LLOYD / BEAN + DAVID LANCE CALLAHAN

Upset The Rhythm presents…

LLOYD / BEAN is a new project from Robert Lloyd (of The Nightingales) and Janet Beveridge-Bean from alt-country duo Freakwater. Robert dared to approach Janet with the idea of recording together. Throughout the long pandemic, songs were bandied about for months. When the recording was finally practical, a band was assembled with dates set up for a recording session in Valencia, Spain. Robert and Janet were joined by Robert’s long-time ally, Pete Byrchmore, the musical foil for Robert’s solo album on Virgin and a former Nightingale, Mark Bedford, the bassist for Madness and Terry Edwards’ Near Jazz Experience, and Pablo Roda, Spanish mystery drummer, couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.

Tracks were selected without regard for collective presentation to walk out of the studio with an album of perfect gems. Forget Lee & Nancy or George & Tammy, Rob and Janet have an immediate chemistry that only sounds long-lived – and too uniquely them to merit any comparison. The title track, Black Cat, Dark Horse, is the sole Lloyd / Bean / Byrchmore composition and one of the record’s highlights. Jim Elkington, the collaborator with Jeff Tweedy and Richard Thompson, contributes Heavy Reckonings and a song written with Janet, The True Lovers’ Knot And The Lie. At the same time, Robert adds reworkings from past releases – Sweet Georgia Black and Black Country (with Pete) – not to mention the unreleased Eggs And Bacon. Janet brought One Shot and the unheard Freakwater song Arc Of A Smile.

We daresay the album is among the finest you’ll hear in 2023. The Michael Cumming / Stewart Lee film King Rocker made a case for Robert Lloyd-as-lost- hero; this album furthers that idea and shows a compelling side of Janet’s talent and abilities which will be a surprise to her fans and serve as an entry point to exploring her many other compelling projects. For this only performance of the forthcoming ‘Black Cat, Dark Horse’ album Lloyd / Bean will be joined by Mark Bedford, Peter Byrchmore and drummer extraordinaire Lindy Morrison of The Go-Betweens.
https://lloydbean.bandcamp.com/album/black-cat-dark-horse

DAVID LANCE CALLAHAN has, after a string of fine albums with those C86 indie-pop pioneers The Wolfhounds, an enticing run on the Too Pure label in the experimentalist band Moonshake, as well as collaborations with PJ Harvey and members of Stereolab, now begun his solo career in earnest, releasing a pair of daring albums with a mélange of what’s been called “mutant Eastern, West African, folk, blues and post-punk influences.
https://davidlancecallahan.bandcamp.com/

LLOYD / BEAN
DAVID LANCE CALLAHAN
Tuesday 2 May
Bush Hall, 310 Uxbridge Rd, Shepherds Bush, London W12 7LJ
7.30pm | £25 | Tickets: https://link.dice.fm/d6cf179a3c50