I so wanted to be Lloyd Cole when the album ‘Rattlesnakes’ came out…literate, sensitive and easy on the eye with a stunning songwriting ability and all at such a tender age. Many qualities I felt lacked. He was, and remains, a writer of inordinately intelligent pop of the highest order, combining sardonic observations on life with celestial melodies. Cole has announced a tour of Australia – clearly a favoured destination for him as he was here only a few years ago in 2019 in a series of sold out shows.
Cole will tour to support his newly released album On Pain which features eight new original tracks, four of which are co-written by founding Commotions members Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, who also perform on the record. For this Australian tour Lloyd will be performing a mix of his newest music along with old favourites.
‘On Pain’ was recorded in Coles’s attic studio, The Establishment, in Massachusetts. Cole says of the album:
The challenge was to make music that I’d want to listen to, a record that might be able to stand next to records that I love……..I’m excited to still be finding new methods, new perspectives, new sounds.
Having seen him live before, I can say audiences are in for a treat. His performances are always delivered with wit and humour in addition to the enchanting music. Cole’s tour dates are:
Sunday December 10 – Theatre Royal, Hobart
Monday December 11 – City Recital Hall, Sydney
Wednesday December 13 – Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
Thursday December 14 – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
Friday December15 – The Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Sunday December 17 – Freo Social, Fremantle
Lloyd Cole has released 16 studio albums including three with The Commotions, eleven solo albums and one with influential German electronic composer Hans Joachim Roedelius (Cluster). Fans of Cole who have followed him over the years – from his rock/pop albums of the 1980s and 1990s, to his more acoustic, homegrown records of the early 2000s such as ‘Music in a Foreign Language’, to his full-band album ‘Standards’ from 2013 – will want to experience the album performed live for its different musical approach and the work of a still-sharp lyricist.
