Disinterest is the first album by English indie band the Servants. The record was released in 1990 on Paperhouse Records.
| Disinterest | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 17–18 April 1990 | |||
| Studio | Golddust, Bromley | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, art rock | |||
| Length | 42:40 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Paperhouse | |||
| Producer | Mark Dawson | |||
| The Servants chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Disinterest | ||||
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Recording
editDisinterest was recorded by Mark Dawson.
On the context of the recording, David Westlake says: “The album came out of a set of unspeakable frustrations and miscellaneous perversity.”[1] There were label issues: “We ended up with the record company for whom we did the album not directly through choice.”[2]
The album was recorded cheaply. Luke Haines later wrote: “The initial plan is to record with Steve Albini, but this never happens. Then Kramer’s name is mentioned as a possible producer. Nope. Eventually the album is recorded and mixed in office hours over five days in a demo studio in Bromley.”[3]
Release history
editPaperhouse Records issued Disinterest in LP and CD formats in 1990.
Paperhouse took the song “Look Like a Girl” from the album for release as a 7” single in August 1990 (the Servants' fourth single). Two live recordings appear on the B-side: “Bad Habits Die Hard” (otherwise unrecorded), and “It’s My Turn” (the Servants' previous single); both live tracks were recorded on 4 May 1989 at AJZ Gaskessel in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The words “in case of Fire break Glass” are etched into the single’s run-out groove: a Westlake comment on record-label Paperhouse resulting from an ill-omened partnership, between Glass Records and Fire Records.[2]
Disinterest has long been unavailable. Interviewed in 2014, David Westlake said: “Unfortunately, the album was deleted not long after release. It hasn’t been available for more than twenty years and I don’t see it being reissued.”[1] Likewise, Luke Haines says Disinterest is “stuck in an irretrievable record company quagmire, where it looks set to remain.”[3]
Reception
editMojo magazine included Disinterest in its December 2011 list of the greatest British indie records of all time; Clive Prior described the album as “Arty, experimental and notable for Westlake’s fabulously mordant lyrics.”[4] Tim Peacock at Record Collector magazine observed in 2013 that: “while it’s recently been dusted down for critical reappraisal, [Disinterest] remains out of print.”[5] Matthew Fiander at PopMatters called Disinterest “a great record.... Angular and bittersweet.”[6]
Luke Haines describes Disinterest as “art rock, ten years too late and fifteen years too early”.[7][8]
Track listing
editSide one
edit- Move Out (3:40)
- The Power of Woman (3:25)
- Restless (3:47)
- Third Wheel (3:06)
- Thin-Skinned (2:42)
- Self-Destruction (2:45)
Side two
edit- Hush Now (5:40)
- They Should Make a Statue (2:58)
- Hey, Mrs John (2:55)
- Look Like a Girl (4:07)
- Big Future (2:51)
- Afterglow (4:44)
Personnel
edit- David Westlake – vocals and guitar
- Luke Haines – vocals, guitar and piano
- Alice Readman – bass
- Andy Bennett – drums
References
edit- ^ a b Strutt, Anthony (6 June 2014). "David Westlake interview". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ a b Carry, Mark (19 May 2014). "Interview with David Westlake". Fractured Air. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b Haines, Luke (2012). Small Time (booklet). The Servants. London: Cherry Red Records. p. 4. CDB RED 535.
- ^ Prior, Clive (December 2011). "100 Greatest British Indie Records of All Time". Mojo – Indie Special. London: Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ Peacock, Tim (January 2013). "The Servants: Small Time/Hey Hey We're The Manqués". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. p. 100. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Fiander, Matthew (14 January 2014). "The Servants: Hey Hey We're the Manqués". PopMatters. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- ^ Haines, Luke (2006). Reserved (booklet). The Servants. London: Cherry Red Records. p. 11. CDM RED 297.
- ^ Haines, Luke (2009). Bad Vibes. London: William Heinemann. p. 10. ISBN 9780434018468.