Shameless Tuesdays: Livre 42 | The Academy of Sun
Envision green fields and a mighty tree on a hill. Underneath that tree are a few friends playing spring-friendly melodies that take you down a comfortable rabbit hole. Odds are, those friends might be the Brighton, UK-based rock collective The Academy of Sun, whose new song "The Parts That Need Replacing" delivers psychedelic imagery within their beautiful lyrics and simple-yet-epic sounds. (Considering the song's inspired by the cannibalistic nature of Elizabeth Bathory, it's quite ironic that a gory moment of history has inspired such a gorgeous work of music.) It is a sneak peek of their new album The Quiet Earth, which arrives everywhere on April 24th. If it's anything like what "The Parts That Need Replacing" has offered, then it's bound to be a record that's worth getting lost in from start-to-finish. To encapsulate the mood of an album release, The Academy of Sun are delivering a ray of sunshine via this week's Shameless Tuesdays!
Here's what frontman Nick Hudson has to say about this week's playlist:
I solicited a bunch of tracks from my The Academy Of Sun bandmates, so I hope you'll enjoy a cross-section of our collective and individual tastes, loosely-banded under the theme of 'quarantine'. We open with "Just Another Day" by Danny Elfman's (severely under-rated) Oingo Boingo. "Just Another Day"? Well, doesn't time seem to have condensed into an indistinct, gelatinous mess under the uncanny new physics rules of quarantine, I snuck in further Danny Elfman DNA later in the set too - with Siouxie's "Face To Face" from the "Batman Returns" OST - coincidentally the first cassette I ever bought. Lest we remind everyone that "Face To Face" is *not* the preferred configuration under lockdown.
There are three tracks from our upcoming record The Quiet Earth too, which I hope you'll all enjoy. Honestly, we had no idea the earth were set for such apocalyptic quietude when we wrote it. It's *not* our fault! The Diamanda Galas choice I hope speaks for itself. Written in the wake of another virus, under another government that opportuned pandemic/epidemic as a means to socio-economically cleanse their electorate of the (perceived) underclasses. Coil, because they're incredible and much-missed, and because the title again speaks for itself, as I write this from within my one-room-flat. "Orly" by Jacques Brel boasts characteristically stunning orchestration. And I chose "Orly" because Chris Marker's seminal photo-roman "La Jetee", a hugely influential science-fiction short about a populace under the shadow of a deadly virus, has key scenes set at Orly airport. Nobody ever accused me of not being an obscurantist! Other tracks are by our dear friends across the world - Oli Spleen, Toby Driver, Brother Twain, and Grave Lines. We miss you all! Thank you for inviting myself, us, to curate this playlist - stay well, and we look forward to when this infernal curfew is lifted.
Nick and The Academy Of Sun xoo
For more information on The Academy of Sun, visit their official Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube!
Promotional consideration provided by Shameless Promotion PR
