Superqueens – John Peel Radio Session 2004

This should have been reviewed ages ago, but truth be told – it has taken me ages to work out how to navitage my way around flash sites and download off them, but anyway…

Superqueens have been reviewed previously on my blogspot (http://swampheartland.blogspot.com/2005/02/superqueens-review.html) where I saw them live in concert and live, they are a bewilding sight to watch – a often brilliant and touching mix of dance and rock music mixed with poetry, or as at least one review has commented “a frightening mixture of Bill Hicks and The Aphex Twin”, which I don’t agree with but can see the point behind.

Anyway, I have no idea when this session was first broadcast for the now late John Peel, but I am guessing it was one of the last sessions broadcasted before his sad demise last year.

The Session itself is a mixture of songs debuted on the album and on several cases added a major re-working, “Security and Peace” and “Cut” – Despite being among of my two favourite tracks on the album seem to carry an added menace here, with the Piano / Keyboards perhaps less in the mix on the album, here pushed more to the forefront and really send a shiver down my back. Excellent.

“Cut” in contrast almost has a complete different tune altogether, with howling feedback and noise replacing the more whisper of the orginal backing tune on the album, but works out brilliantly too, in particular at the end of the song when the vocalist, Micheal (or Mick) and the multi instrumentist Bruce, finish off the music and the words at exactly the same point where the song feels like it has cut off almost suddently which is just the life sometimes feels.

In addition, there are two new tracks “Mr, You’re a Lap Dancer” (Which is a great title – AN) is the louder, more rawer out of the two and for a few seconds when I first heard almost caught me out with it’s pace, but whether it was me or the track itself, it seemed to settle down and portraited some very unusual images of life indeed.

I must admit I preferred the other new track “The Ghost of Billy Whizz”, which seems to be about drug dealers with it’s ambient keyboards and the way the poetry seems to float in and out of the tune and carries a heck of a punch.

I am not sure if it is for everybody, although I do like it a lot (as I could certainly some of the imagery on several of the tracks making a few day time radio presenters blush) but I do recommend everybody at least gives a listen as it is available for download free at the official Superqueens website - www.thisissuperqueens.net