Thalia Zedek, the Boston indie icon with a penetrating, distinctive voice and a veteran underground pedigree, earned in Live Skull, Uzi and Come, will chase the April showers in Ljubljana away with her latest album, accompanied by her band. Sharp and uncompromising, yet imbued with melodic glimpses of salvation and hope.
Even today, you can still hear the moment 15-year-old Thalia Zedek first heard the Grandmother of Punk, Patti Smith, on the radio. Smith’s “I don’t have to sound or look good” attitude left a profound mark on Zedek, who retained this fiery streak of independence throughout her many decades of making music, gradually developing control over her vocal expression that allows her emotions to breathe. This is best heard on her most accomplished record to date, her fifth solo album Eve, released last year by acclaimed label Thrill Jockey Records.
Accompanied by her backing band, Zedek will enrapture Kino Šiška with her gritty blues guitar and characteristic vocals, juxtaposed with the gracefulness of the viola and the piano – the same vocals, that is, with which she has faced loss and alienation since her youth, including in the bands White Women, Dangerous Birds, Uzi and Live Skull, a contemporary of Sonic Youth and Swans. As on her previous releases, Zedek’s lyrics continue her exploration of her own personality and emotions, with the Boston Globe writing that with the very first notes of ‘Afloat’, the musician “… lays ground for songs that point obliquely yet surely toward self-awareness, acceptance without compromise or regret, finding one’s place in life, the universe, and everything”.
Organisation: Kino Šiška.
