Intastella feat. Jah Wobble

HHHH The Rise And Fall Of A Northern Dubstar NOVA DISTRIBUTION. CD/DL Mike Bennett-produced reworking of Stella Grundy’s 2013 show. After three albums with Intastella, singer Stella Grundy turned to theatre, writing and starring in Nico Icon, a performance piece about the German singer/ actor’s time in Manchester and The Rise And Fall Of A Northern Star, a semi-autobiographical work, detailing the experience of an ’80s pop singer. The 11 tracks here provide an impressive reworked score to the latter: over psychedelic glamscapes and experimental dub, pivoted by Jah Wobble’s careering bass and Craig Gannon and Nick McCabe’s spiralling guitars, Grundy critiques the music industry, from tour van tedium to drug-fuelled decadence. The Membranes add psychotomimetic noise to Rock’N’Roll Crime; Dillinger toasts over Dub Trap; Grundy’s beguiling voice creates a blissful altered state throughout. Lois Wilson