The Auteurs - New Wave

Still, there's an acoustic version of Auteur's Chinese Bakery floating around online that's worth hearing. And Baader Meinhof remains truly disturbing.

"New Wave" is a glorious record by my estimation, as indeed are good few others of the man's, particularly his two solo records of 2001, as well as "After Murder Park" and "England Made Me" (for me, the best all around BBR effort).

I must admit to getting slightly impatient for some sustained new material, however. BBR's "Passionoia" was, IIRC, in 2003, and two years plus seems a long time for a whole new album from a writer hitherto as prolific as Haines. The jagged brilliance of the new songs on "Das Capital" only raised the bar higher, after the misstep of "Passionoia", which I don't quite fully like.

I loved the band at the time but haven’t really played much since the day. I have been meaning to dig out my old CD’s and see how they stack up but haven’t yet. I really am going to now because of this thread and a few people over at Obner, another music board I frequent, have been professing their love for the Auteurs as of late with one being a women.

Two new solo albums due out, uh, at some point, I think.

In general, Haines is to me what Killing Joke are to Alex in NYC, so everything I say should be taken with a mound of salt.

...In response to the original question posted, why indeed? Haines is more consistently brilliant than, say, Elvis Costello; the problem is that he truly doesn't seem to give a fuck about keeping up appearances (how many labels did he go through?!) and is thus somewhat unmanageable.

If, say, NME wrote a cover story praising him, his next solo record probably would have been a conceptual album about the UK music press with a mockup of an NME issue for cover art (cf: Bootboys is an album-length refutation of the very concept of nostalgia, Passionoia is a parody of fame-is-hell moaning, Twist is a "rap" album devoted to starting beefs with British conceptual artists, etc).

An EVIL wuss. Very important.

I wouldn't go QUITE that far. For all his wit, he lacks both Costello's endearing bad taste and comprehensive list of referents on which he can always rely when the well runs dry.

This is one of my favourite things ever.

Haines is the only artist I know who turns his PR campaigns into integral parts of his recordings. When Das Capital came out, all he would do in the press was brag how expensive it was to record (which set up the punchline of the album's ridiculous overproduction).

omg that select thing

It really is the best thing ever.

i like this record a lot.

Still stand by my Neil-Tennant-with-class-resentment-and-guitars line.

of fuck off "class resentment" you ass.

i live in a classless society i don't know what yr talking abt.

but yeah dude seems really bitchy! rawr! i like him, he's funny.

of fuck off "class resentment" you ass

Worthy of the Haines of After Murder Park.

Sold this years ago, but kept the Baader Meinhoff disc.

'Ve got Baader Meinhoff also - is good.
No any other Haines alas.

I agree that Haines does sound kinda thin on New Wave, but I don't think that criticism applies to anything from After Murder Park onwards.

Great record, but how could an album be bad with 'Showgirl' on it?