Elliott Smith. Morrissey. Johnny Cash. Bruce Springsteen. Gram Parsons. Will Oldham. Alex Chilton. Leonard Cohen. Prince. The Clash. Lucero. Whiskeytown. Emmylou Harris. Elvis Presley. The Shangri-Las. Marvin Gaye. Kate Bush. Sam Cooke.
Dexy is a singer/songwriter with a difference; rather than get bogged down in charmless platitudes and bland coffee-table balladry, he actually has a point, an individual style and a deep-rooted understanding of what tugs the heartstrings and stirs the soul.
His cracked-crystal vocal melodies wend their way along paths of drunken loss, sepia-tinted hope and ragged glory, almost always pausing at the bar for another whiskey and coke, no ice.
As you can hear on the triumphal hootenanny of ‘Zero’ Dexy has a certain mastery over the kind of shambolic bar-room blues once made legend by the likes of The Replacements; a definite grasp of the smoke-filled intensity currently touted by the likes of Lucero and The Hold Steady.
The tenderly plucked strains of ‘Back in The Cage’ and ‘Broken Fixtures’pay tribute to those masters of atmosphere Elliott Smith and Will Oldham – country-tinged tastes of sweet and sour augmented with shuffling beats and beautifully intricate guitar work.
Dexy’s heart, however can be found on the instantly iconic ‘The Dying Breed’, sounding like it could have been taken from Johnny Cash’s American Recordings but delivered in a breathless whisper, this is a brand new stand-out song from an artist who deals only in stand-out songs.
‘(Pretty Soon) Your Lover’s Coming Home’ is an example of a different type of journey altogether; refusing to pay off in expected ways, it’s late-night philosophising cuts to the quick and, as is often the case with Dexy, you can never be sure whether the repeated cry of the eponymous chorus line is one of anguish, triumph or sly humour.
His shows, often augmented by the carousel of musicians known as The Hand Me Downs, are known for their intensity, fragility and that priceless feeling that anything could happen – as often does with unpredictable detours into covers of anything from the Pet Shop Boys to Morrissey, Bruce Springsteen to Heatmiser.
Dexy has shared bills with Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, The Buzzcocks, The Spinto Band, The Wedding Present and Mark Morriss. He lives in London. He writes beautiful songs, plays them with vigour, passion and desire, and, we believe, has invented a peculiarly British take on a genre called Country-Punk.
Dexy's debut single 'Waiting For An Accident/Asleep In Your Attic' is OUT NOW on Angry Liberal/R*E*P*E*A*T Records. It is a split single with Open Mouth who has two songs 'Castle Keep/327' on the other side. You can get the single from :
Angry Liberal Records - http://www.angryliberalrecords.co.uk/shop.html
Piccadilly Records - http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/index.php?url=http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/ver2/search1.php&new=1&search=Open+Mouth+%2F+Dexy
Here is what people have had to say about the single...
"Joyous...should see him rise to ascendancy" (Drowned In Sound)
"Finally: a British singer-songwriter you don’t need to be ashamed about" Sprawled Magazine
"Initially appears like some frail and kooky yet homely softly strummed gem before magnificently morphing into a warming haze of beautifully encoded bubblegum pop that finds itself all at once bestriding all routes via the west coast psyche pop, 50’s drive in teen movies and 70’s glam...a rare touching beauty of some measure" Losing Today
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
Yo Dexy, good seeing you on Friday. It was a good night as always at the Windmill. Hope we can play with you again soon dude. I'm working on something for June, gonna get the wheels in motion tomorrow.
And to top it all off we are all very excited to announce that we are releasing a split cd single with very truly yours of chicago. coming out on cloudberry records of miami florida!
wooo hoooo!
get your orders in fast cos it's a limited edition....
tracklisting:
side A,
the understudies: flicknives the understudies: chip pan glam
side B,
very truly yours: 1 2 3 4 very truly yours: popsong '91
$5.00 USD by mail order, CD with lovely gatefold sleeve and amazing artwork by Emma Carlsson.
cloudberry records are well known for their superb taste in indie pop and renowned diy ethics, well worth a visit as they have some amazing bands on their roster. pay them a visit and have a listen whilst you're ordering our single..... you will order it now won't you?
Band Room: Applicants "A band so riotus, so punk rock and so endearing as to be impossible... In an alternative universe Applicants would be playing Wembley and Muse playing The Dublin Castle." Artrocker Magazine
The Housewives "…It’s an eclectic mix, but it works phenomenally well. If you can imagine Jeff Buckley salsa dancing at a drum n’ bass night whilst members of the Young Knives look on, you’re probably somewhere close to what the Housewives have achieved." Artrocker Magazine
Phantom “… leaves journalists scraping for adjectives to describe the sheer girth of sound on offer. Monstrous ‘soundscapes’ and downbeat torch-songs – ornamented by Elsie Martins’ broodingvocals – with an ‘80s shoegaze vibe. Grab the nearest sodden overcoat, for this is truly The Big Music”. Shot by both sides
Pnak PNAK are a quirky, experimental electronic lo-fi outfit. In early 2003, the duo self-released a 12” EP entitled “Les Petits Pouics dans le Fond”, all 100 copies of which had an individual hand-made sleeve. The duo’s current set up uses drums, synth, vocals and other electronics.
DJ/Acoustic Room: Dexy (Acoustic Set) "Initially appears like some frail and kooky yet homely softly strummed gem before magnificently morphing into a warming haze of beautifully encoded bubblegum pop that finds itself all at once bestriding all routes via the west coast psyche pop, 50’s drive in teen movies and 70’s glam...a rare touching beauty of some measure" Losing Today
Special Guest DJs
Plus: Get a T-Shirt designed for you by Evil Eye Fashion
Location: Iambic Bar, the Courtyard, Bowling Green walk, 40 Pitfield Street N1 6EU The Courtyard is 5mins Walk from Old Street station
hope your gig tonight went superfraglistically great! :).. will text you when im in london..are you still at the same number?..i leave tomorrow night! xx
HDIF Presents Tuesday 9th September Darren Hanlon/The Understudies/Honey Pine Dresser The Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, Brixton, SW9, 7.30pm, £6 admission
Darren Hanlon Last minute warm up for his appearance at this weekend's End Of The Road Festival for Australian singer songwriter Darren Hanlon. You may have seen Darren supporting the Magnetic Fields on their recent European tour or wowing the crowds at the Indietracks festival. Expect gorgeous folk-tinged indie pop, wry storytelling and possibly the world's only song about the game of squash. http://www. myspace. com/darrenhanlon
Honey Pine Dresser Welcome return to HDIF Presents for Honey Pine Dresser, a four piece led by Marie-Pascale Hardy who recall the fragile beauty of both Elliott Smith and Trembling Blue Stars. http://www. myspace. com/honeypinedresserhere
Doors 7.30pm Honey Pine Dresser 8pm The Understudies 8.45pm Darren Hanlon 9. 30pm
Mr Dexy, out of curiosity are you keeping track of high society? I remember when you and c.b supported ka, your diana is dead badge was quite possibly one of the best things i had ever seen, i dont think you should have given it away >.< i dread to think how many years ago that was now; i will one day manage to see you solo :.. but east londons faraway and expensive last minute as your gigs seem to be last minute, or perhaps i have the misfortune of spotting them last minute. farking hell. i shall be quiet now.
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