Pere Ubu - 'Lady From Shanghai'

It was the late, great DJ John Peel who introduced me to so many new artists between the late 1960's and the 1980's. Among these were Pere Ubu.

Listening to their debut album 'The Modern Dance' back in 1978, it seemed to me that the band had picked up the mantle shed by Captain Beefheart while he searched for a more commercial sound. Also I saw some similarities with another of my absolute favourite American bands, Talking Heads, but while David Byrne and colleagues found commercial success, Pere Ubu continued to confuse and confound most listeners with their distinctive brand of avant garde (or to use their term - 'avant-garage') rock music. Easy listening it was not!

Yet, thanks largely to a smallish band of devoted followers, Pere Ubu are now celebrating 37 years of music making and their latest release, 'Lady From Shanghai', is their 17th studio album. In truth, the band is to all intents and purposes, vocalist David Thomas, as he is the only constant throughout the career of this perplexing band. Always searching for new ways forward, the concept for this particular piece of work is 'Chinese Whispers'. In a book which accompanies some versions of the album, Thomas explains that the band members recorded their parts in total isolation using a set of rules defined by Thomas himself. Miraculously the result is for the most part quite cohesive.

Now, I somehow have to give you on paper, (or to be more precise, on screen) a feel for how this album comes across. Damn! How do you even categorise the music of Pere Ubu, let alone attempt to describe it?

If I start by saying that the opening track, the ironically titled 'Thanks', has the distorted voice of Thomas singing "You can go to hell" to the tune of Anita Ward's 'Ring My Bell', you might begin to get the idea. The distortion is even more apparent on 'Feuksley Ma'am, The Hearing' where he mangles the words of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' over what sounds like the bass line from Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Two Tribes'. 'Mandy' is more like music as you probably know it but when Thomas implores the girl of the title to 'come out to play' the result appears far more sinister than John Lennon trying to entice Prudence Farrow out of her tent in India ('Dear Prudence'). The spooky clarinet adds to this feeling. It could almost provide the background music to a Hitchcock film.

My favourite track is 'The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed' in which, over mid paced guitar chords, Thomas declares "She calls me Johnny Rocket but I don't know why". 'Lampshade Man' is like garage-rock with electronic effects while '414 Seconds' is exactly that. 414 seconds of poetry being recited over an industrial background.

Perhaps I'm not doing a very good job of selling this album but that is not my intention. The band are most definitely an acquired taste. If you are already familiar with Pere Ubu, you will have some idea of what to expect. If not then I suggest you throw yourself in at the beginning with 'The Modern Dance' and see where the journey takes you.

Bon voyage.

As a postscript I should add that Pere Ubu are touring this year and this includes a few dates in the UK. They will be at The Sage in Gateshead on 15 April.

So will I.