Terror Terror – Paedophil Daffodil
Are Friends Electric?.
I guess most music fans know the Tubeway Army story? How Gary Numan entered the recording studio only to find a minimoog synthersiser left over from the previous band session? That chance discovery was a revelation to Numan, a game changer. Synths were very expensive in those days – the domain of prog rock acts like Yes. The minimoog allowed Numan to shift away from Tubeway Army’s hitherto guitar heavy sound toward something more futuristic, the perfect canvas for his dystopian subject matter. His most famous song came from messing around with Moog bass sounds.
History.
Chance.
When I first came over to Belgium it delighted me to discover a legitimate musician in my local town. Pierre Lejeune was performing then as The Oslo Deadtrash Project – all retro keyboards and deadpan delivery. I loved it. Recalling a phrase on an Idlewild album sleeve saying “support your local poet” I decided to get behind this guy. When you think of it, everyone, every star, Bowie, Curtis, you name it, is ‘local’ to somebody. I had not realized I was backing a winner. Okay, Lejeune is not yet playing arenas, but artistically he has proven to be a major find. TODP could not contain him. His next project was a grunge-rock/Britpop full band called Hudson. (Pixies meets Sugar meets Oasis – Pierre onstage in a Breton shirt looking every bit the rockstar, even smashing his guitar at a press event. Why? “Because I had to.” ) And now onto Terror Terror, a stabbing, ‘noise annoys’ act, (act being the operative word). Here Lejeaune ramps up the agit-rocker side of his persona. He’s already given us Traps with such media friendly ditties as ‘Dig Your Grave’ and ‘Torture Device’. His latest opus is entitled Paedophil Daffodil. (sigh)
Just pause for thought one moment. Imagine your friendly, jobbing magazine editor in receipt of a download music file called ‘Terror Terror – Paedophil Daffodil’, downloading and extracting said file. Even loading it onto his generic, ‘fruit-based’ library of tunes.
Terror Terror
Paedophil Daffodil
Just let that sink in for a moment. When you consider said editor then took to a well-known internet search engine in order to add the album’s artwork, searching by using those four words! Worldwide Law Enforcement Agency computer screens probably lit up like a Christmas Tree! (Thanks Pierre)
Yet you see it is all an act. He’s calling it experimental horror pop but Paedophil Daffodil isn’t as terrible as you might imagine. Like Lydon sneering at the Queen, so too the Terror Terror record is merely playing up to type. We never have to look very far to find a melody. Opener ‘Neurasthenia’ is harsh and abrasive on the surface, but melancholic at heart. ‘Telefunken Psoriasis’ is a repetitive and nasty slab of sludge rock, but with an agreeable synth call-out. ‘Split Rad’ has a dirty, early Joy Division sounding guitar and ‘999’ is so pop it could have been a Hudson song.
Terror Terror, ladies and gents. If it hadn’t been Tubeway Army to enter that lucky studio, but instead The Ramones or New York Dolls you might have an idea of sounds Terror Terror conjure. At 25 minutes, calling Paedophil Daffodil an LP is a stretch and those songtitles take ‘provocation’ to the limit. However I know Pierre a bit and no amount of white noise or ‘go fuck yourself’s can disguise the songcraft in his work. Of course he’ll never breakthrough with titles like these. I endorse the ‘Wire’ template of subversion through melodic pop. Difference is Lejeune wants to be the fly in the ointment, then smear us in it and cut our throats.
You know I hate to ask
But are friends electric?
Only mines broken down.