from Lydia Lunch - Queen of Siam (1980)

Diversity can be both a strength and a weakness in Lunch's solo debut. Considering both what the future would hold and her track record with the trashy Teenage Jesus & The Jerks, in this record she almost seems by contrast like a dewy-eyed girl in a world full of possibilities (as a result of (according to the statements of intentions later collected by Simon Reynolds on Rip It Up and Start Again) the producer wanting her to be "sex kittenish", and Lunch wanting to let "the sick little girl out to play"), as alongside the expected (but rather toned down) no-wave stylings of some tracks, you also get stuff like jazzy big-band arrangements (inspired by the music from the cartoons she was downing), or a tongue in cheek cover of "Spooky", of Dusty Springfield-fame (and more deservedly so, even if you can give Lydia credit for having a sense of humor), which means that, while there can be something in here for rather different people, the whole package might be a hard-sell for each single listener (it is for me, anyway). 

As Lunch has tended to rely on the kindness of strangers, friends, or acquaintances to put her artistic vision into music, the success of her endeavours can vary significantly, particularly when she steps out of her wheelhouse; and despite her dominatrix vibes on the cover, she doesn't quite feel in control on this one, as most of it tends to sound a bit flaccid, with everyone simply going through the moves, and her slurred voice just sort of plastered on top. The fact that it's the instrumental "A Cruise to the Moon" (something I could imagine Barry Adamson writing for the Lounge Lizards) that sounds more alive here (although, when she stayed more alert, as in "Atomic Bongos" and "Los Bandidos", things certainly improve) seems to suggest that all parties involved were indeed happier to finish off on their own. 

That's not to say I don't also have some reservations on the abjectionist aesthetic she would settle down for in the long run; but, as her musical mating abilities honed in on more suitable suitors along the way (with her (how apropos) "Shotgun Wedding" with Rowland S. Howard at the very top of that list for me), better things were definitely still to (giggity) come.