Two Lone Swordsmen — aka Andy Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood — have traced a sweeping career arc over the last two decades. Moving from mutated trip-hop (Andy Weatherall as Sabres of Paradise with his classic Haunted Dancehall) to vintage Warp Records-style downtempo electronics (Stay Down) to hard electro (the outstanding Tiny Reminders), the Swordsmen milked electronic music for everything it was worth — until, it seems, they tired of it.
In 2004, Two Lone Swordsmen released From the Double Gone Chapel, which came off as the musical version of a basketball head fake. The squelching synths and thudding bass of Tiny Reminders were submerged beneath guitars, drums, and vocals. It was a step towards garage rock or post-punk, but with one foot stuck in the past.
Now, Two Lone Swordsmen have released double-disc set Wrong Meetings (actually an American compilation of the two separate Wrong Meeting albums released in 2007), and they’ve moved even further from their electronic roots. Despite the presence of much synthesizer (particularly on album standout “Glories Yesterday”), this officially is a rock album.
The production tricks are all evidence of a long career in electronic music — liberally, effectively applied reverb; relentless low-end — but the songs themselves are somewhere between Gary Numan and Suicide. Weatherall’s bellowing vocals are reminiscent of a late-era Iggy Pop. The material may have been better off as two individual albums — it’s a lot of songs at very similar tempos over two full discs — but it’s hard to find any serious fault with Wrong Meetings.
– Patrick Hajduch
Two Lone Swordsmen: www.twoloneswordsmen.com
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