"The men made of swords / Converge by the green / Kiss their dog-eared lovers / Historically keen..."
The wide eyed, Holy twisted "The Wheel, the Spade, the Stars in Motion" by the gleefully the apocalyptic Bristol UK art rockers Erotic Secrets of Pompeii (ESOP) is a trip on shrooms (or not). In the past I have referred to these artful wackos as "a nucleic acidic stir of artists, auteurs (and dark visionaries) like Charles Bukowski, David Cronenberg, Robert Mapplethorpe, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Tropical Fuck Storm and The Dead Kennedys" and rightly so but on this particular track, for some reason I thought of another musical descriptor / artist. Namely Oingo Boingo and, maybe even, their first incarnation as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. I used to see them in the early days at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in Hollywood where their antics would attract equally artfully subversive fans like Exene from X and The Mael brothers (Sparks).
Now this is not to suggest that ESOP sound like Oingo Boingo in any sort of copycat way, they don't, they are unique / singular and no one fucking create songs like ESOP but the slamming guitar work, the underwater sounds, the run away rhythms and incredibly upside down jam band breaks did make my mind go to some of those nights at the Whiskey decades and decades ago.
From Liner Notes:
[A degenerate love song of defiance and acceptance, “The Wheel…” thrusts the listener through a looking glass, into a world where everything frays at the seams and burns forever madly. Vignettes of love are spotted and declared as thorny guitars prick and snick above a wonky bassline, before erupting in a cataclysmic cry to arms: “Dig deep in the hole for a love to call your own!” Yes! Love can conquer all and blossom uncontrollably, even in the underworld.]
ESOP songs beg to be studied at University. The lyrics all by them selves feels like poetry dripped from black candles after a séance.
"Declaring that his love for her // could melt the permafrost // The poets they were scrabbling for matches that were wet // dismantling their Ouija boards with rusty bayonets //
The accompanying Official Video is beautiful and points directly to the highly anticipated debut album "Mondo Maleficum" due to drop in January 25th of 2024 and being followed by a UK tour.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/erotic_secrets_of_pompeii
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4YreULe3QeBKIv7oWit0MO
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii are an apocalyptic art-punk band from Bristol, UK, who wind post-punk and experimental rock together like two ends of a fraying rope.
Their transgressive songs ring with disparate elements - from industrial to world music. The vocals descend from baritone drawl to manic yelp as erratically as the music pivots from catchy groove-based euphony to discord and angulation.
The band has received airplay on BBC Radio 6, Radio X and BBC Radio Bristol.
FFO: Talking Heads, Nick Cave, IDLES, Black Midi, Protomartyr, Viagra Boys, Pixies, Captain Beefheart, Tropical Fuck Storm, Daughters, The Fall.
Erotic Secrets of Pompeii, altrock, Bristol England, art rock, art punk, "The Wheel, the Spade, the Stars in Motion" (Official Video), Superman, The Bizarro Killers, upcoming debut album "Mondo Maleficum",
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