mary Chain in California, followed by a few August dates in Canada and Buffalo. This leads up to a much bigger tour of the east coast of America in September. The reviews have been for the most part, positive. However, there have been reports of some live show snafu’s as well. Anyone who has been a fan of the band over the years is well aware of these occurrences. Even Jim makes references to these occasional false starts (or even mid-song restarts) as "Ooops, it's a MaryChain moment" - in your live performance of "Halfway To Crazy" at Hollywood Park (Racetrack) in LA this past June. Then, the song further breaks down to the point where he stops it entirely - and asks the audience - "does anyone know our songs out there? We don't." Ultimately you all complete the song to much satisfaction and Jim concludes with "we got there in the end."

What is going through your mind when this is happening? Are you amused? Annoyed? Half expect it to happen at some point during the set?

Phil: It's always a bit chaotic live with the group and invariably songs fall apart sometimes. You could never say that the group is over rehearsed but then again I think that gives us an edge, because we are always on edge, so it is never boring. For us or for the audience. I guess part of the problem is that shows have been so sporadic this years, just a few here and there and then a gap, so we are just warming up and it ends. I'm sure this three week tour in the US in September will sort things out.

Never Understand – live at Hollywood Park, Los Angeles, June 2012– shot by Rob Dobbs:

Are there any plans to change up the set list at all? Add some different songs?

Phil: I can't imagine so as once the order of songs are sorted out they are pretty much set in stone. Saying that in 2007/8 we did add some songs to the set.

(I had the good fortune of meeting and chatting a bit with Phil when they came to New York in 2007.  Photo by Rob Dobbs)

Links:

http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2012/01/jim-reid-exclusive-interview.html

http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/2012/03/day-3-part-2-thurs-15-sxsw.html

http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk/MagSitePages/Article.aspx?id=6507

http://vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com/2008/07/03/ace-of-bass-phil-king-interview

Field Mouse - Heartbreaking yet Uplifting Dreampop

Emotionally engaging, carefully crafted dreampop songs are the appealing sonic domain of Brooklyn’s Field Mouse. The formidable songwriting and recording team of Andrew Futral and Rachel Browne create aural landscapes that can melt the hardest of hearts. Having expanded to a four piece with bassist Danielle DePalma and drummer Geoff Lewit, the group has been playing numerous live shows around the city, as it prepares to release its next record. 

Interview:

 Your band strategy at present appears to be the measured release of one song at a time (rather than a full album up front) - and playing lots of live shows. Is this an accurate portrayal of what you are doing? Could you further expand on why you are going about this approach?

Rachel: It's pretty accurate. We have a lot of songs but didn't think releasing them all at once would be wise. At some point in the fall we met the guys from Small Plates, who were into the idea of putting out a 7". We thought this was a good way to start. We put out another song (Glass) on our own as well.

Andrew: It feels like there are a lot of bands doing this now. Releasing a song at a time just made sense. There are only two songs on our 7" so it made sense to stagger the release of the songs so that people were interested in it longer. As for playing live often it's a combination of us not getting to see each other that often so usually we have to play shows to hang out and also we are lucky enough to get offered cool shows that are hard to turn down.

The song and video for "You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom" is lush and gorgeous. How did this song come about? Who started it? Rachel just strumming on guitar and singing? A simple song? How then did it develop in this larger than life sound we now presently hear? How does one build a sound like that?

Rachel: I wrote the verses first and Andrew and I arranged the chorus melodies together. We built it up to sound the way it does in practice sessions.

Andrew: The song definitely started as chords as Rachel strumming and singing but she was playing the lead part with the rhythm part at the same time by changing the voicings of the chords. The main sense of longing that the song has comes from the song being in the key of E major but us never getting around to playing an E chord. So the whole song feels like it's trying to resolve itself and it never does. The main balance of the song on the production side is trying to keep the energy levels and intensity changing and never feeling too aggressive.

The video for that song is really cool too. Lots of overlying images - the point of view you'd have rushing down a highway with lights on the side. Who conceptualized this and put it together? Is there anything interesting you can tell us about the making of this video?

Rachel: Andrew had very specific ideas for this video and he did everything for it. We filmed some of it in our practice space and a lot of it up in Connecticut on a nice autumn day.

Andrew: We shot that ourselves in our practice space and then I went out and shot some time lapse stuff and kind of created a collage of images. It was my first time directing anything so I tried to keep it pretty simple I just wanted it to be a pretty simple visual representation of the dreamy spacey thing that was sonically happening in the song. A lot of the video is me discovering that "Luma Key" exists in Final Cut. Chroma key is when you record stuff infront of a green screen and then you "key out" the green and put in your own background but luma key is when you key out specific amounts of darkness or brightness so that is how everything got over layed. There are lots of layers and they all have a luma key filter on them with separate thresholds. 

Tell me about the song and video for the equally dreamy heart-tugging song "Glass." The big hook in the song is the lyric "When you're out of love" - yet the vocals are so stylized to the point it take many listens (and a look up) to get that meaning. How important is the mood being set with sound - and vocalizing - than actual literal interpretation of words? What does "it would never be us" refer to? Is just another reference to heartbreak?

Rachel: Thank you. Lyrics are very important to me and sometimes I do think it's nice to hear what you want to hear - literally - before you actually know what the person is singing. I wanted the mood of the melody to fit the words, for sure. This song was hard to write because its lyrics are actually pretty upfront about a real situation. To me, anyway.

Andrew: Mood being set with sound is important for every band I think. It might take a few listens to get the correct lyrics of the song but you won’t be surprised when you read them because they are working in tandem with the music and both part of establishing the same mood.

The video that goes with it is this super slowed down image of Rachel. What is involved in putting something like that together? Does it take the latest in super sophisticated film equipment and a tech person who knows the intricacies of using it? Something simpler than that?

Rachel: That video was directed by our friend Shervin Lainez and Andrew. It's actually about 15 seconds slowed way, way down. Nothing too sophisticated. It was fun to make, I had to keep a straight face through a bombardment of confetti, wind and bubbles.

Andrew: It's actually pretty simple. It's 15 seconds of Rachel slowed down to the 3:40 of the song. Twixtor is a relatively cheap and nice plug in for creating slow motion that looks cool at speeds as slow as 8% of the original speed (which is close to what the video was). It was shot on a Canon 7d at 60fps at 720p and really it was just our photographer friend Shervin Laniez and I shooting Rachel with bubble guns, confetti, turning lights on and off and high powered fans and manically as we could and when that gets stretched to 8% speed it just becomes super dreamy and it feels like you are watching this intimate thing but really it's just slowed down chaos.

The third song you've relased now - in this, your modern era - is "Happy." To my ears another perfect piece of sugar coated dreampop that still exhibits a sonic urgency. The emphasis once again is centrally focused on Rachel's voice. Your credits indicate the songs are produced by Andrew - and that the vocals are engineered by your band member Danielle. Does she have a particular skill or expertise in bringing out this amazing vocal quality? The guitars, on the other hand (and possibly synths) create a musical base, making it all sound like an orchestra. While the drums build and create tension. You all play so well together. Is the lyric "that's what you get for loving your regret?" It's good if so. I really like it (and of course can relate to all this kind of wallow) - but - what's that got to do with being "Happy?"

Rachel: We work with Danielle at a studio she works at called Seaside Lounge. She and I have been working together since college in various studios and she does know how to get a solid vocal sound. Seaside Lounge also has some amazing gear, including a real plate reverb. Yes, that is the lyric. "Happy" comes from the sarcastic, or maybe not, part of the chorus: "You give me nothing/I'm happy." I think at the time I meant it.

Andrew: Title is 100% sarcastic. Danielle is great at what she does! She decides the general chain of what preamp and how much reverb is used. We all went to the college together at the music conservatory at Purchase College so we all kind of know our way around the gear. I think the secret behind the vocal quality is 90% Rachel's natural voice and 10% the Plate reverb used at Seaside Lounge where the vocals are recorded. Usually Danielle will set up the mics and everything and then we leave the room and Rachel runs protools until she likes the takes she has done. As for the guitars, I don't think there is a single note being played on guitar that isn't being played by a synth too. I just wanted the chordal instruments of the song to have a kind of anonymous texture. The goal with that is to have a sound that the listener doesn't 100% understand but because it's so reverby and anonymous sounding. I wanted it to be intense but ignorable so that Rachel's vocals were definitely the focus. 

INFO BOX

1. Band address: http://fieldmousemusic.com/

2. Origins: Brooklyn, New York

3. What it is: Alternately uplifting and/or heartbreaking dreampop

4. For those who like: Lush, My Bloody Valentine, Asobi Seksu, Cocteau Twins