Thalia Zedek, Been Here & Gone (Matador) 9+
Thalia Zedek has inspired respect for her early role in NYC noise bands like Uzi and Live Skull, and later Come. Unlike contemporaries like Sonic Youth, Swans and Pussy Galore, her bands failed to ever be enjoyable. Her powerful solo debut, Been Here & Gone has changed that. As ever, Zedek's voice is a strangely sticky, throaty phenomenon. She's the bullfrog little sister of Patti Smith or Nico . . . post-punk godmother to Liz Phair's toady alt-rock princess. No longer obscured by noise and feedback, Zedek's fabulous weirdness ultimately reveals an eerie beauty, much like Tom Waits. Spare arrangements and violin lend a vibe of gloomy romanticism similar to The Dirty Three. The ballad "1926," with the chorus, "your God hates me" is pure Nick Cave. "Excommunications (Everybody Knows)" takes a Leonard Cohen-style prediction of a guaranteed painful end to a relationship, while "Dance Me To The End Of Love" is a Cohen cover done as a cabaret two-step waltz. The centerpiece is "Desanctified (Full Circle)," which starts with an ominous guitar progression that rivals the cream of Sixteen Horsepower's songbook, and charges ahead with an exciting piano-driven arrangement that recalls the Black Heart Procession. Pain and longing are omnipresent, but never self-pity. Redemption is found in "10th Lament," a stunning instrumental that encapsulates all the strengths of her band, climaxing in a sublime reverie of a guitar solo that rivals anything by Television at their peak. Released in the summer, Been Here & Gone is best shelved for a couple months and enjoyed next to a fire with a scotch and a book, as winter creeps upon us with imperceptible inevitability. This goes beyond being Zedek's first truly satisfying album -- it's a spectacular, autumnal classic.
