The Lacking Details

The word “party” is right there in the name, as is the word “nude”, and it might be a coincidence, but this is rowdy, horny, let-it-all-hang-out rock and roll music.

Among the lockdown detritus of 2020 is this gem showing the introspective jazzy musings of one of the most important dub and post-punk bassists of the last 40 years.

Tricky’s approach to music, with subdued tempos and striking contrasts (like pitting his industrial grit voice against Marta’s honeyed vocals) has not dulled over the years, glinting in the streetlight like an out of place scalpel.

The name would lead you to expect old-school riff-heavy fuzzed-out psychedelia with a strong southeast Asian accent, and it would lead you true.

Callahan’s deep gruff voice meanders through acoustic non-linear arrangements like a limo driver telling a story, completely oblivious to their own cowboy poetry.

The insurance inspector shook her head. She’d never seen a fire consume a structure so quickly and completely; this must be some new form of accelerant. Most curiously, the inferno seemed to have started at the stereo speakers.

The celebrated funk guitarist releases this collection of R&B and/or big-band inflected compositions, featuring some notable guest stars, but it’s all just wrapping paper on a big cinderblock of groove.

The bewitching chanteuse and the mute production wizard is a pairing that has yielded consistently intriguing results through the ages, and these VideoSong pioneers are still leading today’s pack.

The recipe for Yello’s bass-heavy, rhythmic, mid-tempo groovecake has not changed in forever, and it still makes the ideal soundtrack for putting on your sunglasses and slouching down in your seat.

Someone threw a key party for a bunch of musical genres, and Americana, Rock, and Punk left together. On the dashboard radio on the way to the motel, the Old 97’s were playing.