Fronted by punk fashion icon/stylist Keanan Duffty, Slinky Vagabond are preparing the release of their third album, The Eternal Return, due out on January 14th. It features contributions from Mike Garson (David Bowie/Mick Ronson), Ava Cherry (David Bowie/Luther Vandross), Dom Beken (Nick Mason/The Orb), Percy Jones (Brand X/Kate Bush) and Christian Dryden (The Ritualists). They have now shared the album’s first single, “Strange World,” co-written with Duffty’s longtime musical collaborator Fabio Fabbri. Check it out below.
Keanan says of the song, “Fabio wrote the music and I wrote the words, which were influenced by a vintage copy of the Frank Edwards book that describes unexplained incidents of premonitions, UFO sightings, apparitions, ghost lights, cloudless rain, miracle cures, blackouts, reincarnation and disappearances. Phew! It used to describe a typical night for me in the 1990s. The song is about the otherness feeling that we sometimes get. Is this all real or is it a vivid dream? It’s the 25th Anniversary of The Matrix! Or is it???”
“The lyrics were influenced by a vintage copy of Frank Edwards’ book Strange World which describes unexplained incidents of premonitions, UFO sightings, apparitions, ghost lights, cloudless rain, miracle cures, blackouts, reincarnation and disappearances,” says Duffty.
“To me, this is an ‘on-the-border’ song,” Fabbri explains, “It’s almost like being in a Quentin Tarantino film… everything is possible because you are in the Twilight Zone where different music styles can be combined to create a sound that is a mix between a psychedelic song and Latin rock.”
Anchored by a noir-ish guitar that recalls Ennio Morricone’s iconic Spaghetti Western scores, “Strange World” has a hallucinogenic and surreal warpiness that sinks deep and distorts perceptions. “That used to describe a typical night for me in the 1990s,” laughs Duffty. “The song is about the otherness feeling that we sometimes get. ‘Is this all real or is it a vivid dream?’”
The Eternal Return, is a whirlwind of indie rock, classic punk, and psychedelic swirl. Opening track “Lady Bump Discoteque” features Ava Cherry on backing vocals as Keanan nostalgically looks back at his punk youth in Britain through a swirly, hypnotic lens. Capturing a bit of Britpop’s heyday of wahwah, baggy trousers, and that welcoming Madchester beat, “Rollercoaster Ride” recalls the ’90s hedonism of that scene. Now sober and with nary a chemical-induced haze like that decade, Keanan says of the song “My most decadent bit of the 90s was attending the album release for Pulp’s This is Hardcore in a swank high rise on Park Lane in London. I can’t actually remember anything about it, but my friends tell me I was there. This tune has a bit more of the Gallagher brothers, about it.”
Previous Slinky Vagabond musical line-ups were a veritable who’s who of rock royalty that included Midge Ure (Ultravox/Visage/Live Aid co-founder), Dave Formula (Magazine/Visage), Richard Fortus (Guns N’ Roses/Psychedelic Furs), David Torn (David Bowie/David Sylvian), Tony Bowers (Durutti Column/Simply Red), Martin Turner (Wishbone Ash), Earl Slick (David Bowie, John Lennon), Glenn Matlock (Sex Pistols, Rich Kids) and Clem Burke (Blondie, The Ramones), and the late Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks). Their upcoming album The Eternal Return is no different.
A true musician’s musician whose impact moves fluidly between music and fashion, he penned numerous punk fashion tomes including the underground bible Rebel Rebel, worked with the Thin White Duke, David Bowie, on his clothing line, and styled the Sex Pistols. The multi-faceted renaissance man’s talents extend beyond music and fashion into wordplay, as evidenced by the album’s title. “The Eternal Return is obviously in reference the philosophical idea that time repeats itself in an infinite cycle, with the same events occurring in the same way over and over again,” Duffty says cheekily (the previous album’s title King Boy Vandals is an anagram for the band name Slinky Vagabond). “I originally wanted to call the album They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead. Let’s hope that is the case…but don’t wait that long!”
Originally formed in 2007 featuring Keanan, Earl Slick, Glen Matlock, and Clem Burke, Slinky Vagabond was built with guest collaborations in mind. Structured like hip hop bands that construct songs on features, early tracks featured a veritable slew of collaborations including the late, great aforementioned Pete Shelley who sang backing vocals on the David Bowie cover “Boys Keep Swinging.” A fixture on the NYC club scene, Slinky Vagabond was a celebrated guest on celebrations as Joey Ramone’s Birthday Bash (2007) alongside the New York Dolls, Fashion Week’s Gen Art and Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp (2008) and Marc Bolan’s 30th Anniversary Show (2007) alongside Patti Smith, Tom Morello, Joan Jett, Ronnie Spector, and more.
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