The Sex Pistols aren't gonna like this one bit

Musings on music delivered when I dig myself out.

The Sex Pistols aren't gonna like this one bit

Or "God Killed the Queen," the first single from Louis XIV and the first release from Ultragrrrl's Stolen Transmission label

Because I haven't taken World History in quite some time, I looked up Louis XIV and found him to be a bloated, pompous wind-bag that did his part to ruin France during the 17th and 18th centuries. (See kids, music blogs can be educational too!) I wouldn't go so far as to call this group pompous or full of wind, their aesthetic reminds me of a group that is fronted by one -- that being Mark E. Smith of The Fall.

The guitars swish back and forth across the speakers like The Fall winding up to loose a hurricane of noise. The vocals snarl in a fashion pioneered (not so shockingly) by Johnny Rotten and taken to disaffected heights by Smith. While not riotously paced, the song keeps a marching beat suitable for dancing that requires some sort of head banging. What are lacking on "God Killed the Queen" are lyrics that have the same pissed off vibe. Instead we get conflicting and played out themes of "god killed the queen" and "if you want my body," which sounds like cliche punk-sloganeering to me. I suspect we'll be hearing more of Louis XIV since they were recently namedropped by Brody Dalle in NME. Pray that the UK buzz machine leaves them alone so they don't end up bloated and demanding to be called the Sun King.

Published Monday, November 01, 2004 | 0 comments | E-mail this post