Name: Versa Vice
Brand: Joe Gideon

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

br45lp

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Discs

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2015-11-17

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

UPC / Barcode

5051083098953

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Joe Gideon

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Bronzerat

'Versa Vice' is the debut solo record by Joe Gideon, one half of the acclaimed sibling duo Joe Gideon and The Shark. After Joe Gideon and The Shark called it a day in 2013, Gideon called on the assistance of friend, neighbour and drummer Jim Sclavunos (Grinderman / Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds) to try out an arsenal of songs and to see if Gideon could even play the guitar again, after a wrist injury put him out of action for the best part of a year. (Jim and Gideon became friends after Joe Gideon and The Shark toured with The Bad Seeds on their 'Dig Lazarus Dig' tour back in 2008.) Together they laid down the foundations of 'Versa Vice', recorded by Rich Matthews and finished by Gideon at home, after further assistance by friends Ed Harcourt (piano / organ) and Duke Garwood (horns) on a handful of tracks. The album was mixed by Head (PJ Harvey, Smoke Fairies). 'Versa Vice' is a rollicking storytelling romp through themes of love (see 'The Lady With The Metallic Voice') and madness (see 'Eugene Went Crazy', inspired by photographer W Eugene Smith, or his cover of Porter Wagoner's 'Rubber Room'), executed sharply with a post-punk / new wave bent ('Naked Eye', 'Heart Attack Girl') or with meditative tenderness ('The Past Is Never Over'). Opener 'Eve's Rib' is a heralding cry of intent, pierced through with Sclavunos' fierce drums which drag you out of your chair.  Fans of Joe Gideon and The Shark will no doubt recognise and appreciate the same spirit of his previous output, with his genuinely eccentric and character-driven tales of falling apart at the seams but 'Versa Vice' is more than just Joe Gideon sans Shark. Let off the leash, instead of losing himself to feral abandon, Gideon's music has become more succinct, the music more immediate, the voice louder and clearer.

Versa Vice

Music GB