Pinkie Maclure and the Puritans: 'This Dirty Life' was released by Brave Records in 1990 and features Pinkie Maclue on Vocals, Piano, and Samples; Nick Page on Electric Guitar; Dave Bryant on Drums and Percussion; Michael Jospeh on Bass; and Simon Smith on Saxophone. The album was reissued later on CD but the CD can be quite pricey because it is difficult to find. The album is quite typical of Pinkie's early live sound when she was performing a lot in pubs and clubs around London that had reputations for being very alternative, independent, and Punk orientated. 'This Dirty Life' is not live but it has quite a raw feel to it. For me, it is my favourite Pinkie album because it is much more experimental and hard-edged than the records she made later in her career and it was certainly challenging for the later day Punks of 1990. It is really quite an inventive album and unusual for its time. The closest thing to it musically is probably early Moonshake because it has complex inventive rhythms with unusual and intriguing electronics set within powerful, grinding bass and sharp, harsh guitar. It also has a mild post punk jazz feel with the saxophone - a little like Naked City, Painkiller, Ground Zero (John Zorn, Yamataka Eye). The vocals are quite grating, they dive and leap around all over the place with lots of use of glissandi (sliding from one note to another in quick succession) followed by deep dives (from high to very low notes) and subito (sudden) leaps (from growling expressions to squealing). The vocals are a little like Cathy Berberian's performance of 'Visage' by Luciano Berio (an experimental classical composer) or Tone Dogs (experimental post punk - very expressive, dramatic, and theatrical) much more than they are like Siouxsie (and the Banshees) whom Pinkie was often compared to later in her career. There wasn't much music that sounded anything like 'This Dirty Life' in 1990 and there still isn't. It has more in common with early Virgin Prunes all the way from 'A New Form Of Beauty' and up to 'If I Die, I Die' than it does with Pumajaw (Pinkie's renamed most recent band - who, in my opinion, are excellent). Pinkie's later records (which, in my opinion, are excellent) definitely grew from 'This Dirty Life' and she began working with musicians who are, arguably, much better instrumentalists, - and that was possibly necessary for her music to become much more accessible, melodic, harmonious, and easy on the ear; whereas, 'This Dirty Life' has the squealing angst of early Lydia Lunch, especially Pre-Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. The bass is pounding, driving, and heavy as you would expect from grunge music but also Michael performs in some very inventive ways using unique techniques that render sounds uncommon to grunge. For me, the bass has most in common with 'Deep Down and Heavy' by Bob Downes (which, in my opinion, is absoultely superb). The drums either pound heavily or remain quite low in the mix, performed in an understated manner that obscures their relative complexity. Dave defintely knows how to play drums, - 'This Dirty Life' is no simplistic well-intentioned and/ or anarchic Punk album, - it is far too complex and engaging for that. The saxophone is only ever so slightly jazz orientated, it tends to squeal or perform rapid staccatto (short, sharp, clipped notes). Simon's playing reminds me a little of Ted Milton (Blurt) but not quite so extreme as Ted (whom I adore); Simon is more musical but anarchic, like Rip Rig + Panic or even just a little like Pigbag. The sax is quite prominent but does not carry melody often, mainly it spurts, squeals, stabs, and runs in succesive notes with the occasional semi-tortured melody and some scattered meandering. The rhythmical meter is not easy to follow, - its definitely not dance music. The guitar grinds away like heavy metal and grunge music but is much more inventive than you might expect from this description (often it is not easy to tell whether noises are excrutiated from the guitar, bass, sax, or sampler). The sampler is very understated, there is no sense at all of 'This Dirty Life' being an electronic album - it is dirty, hard, grinding, and in your face. Sometimes the tempo (speed) slows right down and the instruments scatter and meander around but then there are subito (sudden) changes and the music becomes very loud and driving again. The song structures are actually very complex and sound as though they have been developed from much improvisation that has arisen in the first instance from somatic performance (playing from embodied feelings) followed by careful planning, improvisation, and then very crafted structuring and refinements. Mainly, the songs are heavy and fast (a little like early Swans but speeded-up considerably and a little like Sonic Youth around the time of 'Kill Yr Idols'). For all the complex expression and invention, the songs are nevertheless: songs. I have never owned/ listened to the CD but I bought the LP record when it was released and my copy is in Mint- (Near Perfect) condition so I know it is intended that the last song sounds as though the record is faulty because it rushes to a sudden finish that is very definite but has no real sense of conclusiion at all. Yes, it's a very, very interesting album and I really like it a lot. The tracks are: Side A: 1. Horns Off - seems to be about lying to a lover because you don't really love them but you want to keep them. 2. Pie Dog Squirm - seems to be about not giving-in and joining a community of no-hopers instead. 3. Salvage - seems to be about the pain of misplaced trust (trusting somebody who did not deserve to be trusted because they could not be trusted) 4. Leeches - is partly in Spanish (I think its Spanish, I'm a bit ignorant of languages) and seems to be about pitiful cruelty and spite. Side B: 1. A Gathering of Skin 2. Eel Pout 3. Gluttony 4. Sensitive 5. Tasty ... as a brief non-explanation of Side B, here's the lyrics to 'Tasty': 'Tasty - like a flea-bitten head in brine Tasty - oh god the things you find sometimes Take it away! Tasty - shake your pretty arse out of the window Shake it out the window Pretty tasty' (Pinkie Maclure and the Puritans (1990): 'Tasty' from 'This Dirty Life', Brave Records).