Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth - Jacobites (1984)

Following the breakup of the seminal British post-punk outfit Swell Maps, frontman Nikki Sudden embarked on a solo career, then concurrently formed a new band called the Jacobites. Far more classicist than Swell Maps had been, the Jacobites gave Sudden a chance to exercise his penchant for straightforward, elegantly wasted rock & roll, drawing chiefly from the Stones and the Faces while adding elements of singer/songwriter rock (Neil Young, Bob Dylan) and crunchy British glam (T. Rex, Mott the Hoople, David Bowie).

Having issued his solo debut in 1982, Sudden formed the Jacobites in 1984 with his brother, ex-Swell Maps drummer Epic Soundtracks, and guitarist Dave Kusworth. Bassist Mark Lemon rounded out the charter lineup, and the group made their LP debut with a self-titled effort on the indie label Glass in 1984; they also released an EP, "Shame for the Angels", that year. A second album, "Robespierre's Velvet Basement", appeared in 1985 and was something of a critical and underground success. Originally slated to be a double LP, it spawned another album's worth of outtakes from the sessions, which were released on a German label as "Lost in a Sea of Scarves".

The Jacobites' debut - originally issued in 1984 - quickly established the band's darkly romantic formula, their sound a druggy, dingy amalgam of touchstones including Neil Young, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (the latter Nikki Sudden's most obvious vocal model). For all of the group's borrowed moves, however, there's a spark of ingenuity which sets them well apart from the average copyists - it's tough to imagine Sudden's dispirited, lived-in songs at home in any other sonic environment, and the best of his compositions (the superb "Big Store" and "Silver Street" among them) would do even his idols proud.


Tracklist:

Big Store (Orig) 8:00
Kissed You Twice 3:25
Hurt Me More 4:15
Jacobites Grave 0:40
Kings And Queens 5:10
Silver Street 4:55
Hanging Out The Banners 3:45
Need A Friend 4:35
Little Bird 2:20
Angels In My Arms 1:50
For The Roses 4:00


Nikki Sudden & Dave Kusworth - Jacobites (1984)
(320 kbps, cover art included)