Handing over the mic to artists/musicians who break down their new albums track by track/share the thought process behind the creation. Today we’ll hear from Gordon, vocalist/guitarist for UK “Double drummer pssychedelic stupor-group” Luminous Bodies! Nah Nah Nah Yeh Yeh Yeh, their second LP, is out now on Box Records.
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Sykes
Sound: dramatic riff-o-rock-o-rama topped off with a prog break. Drug mood: prescription-only.
Lyrics: the title is a name-check for our friend Adam Ian Sykes (guit-ar-tist in Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs). Some of the lyrics are about him and some of them aren’t. Some are but also aren’t and some aren’t but also are. For me, lyrics usually have multiple meanings that simultaneously relate to our internal impressions, our immediate environment and events in the wider world. It’s really difficult to be explicit about these lyrics without exposing private details and hidden meaning that I’m not prepared to reveal.
I can say for sure that “Chickpea curry, On the floor, Fifty quid or less” is simply about how difficult and uncomfortable physical life can be for a small-time touring band like Luminous Bodies. Get fed chickpea curry, sleep on the floor, get paid fifty quid or less… every night. Even then, “sleep on the floor” has a specific, secondary meaning relating to Sykes that I will not reveal.
Some of the lyrics can be taken as, but not solely, general observations about the human condition, mortality and meaningfulness: “Will your star burn forever?”. Will you always be young, vital and enthusiastic? Burn brightly while you still can. “The passage of our lives is pointless, measured out in Bics”. We’re continuously moving through time, spilling disposable items behind us, ruining the world for no other reason than to generate economic activity in a Capitalist context (e.g. the conversion of fossil fuels into plastic razors, pens and lighters). “How did you find yourself in this long, dark tunnel? Far away from anyone who cares” represents the loneliness of each of us as individuals who can never be truly united with the greater consciousness of the billions of others around us, not even with those we hold dear. Oh no! It’s as bleak as fuck!
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Hey! You!
Sound: breezy punk belted out during a break in filming a cowboy movie. Drug mood: initially, vitamins and speed, but then drink a bucketful of M-in-water during the break-down.
Lyrics: bitchy put-downs that I should be ashamed of. Again, there’s layers though. “The Lea” is the river running through Hackney Marshes, near where we live in London. The “duckweed monster” is PJ (Bad Guys, Michael), the “ape in a tree” is me. How we got there can only be guessed. “Fug life!” is obviously a shout to the great Tom Fug (Gum Takes Tooth, Melting Hand, Luminous Bodies) and “MRSA” refers to the superbug Matt Ridout (Casual Nun, Hominid Sounds). Can you guess what the “SA” stands for?
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Choices
Sound: aggressive rock banger. Drug mood: alcohol
Lyrics: stupid, yet self-aware. A cautionary tale of weekend debauchery and how to make bad decisions. I mean, how many times has it started out all innocent and fun on a Friday night but then you’ve got drunk, fucked your ex and lost your keys by Sunday morning? It’s all too common.
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I’m Not Leaving
Sound: abrasive power-electronics with backward-masked vocals. Drug mood: K, definitely K
Lyrics: Luca Zoo Franzoni (MGF, Luminous Bodies) explains patiently about how, as an EU citizen who’s made his life in the UK, he ain’t leaving! He’s been stealing our jobs and women for years and he’s not about to stop now. That’s superseded by his lament and plea to our favourite London promoter, Anthony Chalmers (Baba Yaga’s Hut), who has – on several occasions – had Zoo ejected from a show he’s playing at. Completely justifiable, it has to be admitted. Anthony! Anthony! Let me back in, pu-lease!
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Fuck The Beatles
Sound: “Come Together” re-gnarled for the Oasis generation. Drug mood: you come back over the K-hole event-horizon, only to be slapped down by that tab of acid you took two hours ago. Remember doing that? You do now, don’t you?
Lyrics: has a pop at weekend Cocaine-delivery media types (have you not heard how they make that shit?), harshes your mellow Beatles-buzz, pauses to offer support to women and non-binary folk, races on to a self-critical conclusion but still makes time to insult your Clash-righteousness on the way. Sorry.
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The Lidless Eye
Sound: 80s Mancunians in long coats get a bit of a thrash on. Drug mood: amphetamines, anesthesia and growth hormones.
Lyrics: I feel sorry for those poor animals. You can see it in their eyes. I’ve worked in an abattoir. Go vegan.
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I Wish I Had A Window
Sound: the scariest bits of Locust Abortion Technician. Drug mood: heroin
Lyrics: seriously, there are a LOT of people living in tiny divided-up rooms in warehouses, paying a fortune to slum-lords for fuck-all. Didn’t do the crime but still doing the time. They have no windows. NO FUCKING WINDOWS!
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Gut Reaction
Sound: discordant Les Rallizes-influenced hypno-drone. Drug mood: LSD
Lyrics: an allegorical description of the desire for peace and freedom in the face of the rise of fascism. Be good to each other xx.
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