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BAXTER DURY

Baxter Dury

Allbarone

    It was Sunday June 28th, 2024 and Baxter had just stopped from a rapturously received set on The Park Stage at Glastonbury festival. After towelling himself down, a familiar figure approached him backstage. It was Paul Epworth, the lauded producer / songwriter whose creations have draped themselves across the airwaves of the 21st Century more successfully than other Briton.

    They agreed to meet back in Epworth’s North London Church Studios in late November, not long after Baxter had finished touring his last album. Their first day in the studio working on this new eighth solo Baxter Dury album was an eye-opener for Baxter, though, and not just because of the comfortable surroundings of The Church which has hosted the likes of Frank Ocean and Adele (“incredible place, all this glistening fruit and catered sushi, I felt like the bloke from Trading Places, stuffing it down my sleeves.”).

    Together they dreamt up 'Allbarone’s nine-track tour-de-force, stripping everything away and building Baxter’s most melodically direct, futuristic collection in intense three-hour daily shifts throughout December and January.

    “It’s kind of a character arc that goes through the whole thing, two personalities,” he explains. “It’s very critical of people, this album, whoever they are, maybe some bloke with a moustache and sockless loafers in Shoreditch or a fat old Chiswick gangster lording it up in a really comfortable middle class part of London”

    “I don’t want to say it’s contemporary,” he summarises. “Because I sound like a cunt using that word. But it does sound really contemporary. It doesn’t sound like a Harrods hamper band made it. It doesn’t sound like a band made it all. Which is what I wanted most of all. It’s just something that’s brand new for me. It’s quite exciting, really.”

    Which in Baxter Dury-speak is as good as proclaiming “I’m top of the world!” 


    TRACK LISTING

    1. Allbarone
    2. Schadenfreude
    3. Kubla Kahn
    4. Alpha Dog
    5. The Other Me
    6. Hapsburg
    7. Return Of The Sharp Heads
    8. Mockingjay
    9. Mr W4

    Baxter Dury

    I Thought I Was Better Than You

      Musician, writer and Renaissance man Baxter Dury returns with a brand new album, 'I Thought I Was Better Than You,' his seventh studio album.

      I Thought I Was Better Than You marks a new era for Baxter, and with this new era comes a new character. “Faux-confrontational,” Baxter calls him. Here, not only is he recounting his childhood, but he’s also reckoning with it. Instead of just swinging at his past blindfolded with a baseball bat, he talks openly about the toxic cocktail of being born into unfortunately fortunate circumstances, with a persuasive surname but no structure or sense of responsibility with which reap the rewards of it. “Really, it’s about being trapped in an awkward place between something you’re actually quite good at, and somebody else’s success.” That ‘somebody else’ being his dad, Ian Dury. As one of the album centrepieces – Shadow – agonisingly puts it: “But no one will get over that you’re someone’s son/Even though you want to be like Frank Ocean/But you don’t sound like him, you sound just like Ian.”

      The record also serves as a kind of extension to Baxter’s 2021 book, Chaise Lounge, in which he winningly recounted the story of his unique childhood. Not only does he expand the language of the book, using words to paint disconnected images rather than to string sentences (a kind of cockney hieroglyphics), but he often revisits moments within the book. Characters like ‘Tricksy’ re-appear in ‘Aylesbury Boy’ and ‘Pale White Nissan’, for example, but mainly it’s the abstracted tales of a young Baxter, troubled and in trouble, a victim of circumstance, straddling between a world of ‘Fuck you Leon…/ You stole the sunglasses and I got busted’ and a desire for ‘Porridge in the morning and be normal’.


      STAFF COMMENTS

      Barry says: I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Baxter Dury, and 'I Thought I Was Better Than You' is a perfect illustration of the off-kilter slam poetry vocals / hazy swimming electronica combo that Dury does so well. Brilliantly inventive and constantly moving forwards, Dury is at the peak of his creativity.

      TRACK LISTING

      1 So Much Money
      2 Aylesbury Boy
      3 Celebrate Me
      4 Leon
      5 Crashes
      6 Sincere
      7 Pale White Nissan
      8 Shadow
      9 Crowded Rooms
      10 Glows

      Baxter Dury

      Mr Maserati - Best Of Baxter Dury 2001 - 2021

      Mr Maserati showcases two decades of Baxter Dury’s idiosyncratically louche music, a universe of late-night London meet-ups, shuffling basslines and comedown disco tunes, all run through with a wry bleakness and sweet love of humanity. Mr Maserati collects tracks from across Dury’s six albums, plus a new song D.O.A.

      Baxter Dury on new track: “It’s a kind of provincial nod to the music I got into during lockdown because my son Kosmo was playing it – Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar. I became obsessed. They’re embracing everything – sexuality, politics, all of it – and I find that inspiring”

      STAFF COMMENTS

      Barry says: Not a week goes by where we don't get asked for a Baxter Dury record so it's with some relief that I see this collection is finally hitting the shelves. Some of the greatest riffs, most distinctive vocals and beautifully rich songwriting make Dury and this collection in particular a no-brainer.

      TRACK LISTING

      Side A:
      1 Miami
      2 I'm Not Your Dog
      3 Leak At The Disco
      4 Cocaine Man
      5 Palm Trees
      6 Oi
      Side B:
      1 Oscar Brown
      2 Claire
      3 Other Men's Girls
      4 Carla's Got A Boyfriend
      5 Prince Of Tears
      6 D.O.A.

      Baxter Dury

      Chaise Longue

        Methods of parenting and education have progressed in recent years, especially compared to some of the more casually experimental routes inflicted on children of artistic professionals in the 70s and 80s. One experience that would take some beating is that endured by Baxter Dury. When punk rock star Ian Dury disappeared to make films in the late 80s, he left his teenage son in the care of his roadie, in a rundown flat in Hammersmith.

        But this was no ordinary roadie; this was the Sulphate Strangler. The Strangler, having taken a lot of LSD in the 60s, was prone to depression, anger and hallucinations. He was also, as the name suggests, a drug dealer.

        What could possibly go wrong?In a period that we can now only imagine, a young Baxter ricocheted from one adventure to another, narrowly swerving one disaster only immediately to collide with another. At times, his situation was perilous in the extreme - the world is lucky to have him at all. CHAISE LONGUE is an intimate account of those escapades, evocatively illuminating a bohemian west London populated with feverishly grubby characters.

        Narrated in Dury's candid tone, both sad and funny, this moving story will leave an indelible imprint on its readers.

        Baxter Dury

        The Night Chancers

          Failed Fashionistas, Instagram voyeurs, jilted Romeos, reeking insecurity, the willingly self deluded, the comically unware, the Night Chancers… “Baxter Loves You” The album was co - produced by long time collaborator Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, John Grant, Artic Monkeys) and Baxter, and was recorded at Hoxa studios West Hampstead in May 2019.

          From thrilling affairs that dissolve into sweaty desperation (Night Chancers) to the absurd bloggers, fruitlessly clinging to the fag ends of the fashion set (Sleep People), via soiled real life (Slum Lord) social media – enabled stalkers (I’m not Your Dog) and new day, sleep – deprived optimism (Daylight), the record’s finely drawn vignettes, are all based on the corners of world Dury has visited.

          Baxter says “Night Chancers is about being caught out in your attempt at being free”, it’s about someone leaving a hotel room at three in the morning. You’re in a posh room with big Roman taps and all that, but after they go suddenly all you can hear is the taps dripping, and all you can see the debris of the night is around you. Then suddenly a massive party erupts, in the room next door. This happened to me and all I  Could hear was the night chancer, the hotel ravers”.



          STAFF COMMENTS

          Laura says: Over a pulsing beat, Baxter drawls "I’m not your fucking friend” and with that the tone is set for his sixth album, ‘The Night Chancers’. Since his gently psychedelic Velvets tinged debut, ‘Len Parrot’s Memorial Lift’ back in 2002, Baxter has been gradually honing his style and here amongst the shady, louche characters of ‘The Night Chancers’ he’s hit his stride. His nonchalant downbeat delivery is engaging throughout, as he tells their wayward tales and is countered perfectly by female vocals that at times echo and at others act as a kind of opposing view to his narrative. The whole album is driven by slow-mo beats, languid, meandering basslines and lush strings that create a perfect noir-ish backdrop to the lugubrious tales. You can almost smell the cigarette smoke and cheap aftershave as the neon reflects on the rain soaked pavements.

          TRACK LISTING

          I’m Not Your Dog
          Slumlord
          Salvia Hog
          Samurai
          Sleep People
          Carla’s Got A Boyfriend
          The Night Chancers
          Hello, I’m Sorry
          Daylight
          Say Nothing 

          Baxter Dury, Étienne De Crécy, Delilah Holliday

          B.E.D

          B.E.D is the new collaboration from Baxter Dury, French Dance music pioneer Etienne De Crécy & Delilah Holiday of London punks Skinny Girl Diet. Although they seem strange bed fellows at first, this project provides the perfect fusion of their disparate skill sets. Etienne De Crécy fires up the hardware and lays down tough electro-pop instrumentals, combining the best bits of italo, vintage synth pop and the DFA/John Grant school of digi-cool. Meanwhile in the vocal booth, Baxter Dury is typically engaging, itriguing and disarming with a string of half spoken / half sung confessionals, while Delilah Holiday adds a touch of emotion via kitchen sink balladry, the odd delicate chorus and at least one journey into the classic synthpop deadpan. Recorded between 2017 & the start of 2018 and produced by Etienne De Crécy & Baxter Dury in France, "B.E.D." is another must have release on the mighty Heavenly. 

          STAFF COMMENTS

          Patrick says: Sick synth pop offering from the hive mind of these three musical misfits. If you like John Grant, Human League or LCD, then this is for you my friends.

          TRACK LISTING

          1 Tais Toi
          2 Walk Away
          3 How Do You Make Me Feel
          4 Fly Away
          5 White Coats
          6 Only My Honesty Matters
          7 Centipedes
          8 But I Think
          9 Eurostars

          Delusional and hopeful. Loving but injured. Full of vitriol though brimming with forgiveness. Intensely personal yet brutally open. Baxter Dury’s fifth album is both a private meditation into the very real relationship breakdown he experienced over the last year and his most ambitious and biggest work to date.

          The album’s opening track is also the portal into Dury’s hazy, anti-wonderland and it comes complete with a guide, “Miami” himself: a foul-mouthed, cocksure ladies man conjured into existence via a heady mix of excess, fatigue and emotional repression. “The guy in the first song is a completely delusional person who thinks he’s a gangster,” explains his creator. The natty charm of Dury’s other records – like his debut Len Parrot's Memorial Lift or the acclaimed Happy Soup – hasn’t been lost, but by collaborating with a full band, producer Ash Workman (Metronomy, Christine & The Queens) and an orchestra, that spirit soars.

          Dury recruited several vocal collaborators for the Prince Of Tears’ retinue, illuminating some of the album’s dark corners. Long-term foil Madelaine Hart returns to provide her melancholic yet knowing backing vocals to several songs, Rose Elinor Dougall adds a sinister edge to Porcelain, while Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson enthusiastically chimes in on Almond Milk.

          chuffed is how Dury feels – perhaps surprisingly – about this album. “It was really fun to make – except for the pain I had to go through to inspire it,” he grins. “But I really like this record. My old man once said of a friend of mine: ‘Your friend has got pronoia. It’s the opposite of paranoia, it’s when you suffer from thinking everything is too brilliant.’ Well I’ve got a nice case of pronoia at the moment.” So, yeah… your heart hurts, but it is 3am so the sun will be up soon… Behold the Prince Of Tears.

          STAFF COMMENTS

          Barry says: Well, well. Son of Ian Dury of blockheads fame continues his dad's legacy (in a way) by producing bloody good records. This one is even more of his swooning semi-drawl, but with a more refined and melancholic air, brilliantly balanced by a host of well-curated guests. Lovely.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. Miami
          2. Porcelain
          3. Mungo
          4. Listen
          5. Almond Milk
          6. Letter Bomb
          7. Oi
          8. August
          9. Wanna
          10. Prince Of Tears

          Following on from Dury’s acclaimed 2010 album ‘Happy Soup’, ‘It’s A Pleasure’ is a series of conflicted emotions, stark drum beats, comic vignettes and strung out synths coming together to present one man’s wry take on the battle with existence. It’s metaphysics meets morose disco.

          TRACK LISTING

          1. Pleasure
          2. Palm Trees
          3. Other Men's Girls
          4. Police
          5. Lips
          6. Whispered
          7. Petals
          8. White Men
          9. Wintery Kisses
          10. Babies

          Baxter Dury

          Len Parrot's Memorial Lift

            Following on from last years memorable single, comes the debut album from Ian Dury's son Baxter. A fantastic piece of drowsy laidback pychedelia which takes its cue from the Velvet's "Loaded" album and maybe bands such as Spiritualized and Mercury Rev. A reassuring and confident debut and a perfect accompaniment to balmy summer evenings and those late night sessions.


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