Come Rip These Fuckers To Shreds

I saw Nadine Khouri at Strange Brew in Bristol last night, playing a live set in support of the legendary Barry Adamson. 

 

More thoughts on the night itself to follow up, but a few songs from Nadine in the meantime. I'll confess, I wasn't aware of her music at all until I read that she was touring with Barry, prompting a stop at Bandcamp and YouTube to have a listen in advance.  

 

Given that Nadine's two albums to date - The Salted Air (2017) and Another Life (2022) - were both recorded in Bristol and produced/co-produced by John Parish, the question is how did I miss this for so long?

 

The post title is a line from Vertigo (full lyrics below), a song from Another Life which I know was performed last night along with the title track as she introduced them both by name.

 

I'm not 100% sure if Nadine played Song Of A Caged Bird from the same album too, but I like the song and it's one of a couple that have an accompanying video.

Sealing the connection with last night's gig, Song Of A Caged Bird also received a rather fine remix from Barry Adamson last year.

 

On Tuesday, Nadine posted a lyric video for album closer Box Of Echoes, filmed and edited on her phone in Nadine's current home of Marseille.

 

Another Life is available in physical and digital formats via Bandcamp and is well worth a listen...

 

 

....as is the rest of Nadine's back catalogue, including Broken Star from her debut album.

No surprise that Leonard Cohen is an influence and Nadine has covered several of his songs. Here's a lovely cover of Suzanne, performed as a six-piece band at The Empire Bar in Hackney on 30th November 2019.

 

 

 

Vertigo

 

Strike while the iron is hot 

Pull up the gear-shift and drive 

Don’t ask me how far we got 

Or what time we'll arrive 

The air is bone dust and ash 

The earth is fire and mace 

Bring your tennis racket 

Pour some milk on your face 

Vertigo 

The ground cracks under your feet 

The buildings moving in waves 

I see you spinning off-axis 

Disintegrating in rage 

The sunlight sets on their guns 

Somehow the days re-begin 

You’re still an open wound 

Flapping wild in the wind 

Vertigo 

I can’t slow down 

I’m spinning and I need to keep moving on 

This time you feel it without 

This time you feel it within 

They stalk and intercept you 

From under your skin 

Under their demon red cloud 

Where do we go from here? 

You’re spitting bloodlust out loud 

I’m still trying to steer 

The streets are piling with tires 

Someone stole all the cash 

This time you carry the barrel 

And I’ll flick the match 

This time they blew up the place 

This time they made their bed 

Not a single one spoke out 

Come rip these fuckers to shreds 

Maybe they pushed us too far 

Till there was nowhere to go 

If we scream in this hall of mirrors 

Can anybody hear us? 

Will anybody know? 

Can anybody hear at all? 

Vertigo 

I can’t slow down 

I’m spinning and I need to keep moving on