Album: Alan Vega - Alan Vega After Dark | reviews, news & interviews
Album: Alan Vega - Alan Vega After Dark
Album: Alan Vega - Alan Vega After Dark
The second posthumous album this year ranks among the Suicide singer's very best
Following in the slipstream of wide critical acclaim for posthumous album Mutator, released earlier this year, comes Alan Vega After Dark by the former Suicide frontman.
Vega’s last live band recording, made in 2015 in collaboration with members of Pink Slip Daddy, a band similarly steeped in the spirit of rock and roll and the pure power of repetition, was born out of spontaneity. Insisting on no preparation whatsoever, Vega gathered the players in a rehearsal room in New York’s Greenwich Village, got them to jam and jumped in to riff whenever the feeling hit.
The result is six songs of primitive power, recorded in a single night. The ride may not be the longest, clocking in at just over half an hour, but it’s certainly wild. From the rockabilly opening notes of “Nothing Left”, through the primal groove of “Hi Speed Roller” and the lizard lounge lurch of “Out of Town”, to the soaring “Wings of Glory”, Vega’s phrasing and timing are pitched perfectly, underscoring each song’s intent. And, while the words occasionally swerve away from the ear, every growl, every yelp, acts as percussive and persuasive punctuation – raw, elemental and vital.
As swan songs go, it’s flawlessly coherent. After a few listens, the songs start to sound like perfect forms, stretched to near breaking point, naturally, yet passing the stress test with ease. However, to see it as an Alan Vega solo album is to do the other musicians here a massive disservice. This record is among the singer’s very best, sure, but the plaudits should go equally to guitarist Ben Vaughn, bassist and keyboard player Barb Dwyer and drummer Palmyra Delran.
“There is a future, there is a future” intones Vega on the album’s fabulously chaotic finale “The Record Speed”. One can’t help hoping that, for Pink Slip Daddy, there really is.
rating
Share this article
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
Add comment