After a rip roaring live performance at The Scala in London earlier this year reviewed here, the powerhouse duo JOHN have decided to join the live album crew with this sterling performance that captures the magic noise they create in those sweaty venues I’ve witnessed a few times. Read on…
Today, cryptically-monikered duo JOHN announce a special live album, POST-KINO (Live at Scala), ahead of a Dec 6th release digitally and on limited edition eco-mix vinyl via Brace Yourself and Pets Care Records.
Their first live release, POST-KINO was recorded at the historic Scala venue in King’s Cross, London on the 29th February 2024 whilst supporting their last full length release A Life Diagrammatic. A record that saw collaboration with esteemed fans including musician/filmmaker Barry Adamson (Magazine/The Bad Seeds) and actor/director Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible/Shaun of the Dead).
[embedded content]
A decade since their very first live show at the now long-closed, but much beloved, Buffalo Bar in London, JOHN have become one the UK independent scene’s most uncompromising offerings. There’s been no stark meteoric rise, but a consistent creative incline that has resulted in four acclaimed albums, a UK number 1 vinyl single and an intensely loyal following. Each release displays the coordinates of a creative journey, audibly growing in depth and complexity as the decade’s horizons and headlines have shifted.
The duo took their unassuming title from their own names back in 2014 (John Newton – drums/vocals, Johnny Healey – guitar/vocals), a self-proclaimed antidote to the sensationalist tendencies of music at the time, forming their own label Pets Care Records to facilitate their creative drive. Modelled on DIY influences such as Dischord Records, the duo ‘closed the loop’ when visiting the influential label’s headquarters during their 2023 debut North American tour. Newton explains more about these decisions and experiences:
“We’re from the generation who grew up on the cusp of mobile phones and domestic internet, so there’s obviously been an onwards negotiation with how media – including music – is presented and digested through different channels and platforms. The choice of name has always helped remind us of the wide-eyed love of creating and performing music, preventing these feelings from being lost in ever-growing sensational collateral”
“It was pretty remarkable to receive a message from Ian (Mackaye / Dischord Records) as we shuttled through the ever-shifting American landscape. The opportunity to visit the label’s archive was a sheer privilege, a truly inspiring moment to gain insight into how modest flashes of creative thought gain their own momentum and history.”
Having purposefully steered away from extraneous ‘sensational’ tactics, the sensation is unquestionably focussed within their live performances – one anonymous fan stating rather eloquently: ‘Those who know… know’. The initially stripped back stage appearance consciously misleads, first time audience members regularly taken aback by the dynamic volley that follows from only two bodies. There is, quite simply, no room for additional, well-beaten stage spectacles, with both members locked into their instrumentation with the ‘tight rope’ intensity. Healey explains more about the approach:
“We understand the strengths of our limitations, and we’ve always enjoyed acts that play on a precipice of their limitations. I guess it’s one of the real attractions of a live experience, when a show feels like it hangs on a thread”
Recorded and mixed by Front-Of-House live engineer James King, POST-KINO consciously preserves the moment without over-sterilisation. The ricochets from the former cinema walls (hence KINO: a term derived from the German Kinematograph film projector) similarly honoured by celebrated mastering engineer Katie Tavini. As with the rest of their discography, the artwork – designed by Newton of the band – is meticulous in its detail, whilst also refusing the high resolution performance photographs that we might expect from such a release.
In a present where fast consumption is all-to-often favoured over digestion and thought, JOHN offer an alternative view, whilst still offering the primal vigour of a band who have honed their craft at many of the very best venues that this world has to offer.
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | BANDCAMP | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
Forewords by Wayne Carey, Reviews Editor for Louder Than War. His author profile is here
We have a small favour to ask. Subscribe to Louder Than War and help keep the flame of independent music burning. Click the button below to see the extras you get!
