44 • UNCUT • OCTOBER 2019
ARCHIVE
CABARETVOLTAIRE
74 -76(reissue,1980)/
Chance Versus Causality
MUTE
7/10,7/10
Anunearthedsoundtrack,andsome
early tapesre-emerging
Althoughthey’reusually
lumpedineitherwith
post-punkorindustrial,
Sheffield’sCabaretVoltaire
pre-datedbothmovements,
theirformativeexperiments
comingaboutviatheirinterestinDada,
Burroughs,EnoandRoxyMusic.Through
the1970s,CabaretVoltairewerea trio–
RichardH Kirk,StephenMallinderand
ChrisWatson– andtheperioddocumented
on74–76givessomecluetowardsthe
Cabs’primitiveaesthetic,wellbeforethey
discoveredthedancefloor,electroand
housemusic.Theseearlyrecordingsare
a rough,slipshodslurryofimprovised
electronica,oftenclosertomusiqueconcrète
thananythingelse.Rhythmboxestrickle
outtinny,insistentrhythms;noxious
fumesleechfromjerry-riggedanalogue
electronics;tapeloopsspooloverradiated,
plasmicblastsofguitar.Recordedin
Watson’sattic,thisis theverydefinitionof
home-brewedexperimentation.Yearslater,
in1979,CabaretVoltairerecordedChance
VersusCausalityattheirstudio,Western
Works.Askedtorecorda soundtrackto
anexperimentalfilmbydirectorBabeth
Mondini,theyrespondedwitha loosely
improvisedsetofamorphous,emptied-out
pieces.There’sverylittlegoingonhere,
often,whichworkswellforsoundtrack
purposes,theCabs’slowlyevolving
snippetsofmoodevocativewithout
overwhelmingthevisuals.It’squeerly
compelling,a dystopian tonal exploration.
Extras:None.
JONDALE
THECIGARETTES
YouWereSo Young
OPTICNERVE
7/10
Regalzone:angstyLincolnpower-
poppers kicksomebutt
JohnPeelclaimedonair
thatTheCigarettesrefused
hisfirstofferofa BBCradio
sessionbecauseoneofthe
memberswascleaninghis
car.It wasn’ttrue,butit
wasthekindofmini-myththatmade
Lincoln’stopmod-punkhybridstandout
a littlefurtherfromthecrowdcirca1979.
TheCigarettesreleasedjusttwosingles–
theNazi-baiting“They’reBackAgain
(HereTheyCome)”and“Can’tSleepAt
Night”– butthisexhaustiveretrospective
(previouslyissuedbypower-popfetishists
Detour)proveshowfartheymighthavegone
hadtheyeverplayedfurtherafieldthan
Northampton.FoundermembersRobSmith
andStephenTaylorswappedfishingrods
forguitarsafterseeingtheSexPistols’first
TVperformance,theirteenagenewwave
adventuresencompassinga spellselling
merchandiseonthe 1979 Buzzcocks/Joy
DivisiontouraswellasplayingwithThe
Cigarettes.Theirmake-do-and-mendmixof
TheWhoandWireis pleasinglyunsullied
byself-consciousnesshere,thegormless
“Damage Your Health” and the sneery
YOUNG,precocious,a bitof
a hipster,PeterLaughnerhad
granddesignsforhishometown
ofCleveland,Ohio,andits
undergroundscene:“Iwant
todoforClevelandwhatBrian
WilsondidforCaliforniaandLouReeddidfor
NewYork,”hetolda reporterin1974.Threeyears
later,Laughnerwastakenbyacutepancreatitis,
buthe’dalreadyfittedanincredibleamountinto
hislife– a record-storeclerkandmusiccriticfor
legendaryAmericanrockmagCreem, hewas
alsoanearlymemberofPereUbuandwaskey
totheirimmediateprecursors,RocketFrom
TheTombs.Alongtheway,he’dhelpeddictate
theaestheticinfrastructurethatwouldmake
Clevelandsucha greatAmericanrock’n’rollcity.
PeterLaughnersometimesreadslikethene
plusultraoftheundergroundrockmusician
and,lookingbackatbothhiswritingandhis
music,hewasoneofthefirstina trajectoryof
musician-cum-rock-scholarfigures,a template
forenthusiastssuchasBobbyGillespieandEpic
Soundtracks.AswithpeerandeditorLester
Bangs,Laughnerwasdeeplyrock-reverent.
LouReedandtheVelvetsarecore to Laughner’s
repertoire– indeed,a lot
ofLaughner’srecorded
materialis coversand
reinterpretations,andhis
purviewreflectsa certain
orthodoxy,fromRobert
Johnson’s
bluesthrough
JimmieRodgers’
country,Michael
Hurley’sfolk
songs,Dylan,
Reed,Jackson
Browne,Lowell
GeorgeandTom
Verla ine.
So,there’s
a conscious
constructionofselfundertakenbytheyoung
Laughnerhere,anda dedicationtoa very
particularvisionofwhatrock’n’rollcould,and
should,be.Themagicofhisperformances,in
variousofhislineupsandgroups– thefolk-blues
ofTheOriginalWolverines;thereductionist
rockofCinderellaBackstreet;collaborations
withotherlocalluminaries– is anintensity
ofvisionanddeliverythat’smatchedbyan
almostdisarminghonestyindelivery.Heavoids
earnestnessthroughhumour,butknowshowto
skewertheheartofa songwithanoffhandstrum
onanacousticguitarandanunderstatedswoon
andsweepfroma gnarled,toughvoice.
ThereverencewithwhichhetakesonReed’s
“WhatGoesOn”and“Rock’n’Roll”giftsthis
boxsetsomeofitsmostintenselyaffecting
performances;therearelovely,gentleversions
ofDylan’s“PleaseMrsHenry”and“LoveMinus
Zero(NoLimit)”here,too.Butdon’tsleepon
Laughner’sownsongs– thestreetcrawlof
“I’mSoFuckedUp”,thebeautiful 1975 home
recordingsof“CinderellaBackstreet”and
“RainOnTheCity”– whichattesttoa writerin
thralltohisheroes,wide-eyedandsearching
for ways to transcend thoseinfluences;ina
numberofcases,
particularly
theromantic
poetryof
“Baudelaire”,he
getsdamnclose.
Extras:9/10.
Theboxis
immaculately
presented,
includinga booklet
featuringliner
notes,photographs
anda year-by-
yearcollection
ofLaughner’s
writingsandmusic
journalism.
PETER LAUGHNER
PeterLaughner
SMOGVEIL
8/10
Cleveland’s proto-punk spirit in excelsis.By Jon Dale
REDISCOVERED
Uncovering the underrated and overlooked
Liveatthe
Bottleworks,
Cleveland;
(below)the
boxset
booklet
Peter
Laughner
onstage
in Kent,
O h i o, 1973
