Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

R&R

18 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com Ju ne, 2017

NEW ALBUM

‘I

t’s hard to compete with songs

that people have been hearing their

whole life, because they’re ingrained in

their DNA,” says Blondie guitarist Chris

Stein. “But we’ll see what happens with this

bunch of stuff .”

This bunch of stuff is Pollinator, Blondie’s

11th studio album, and fi fth

since the new wave legends re-

united in 1997 after a 15-year

hiatus. Featuring contribu-

tions from myriad songwrit-

ers – Dev Hynes, Charli XCX,

Johnny Marr, Sia, the Strokes’

Nick Valensi, Dave Sitek – it

may be tough to compete with

a catalogue that includes hits

such as “Heart of Glass”, “Call

Me” and “Rapture”, but their hopes are high.

“I’m always positive,” shrugs Debbie Harry. “I

thought the last one [2014’s Ghosts of Down-

load] was gonna be huge, but this time we’re

associated with BMG and it’s made quite a dif-

ference.”

Stein and Harry are sitting in a small con-

ference room tucked away in Sydney’s opulent

Langham hotel. In town for their April run of

shows with Cyndi Lauper, even at 10 in the

morning the duo cut an ice-cool figure: Stein

in all-black, sunglasses glued to his face, Harry

instantly recognisable as one of the most iconic

frontwomen in rock history. The band tapped

producer John Congleton (St. Vincent) to

help wrangle the songwriters’ contributions

into one coherent album (“I like his indie-

ness,” says Harry), though as

the singer points out, “Inevi-

tably anything we do is going

to sound like us, because, ya

know, that’s what we do. [But]

I think the relationship with

John and his infl uence and his

ear was of major importance in

putting together a real Blondie

sounding album.”

Marr’s contribution, the

jaunty, new wave “My Monster”, was written

specifi cally for the album, with other contri-

butions coming through their label. For a band

that started in New York in 1974, and has wit-

nessed trends come and go, the idea that Pol-

linator will be released on cassette (as well

as all other formats) amuses the duo. “We’re

playing every trick we’ve got,” smiles Harry.

“It’s so retro it’s also gonna come out in

smoke signals,” chuckles Stein.

Blondie & Friends

Legendary group team up with Sia, Johnny Marr,

Dave Sitek and more on ‘Pollinator’

BY ROD YATES

Boss Hog’s

Triumphant

Return

It’s been 17 years since Boss Hog’s

breakthrough album White Out

established them as a slinkier, sexier

partner to the Jon Spencer Blues

Explosion. Fronted by Spencer’s

wife and Pussy Galore collaborator

Cristina Martinez, the band honed

the pair’s previous ‘pig-fuck’ blues

into something more sleek and

sophisticated. Then, at the peak of

their success, Boss Hog went quiet.

To Martinez, though, the 17-year

break between White Out and new

LP Brood X doesn’t seem that long.

“I guess it’s almost my son’s entire

lifetime, but it doesn’t seem so long

if I think about what we did to get

where we are today. The real big

break happened between the end of

touring White Out, which may have

been 2002 or so, and then picking

up to play some shows in 2008.

But that was when my son was just

starting out in school – so I was busy

with other stuff and it didn’t feel like

I was missing anything.”

Martinez says that touring as one

of alt-rock’s most famous couples

was a double-edged sword. “I think

it’s the nicest thing in the world to

have your best friend with you at the

height of your career. But then there

are moments when, because we

do know each other so well, we will

sometimes forget our boundaries on

tour and have a regular married-

couple kind of spat, which is really

unpleasant for everyone to watch,”

she chuckles. “But the rest of the

band are kind of used to it by now.”

The newly invigorated Boss Hog

are hoping to bring their new tunes

Down Under. “I think we’ve only

been there once. But I’ve been there

like fi ve times with the Blues Explo-

sion. I love Australia, I can’t wait to

get back – you guys have the best

food on the planet.” MATT COYTE

After a long hiatus Cristina

Martinez and her Hogs are back.

FROM TOP: GUY FURROW; COURTESY

“Anything we

do is going to

sound like us,”

says Debbie

Harry.

Blondie:

Harry and

Stein, centre