Suffering Jukebox

This morning's episode features an interview with the pioneering artist, musician and author Cosey Fanni Tutti. Known for her work with COUM Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey, Carter Tutti and more, Cosey will release her third solo album 2T2 on Friday June 13th. She is also a celebrated artist and author, having published her memoir Art Sex Music in 2017 and Re-Sisters in 2022.  Find out more about Cosey (and purchase their music) here http://www.coseyfannitutti.com/

I will also be playing a short interview with John Russell from local record label 4000 Records. In a collaboration with Basket Of Hammers, 4000 Records are organising the third itieration of The Glooming events. Catch the Brisbane show at The Cave Inn on Friday June 13th with Refedex, Gudgeon and Moth Trap, then at Bli Bli's Old Church on Saturday 21st June with Refedex, Guppy, Moth Trap and Diaspora The Explorer.

Nick's Pick of the Week is Lifeguard's Ripped And Torn. You can hear the whole album in all the usual places, or purchase it here https://lifeguardband100.bandcamp.com/album/ripped-and-torn and my review can be read below.

Lifeguard: Ripped And Torn (Matador)

Released 6th June 2025

Much has been made about the youthfulness of Lifeguard —and it is a point worth making. If not just from a purely biographical standpoint, but to emphasise how wise beyond their years they are musically. Lifeguard formed in 2019, when each of its members were no older than 15, they released their first album in 2020 and signed to Matador in 2023. Ripped And Torn is their first full length for that legendary indie record label and —in true Lifeguard form— sees the band make significant advances in terms of stylistic growth and songwriting ability.

There was a scrappiness to Lifeguard’s earliest releases that lent them a certain charm, but also indicated that the group were capable of bigger and better things. Never afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve, the group always gave the impression of having a broad musical knowledge and diverse tastes. Initial recordings were heavily influenced by the sound of post-grunge, American alternative rock whilst more recently they have been incorporating the angular stylings of early English post-punk. 

Under Your Reach, one of Ripped And Torn’s pre-release singles, is all scratchy guitars and jaunty rhythms, demonstrating that guitarist Kai Slater has clearly been familiarising themselves with the guitar work of —Gang Of Four’s— Andy Gill. France And sees an increased maturity in Asher Case’s vocal delivery, cutting through the chaos of the musical accompaniment; an improvement that is evident across almost all of the album’s twelve tracks.

The album’s title track is further evidence that the group is drawing from a deeper well of musical inspiration; whilst still acknowledging their garage-punk origins. A metallic guitar riff propels the song, but the jagged repetition is broken by a melodic chorus that, initially, catches the listener by surprise. T.L.A., Ripped And Torn’s final track, is perhaps its finest moment and one wherein Case’s bass playing and Isaac Lowenstein’s drumming truly shine. Lowenstein’s mechanistic rhythms fuse with Case’s dub stylings to create something that manages to sound fresh and exciting whilst paying homage to the past.

Ripped And Torn showcases a band that is maturing and advancing at a rapid pace. The fact that these three teenagers, barely out of high school, could create something so fully realised is nothing short of incredible. Lifeguard’s initial efforts merely hinted at the potential contained within this trio of young and precociously talented musicians. On Ripped And Torn they not only live up to their early promises, but exceed them beyond all expectation.

Nick Stephan