Curse Of lono

As I Fell

Too much junkie business?

As rock star credentials go, being an ex-junkie is about as hip as you can get. It’s proof that you would lay down your life for rock’n’roll, apparently. There’s also the added thrill of waiting for the eventual relapse and overdose, or so the theory goes.

The truth can be more prosaic. Curse Of Lono, led by singersongwriter Felix Bechtolsheimer, sound somewhere between the nihilistic grunge of the Jesus And Mary Chain and the psychedelic desert rock of Stan Ridgway and Wall Of Voodoo, which is maybe why the album was recorded at a studio in Hackney and another near Joshua Tree in California. Their songs conjure up epic, vivid soundscapes with a heart of noir and the field of vision is certainly broader than last year’s Severed, which was a lot closer to rehab. The future is looking brighter – Bechtolsheimer may have to wear shades.