The bit that you skip #176 โ Death in Vegas โ Dirge
Rain in Nottingham (or any part of England for that matter) often comes without warning. You might be under a cobalt blue sky, feral pigeons strutting on the pavement, and the odour of burnt Greggโs wafting akin to church incense.
Drizzle starts, droning on dry newspapers and wrappers, then intensifying until youโre hit with a waterfall. Such a deluge happened to me while sauntering Nottinghamโs city centre. I hightailed it into the (now defunct) HMV on Lister Gate, browsing around the offers and checking whatever on the listening stations. Westwood (always the chancer) had a double album out, so was Ms. Dynamite. As the rain receded back into a drizzle, I thought it was the proper time to stop loitering.
Then the album artwork beckoned me. Death in Vegas. Had zero idea of who they were, but on the back, Iggy Pop and Bobby Gillespie were listed. So was one of the Reid brothers from Jesus & Mary Chain. The album wasnโt on any listening stations as it was already a few years old.
The employee, studded on both eyebrows and the left ear, came round and asked โdo you want listen to it?โ I nodded a nesh โyesโ and she took it out of the wrapping paper and offered some earphones. Dirgeโs droning buildup sold me the album. Even if the rest didnโt turn out as good, it was reason enough to buy it. The price was right, and before I said anything, the employee suggested Aisha, a song with Iggy Pop on guest vocals. Also a banger. Then I checked out Lever Street, a soulful, introspective anthem.
โIโll take itโ I said to the employee as the placed it on a bag. โTheir newest is just 3 weeks oldโ she said, pointing at the Scorpio Rising poster over a wall. โMaybe next time?โ she continued while I still tried to form a sentence. My English wasnโt bad, I just wasnโt feeling ready to have conversations with people in those early days after moving to Nottingham. โIs the album good?โ I ask and her face expression was โhey, he speaks!โ. She took my tenner and when handing over my change, she quipped โDot Allison is in it, which is great. But also Liam [Gallagher]โฆโ and then tutted. โSwings and roundaboutsโ I replied and took the bag from the counter. Quick smirk and I donโt remember seeing her again working at the place.
The Contino Sessions is Death in Vegas sophomore album, and as you can probably guess, itโs a fantastic album. Genre crossing as if it were running from the law, Death in Vegas are confident on their music prowess. They donโt mind psychedelia with wobbly atmospheres (Soul Auctioneer), hard rocking spoken word rants with downtempo beats (Aisha), or the empty room introspection full of regret and sorrow (Lever Street). Dirge will always be the first song I recommend from Death in Vegas, but I believe they are deft enough to tackle any genre they like, whenever.
-Sam J. Valdรฉs Lรณpez
https://youtu.be/F5nzwqj3utY?si=NlYgCAObwy7wL9qM
#2002 #DeathInVegas #Dirge #HMV #ListerGate #Memories #Nottingham #TheContinoSessions