Moody, Sexy, Pouting, Murderous, Evil music recommendations
January 5, 2018 7:23 AM   Subscribe

I am looking for Moody, Sexy, Pouting, Murderous, Evil Tango/latin/other music. The seed for this, St Judy and Mother Fist by Marc Almond, a lot of Tom Waits, Nick Cave. I've checked out these previous questions and find the oft recommended Gotan Project to err a little too far on the club lounge easy-listening side, and everything else (except Cave, Almond, Waits) to be slightly too uptempo and not unhinged enough. What I'm looking for is deviant, sultry, sweaty, languorous, seedy, romantic, dramatic, music played in cellars to fantastically dressed dissolutes by fantastically dressed dissolutes... Doesn't have to be tango/latin if it hits the spot. Is that too much to ask?
posted by merocet to Media & Arts (45 answers total) 37 users marked this as a favorite
 
I asked a fairly similar question a few years back. Some of those answers may work well for you, too.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:47 AM on January 5, 2018


Dirty Beaches
posted by sepviva at 7:50 AM on January 5, 2018


And there I now I see I was one of the links you mentioned. I will have more caffeine and wait to see then. Sorry about that.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:54 AM on January 5, 2018


What are your feelings on Captain Beefheart? Might not be sultry enough, definitely maximally unhinged (and a big influence on some of Tom Waits's really good hit-the-trombone-with-a-sledgehammer stuff).
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:57 AM on January 5, 2018


Jacques Brel hits this spot for me.
posted by rd45 at 8:08 AM on January 5, 2018 [3 favorites]


Voltaire's albums "The Devil's Bris" and "Almost Human" might be a good fit.
posted by juniperesque at 8:29 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


How about The Dresden Dolls?
posted by doctord at 8:38 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Holly Cole Trio?
posted by a person of few words at 8:44 AM on January 5, 2018


Lana Del Rey, so hard.
posted by madonna of the unloved at 9:00 AM on January 5, 2018 [3 favorites]




My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult
Southern Culture on the Skids
Foetus
John Spencer Blues Explosion
Wolfgang Press (their cover of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" is funky and a bit dark but maybe too upbeat for you)

And have you tried Almond's Tenement Symphony?

Good luck getting funky dark!
posted by danabanana at 9:05 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Timur and the Dime Museum
posted by mykescipark at 9:10 AM on January 5, 2018


The Mekons - Club Mekon
posted by hydrophonic at 9:14 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I'm sure Lhasa (RIP) would fit the bill.
posted by snarfois at 9:21 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


The Golden Palominos albums Dead Inside?
posted by bdc34 at 9:24 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Maybe Morphine's Early to Bed? (or anything by Morphine, really)
posted by cakelite at 9:24 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Perfume Genius, especially the Too Bright album.
posted by chr1sb0y at 9:25 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Brian Eno: Fat Lady of Limbourg, Blank Frank.

Try some Black Diamond Heavies or Rev. James Legg.

If you like Tom Waits, you will like Giant Ant Farm.

Back in the day, Rube Waddell played utterly unhinged guerilla caberet shows at 22nd and Mission.

Speaking of Marc Almond, L'Esqualita!
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 9:53 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Sway

Humming
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:06 AM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Portishead fits your needs perfectly. Start with the single Sour Times and go through their whole discography.
posted by princesspathos at 10:06 AM on January 5, 2018 [5 favorites]


Best answer: Poe - Spanish Doll, Wild, Junkie
posted by DarthDuckie at 10:45 AM on January 5, 2018


Brigitte Fontaine's Comme à la radio album is a strong sixties example of the sort of thing that influenced Almond and Cave to seek out these corridors.

Jacques Brel's "Next" is another nasty tangoing thing, notably covered by Alex Harvey Band, along with Scott Walker and Gavin Friday, who you should also check out.

Then there's the whole Brecht/Weill angle that was happening in the 80s alongside Cave, Almond, Waits and Friday , like Agnes Bernelle and Dagmar Krause.
posted by bendybendy at 10:50 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


And maybe some of the artists in this mix? Modern Noir
posted by DarthDuckie at 10:55 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Also, if you're looking for a whole genre of spooked Latin beats, start exploring psychedelic cumbia. Sonido Gallo Negro are top flight contemporary voyagers.
posted by bendybendy at 10:57 AM on January 5, 2018




None of this is Latin/ tango but this was a whole huge genre in the late 80s and early 90s. Check out Concrete Blonde (vampire song, Joey) Mazzy Star (fade into you), Mark Lanegan (most of his solo stuff, Kingdoms of Rain might be a good place to start), Morphine, Portishead, Massive Attack, Lovage.
posted by fshgrl at 11:09 AM on January 5, 2018 [4 favorites]


Perhaps more gypsy than tango, and perhaps a little more uptempo than you're looking for, but how about the Tiger Lillies?

Roll Up

Weeping Chandelier
posted by a person of few words at 11:54 AM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


Iggy Pop's Post Pop Depression (w/ Josh Homme et al) scratches that itch.
posted by kapers at 12:33 PM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Slapp Happy--Casablanca Moon
posted by Morpeth at 3:16 PM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]


None of this is Latin/ tango but this was a whole huge genre in the late 80s and early 90s. Check out Concrete Blonde (vampire song, Joey) Mazzy Star (fade into you), Mark Lanegan (most of his solo stuff, Kingdoms of Rain might be a good place to start), Morphine, Portishead, Massive Attack, Lovage

This, although Tricky is missing.

Also on the jazzier side, John Martyn and Barry Adamson.

Kevin Gilbert's last weird side project, Kaviar, might fit too.
posted by snuffleupagus at 3:44 PM on January 5, 2018 [3 favorites]


Yeah I forgot Maxinquaye. But there are tons of similar feelinf albums from that era. It was the zeitgeist
posted by fshgrl at 5:07 PM on January 5, 2018 [2 favorites]


For sure.
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:13 PM on January 5, 2018


Not sure if it has to be latin or tango, but a lot of the Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers music meets this criteria. Two of my favorites are covers. One of Frank Ocean's Lovecrimes and the other Marie Queenie Lyons See and Don't See (Warning: language in both).

Also:
Massive Attack - The Spoils and Paradise Circus, both with Hope Sandoval.
This cover of Black Hole Sun might qualify.
Exitmusic - The Night (and the rest of the music they've put out).
posted by cnc at 6:17 PM on January 5, 2018 [1 favorite]




Moody, Sexy, Pouting, Murderous, Evil: King Krule - Will I Come is 3 of 5.
posted by cooper green at 9:44 PM on January 5, 2018


Wild Beasts. The second and third albums.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:54 AM on January 6, 2018 [2 favorites]


Barry Adamson does exactly this. He was in the Bad Seeds for a while in the 80s and his solo stuff is wonderfully sleazy. I recommend Oedipus Schmoedipus - the first track, with Jarvis Cocker, is fabulous but very different from the rest of the album, which is much more what you’re looking for, I think.
posted by cardinalandcrow at 11:32 AM on January 6, 2018 [3 favorites]


You might like my old bandmate's band Upholstery.
posted by nosila at 11:55 AM on January 6, 2018


Best answer: Here's Martyn covering Portishead, which I feel like is the square root of this genre.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:09 PM on January 6, 2018


I'd also check out David Holmes.

Thievery Corporation too, on a track by track basis because the sound tends to be more celebratory than menacing. Similarly Nightmares on Wax.

Also, Kruder & Dorfmeister, substituting ambient for celebratory, but some of their tracks will work.

If you want to get more abstract, maybe squarepusher...or muslimgauze.

The youtube suggestion algorithm does pretty well with this kind of seeding, if you have the patience to sit there and filter through what it surfaces.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:13 PM on January 6, 2018 [2 favorites]


Response by poster: In seeing the answers it's clear I share music taste with all of you guys! I gave favorites to things that I already own that hit the spot I was looking for and best answers to things that were new to me that did the same.
It's also clear that there needs to be more of this kind of music as I seem to own 95% of what exists!
Thanks a lot for all your inputs.
posted by merocet at 3:44 PM on January 7, 2018 [1 favorite]




Bajofondo! I saw them last year at the American Repertory Theater doing the music for Arrabal. So good.
posted by Philbo at 1:51 PM on January 26, 2018


Yeah I take back what I said about Wild Beasts second and third albums. It's not just the second and third; basically all of them (except the first, which is jaunty and...still sexy, it's odd but amazing) have this vibe for me. I'll throw in a couple of links, since I failed to last time and I love this dear little band and I'm sad that they've broken up.

Two Dancers - Two Dancers I
Two Dancers - Two Dancers II
Two Dancers - This is Our Lot

Smother - Deeper
Smother - Plaything

Present Tense - Daughters
Present Tense - A Dog's Life

Boy King - Alpha Female
Boy King - Get My Bang
Boy King - Eat Your Heart Out Adonis

So please give them a try and if you don't like them, fair enough, but maybe someone else will listen and fall in love with them like I did 10+ years ago when they were just wee lads singing lines like "And I've length of loinly manliness, modest it is not? It is not!" whilst in a forest (it was magical, for serious).
posted by elsietheeel at 3:19 PM on January 26, 2018 [1 favorite]


Also if you're willing to try hip hop, maybe Born to Shine or Run for Your Life by Big Grams (which is a Big Boi and Phantogram collab - and you might like Phantogram).

Also agreed with whomever said Jacques Brel. And throw Serge Gainsbourg in there as well, although he tends more sexy and less moody.

And also (good) Scott Walker. You may find what you're looking for in his later stuff where he uses sides of beef as percussion instruments. Check into Tilt and any albums after that.

Okay I'll stop thinking about this question now. Sorry.
posted by elsietheeel at 5:06 PM on January 26, 2018


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