Nikki Sudden‰۪s collaboration with former BirthdayåÊParty guitarist Rowland S. Howard peaked with Kiss You
Kidnapped Charabanc, the duo‰۪s 1987 first and only fullåÊlength. Howard‰۪s sinister guitar flourishes and malevolent
lyrical motifs lead Sudden‰۪s paisley-clad disposition intoåÊmurkier waters, drudging the same sludge inhabited by
The Gun Club and Nick Cave‰۪s Bad Seeds. Unhinged slideåÊguitars, noise and primal drumming draw up demented
pacts forged in the blood of Southern Gothic swampåÊstomp and Depression-era devotionals‰ÛÓtales of lovers and
demons split between the vocal transmissions of the twoåÊminds behind this goth-steeped, blues-punk essential.
In founding Swell Maps, the post-punk prefacingåÊBirmingham art-snots, Nikki Sudden and his drumming
brother Epic Soundtracks charted new territory for racketåÊand corrosive guitar. But after folding Swell Maps at the
dawn of the ‰۪80s, Nikki Sudden plowed through anotheråÊdecade‰۪s worth of terrifically fertile ground. Drawing on
his devotion to the Rolling Stones and T. Rex‰ÛÓalongsideåÊguitarist Dave Kusworth as Jacobites, plus a cheekily namedåÊcohort of British sidemen‰ÛÓNikki Sudden cut a string ofåÊraw, inspired rock ‰Û÷n‰۪ roll records, etched with double-åÊedged travel melancholia and hard-bitten punk dejection.