Wolves is the closing song on Lloyd Cole's current album, On Pain, which came out in June. Having delivered the album in late 2022 and frustrated with the record label release schedule, exacerbated by the vinyl production queues, meaning that the album itself would not be released for another 6 months, Lloyd decided to release a couple of "premixes" of Wolves, both by Martyn Ware.
The Red Star Mix is a minimal masterpiece, and in retrospect closest to the album cut (which was the version I heard last of all), coming in at under four minutes.
The LyncanthroMix is longer, just under five and half minutes, but strips things back even further to Lloyd's vocals floating above synth washes. It's really quite beautiful.
This inevitably took me back to the album version, which is a seven and a half minute bubbling epic, stretching out the verses over pulsing synths, credited to Lloyd's former Commotions compadres, Blair Cowan and Neil Clark. Wolves - and the remainder of On Pain - is produced by Chris Merrick Hughes. This song alone was enough to send me off to belatedly buy the album.
Following
the two "premixes" of Wolves and the release on On Pain, there will be
two further remixes of Wolves to come. Lloyd's explanation for the pre- and post-album release of the mixes is simple: the first - by Barry Burns of Mogwai - wasn't ready in time and the second by Chris Merrick Hughes "is insane and I can't let people hear it before they hear the original version".
And being a Lloyd Cole, the lyrics to Wolves are of course exemplary.
We tired of the mountainThe forest and streamWe’d heard of your citiesAnd your hot childrenWe danced to your discoAnd your boogalooAh ooh
We came to be near youBut you’re frightened, we seeWe stalk on the borders of your decencyWe wait for your bitchesWe know they will comeAh ooh
We tire of the abstractWe long for concreteThis Gothic architectureThis brutalityYour jails and slaughterhousesYour democracyAh ooh
You worship false idolsYou love the deceasedYou cower before tyrantsYou spread the diseaseYou lack imaginationYou lack imaginationAh ooh
Today's post is in the shadow of the sad news that we have lost three more iconic artists in the past couple of days, Jamie Reid, Sixto Rodriguez and Robbie Robertson. You were many things, but you never lacked imagination. Rest easy.
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