Subterraneans

Fronted by former Angelhead singer/guitarist Jude Rawlins, who legendary British music journalist Kris Kirk once described as “arguably the greatest frontman of his generation”, and featuring Van der Graaf Generator’s drummer Guy Evans, Subterraneans’ psychedelic post-punk credentials are second to none. They have made music in the snow, the Arizona Desert, in derelict Victorian asylum buildings, abandoned warehouses, at Jim Morrison’s graveside, but they have never set foot in a recording studio, at least not to make one of their own records. Since forming in 1992 they have been London’s most challenging artrock renaissance, dominating Camden Town’s thriving music scene and casting a quietly pervasive influence over contemporary music whilst only rarely coming up for air themselves. A guitar band that have conquered European dancefloors (their first recording “Dream Fades Into Dark” was an accidental hit with the crowds at the Amsterdam Paradiso in the summer of ’93), the avant-garde (their 1999 soundtrack to the classic German movie “Pandora’s Box” and 2004’s collection of soundtracks for Maya Deren’s experimental films), rock’n’roll (their 2001 duet with Angie Bowie on a cover of the Stones’ “The Last Time”), indie rock (their 1998 album “Mona Lisa”), existentialist artrock (their 1993 debut album April May June). The list is altogether rather impressive for a band with such a ferocious DIY ethic. Indeed, by the release of their Mona Lisa album in 1997, Subterraneans had evolved into their own biggest influence, fearlessly pursuing a higher, grander, more idealistic rock music that remains true to Rawlins’s uncompromising insistence that the message must be set above all else. Thus everything, from world-class musicianship to fierce sonic experimentation, must unwaveringly serve delivery of the message. This approach culminated in their 2006 album Soul Mass Transit, widely regarded as their masterpiece. They are currently working on the follow-up, This Too Shall Pass, scheduled for release in 2010.