The first of occasional illlustrated dispatches from the frontline of unpopular culture. Tonight, a very special PALbum launch.
PAL are Pat, Alex and Leonora. Everybody loves PAL. Last Saturday night, they launched their new album, Blood Anthems, at Leith Depot in Edinburgh. Blood Anthems is on cassette, and has been released by the magnificent Px4M label. Every home should have one.
At the launch, they decided to play their set in reverse, beginning with the encores. This meant that before they played their album, they opened with three cover versions; ‘Devil Woman’ by Cliff Richard; ‘Both Ends Burning’, by Roxy Music; and ‘99 Red Balloons’, by Nena. The latter was sung in its original German as ‘99 Luftballons’.
PAL should have their own variety show on the telly. They could do sketches and songs, and have guests on like they did at their launch party.
That’s Kieron on saxophone, joining in with PAL on ‘Both Ends Burning’. Kieron plays in Cowboy Builder, and runs Px4M. But tonight Matthew, in a glorious feat of musical cosplay, Kieron slipped on the sartorial mantle of Roxy Music sax player Andy Mackay.
Back in the 1970s, when Roxy Music were on hiatus, Andy Mackay wrote the songs for Rock Follies. Rock Follies was a TV drama series about the sort of rise and sort of fall of a women’s vocal trio called The Little Ladies. The series was written and performed in an arch manner, and looked like fringe theatre on the telly. Rock Follies was a hit, and the soundtrack album went to Number 1 in the charts when things like that still mattered.
A couple of years ago, a brand new stage version of Rock Follies went on in Chichester. If ever they do a reboot of it on telly, the Little Ladies should be played by PAL. It’s the buzz, cock.
Opening the PALbum launch night were Dancing Mice. Dancing Mice sound like they were formed in Brussels in the late 1970s, and hung out with Tuxedomoon inbetween releasing split singles with The Names on Factory Benelux. They do songs about 1968, and play against a backdrop of what look like European films. Glorious absurdism abounds.
Dancing Mice have had nine albums out on CD, and have just released a tenth. Rather than sell their records, at gigs, at least, they are available for free. And how wonderfully 1968 is that, giving stuff away? The future past is safe in the hands of Dancing Mice.
Inbetween Dancing Mice and PAL came Valenstein. Valenstein is Ashley from riot grrrlll punk trio, Fistymuffs. For Valenstein, Ashley plays electronics and sings. And laughs. And rightly tells some yapping galoots in the audience to shut it. Like PAL, Valenstein has some great songs of her own, and also did a great cover. In her case, it was of Soft Cell’s nouveau torch song, ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’. Valenstein is the new Peaches.
As for PAL and Blood Anthems, if someone gave them the variety show they deserve, they could do this sort of thing every week on old fashioned prime time. As it is, the old PALs act remains a vital force of what used to be called alternative entertainment. At the end of PAL’s set, some wag shouts out for an intro. See? Variety. Let the crossover commence.
PAL https://palbandedinburgh.bandcamp.com/
Valenstein https://valenstein.bandcamp.com/track/asteroid
Dancing Mice https://dancingmice.bandcamp.com/
px4m https://px4m.bandcamp.com/