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Back in the early ’90s, Edinburgh-born Chris Connelly confused the hell out of fans of Ministry‘s nihilistic bludgeoning by teaming up with Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker and William Rieflin, as Revolting Cocks, to record industrial-disco covers of Olivia Newton John’s Physical (on 1990’s Beers, Steers + Queers) and Rod Stewart’s Da Ya Think I’m Sexy? (on 1993’s Linger Ficken’ Good … and Other Barnyard Oddities). And if those joyously deviant deconstructions tickled your pickle, then the idea of Connelly’s new band, Sevendials, opening their debut album, dedicated to the memory of late, legendary Killing Joke guitarist Geordie Walker, with a fabulously camp take on Sparks’ 1979 synth-pop single The Number One Song In Heaven, should make you want to investigate further.
Sevendials pairs Connelly with Killing Joke drummer ‘Big’ Paul Ferguson and Los Angeles-based guitarist/keyboardist Mark Gemini Thwaite, whose CV includes stints with Tricky, Peter Murphy and The Mission. While the trio’s collective history – and indeed their moody, menacing debut single Zodiac Morals – may understandably lead one to anticipate dark, apocalyptic rage on A Crash Course In Catastrophe, the 10-track collection isn’t so easily pigeonholed. While the likes of Knife Without Asking and Where The Wolves are powerful melds of industrial-metal and post-punk, the unsettling Weathervane Days sounds like a Tom Waits/Mark Lanegan collaboration, Whispering Wand is country-tinged deviant disco, and a playful cover of Animotion’s 1984 hit Obsession (“Who do you want me to be, to make you sleep with me“?) featuring New York darkwave femme fatale Ashley Bad is horny electro-goth-sleaze, and quite irresistible.
Released on Cadiz Music / CreationYouth, a newly formed label from two more music industry lifers, producer/Killing Joke bassist Martin ‘Youth’ Glover, and Creation Records boss Alan McGee, A Crash Course in Catastrophe is proudly out of step with any current musical trends, and blessed with the ability to wrong-foot listeners at every turn.
Nice work gentlemen, nice work.