WRIGGLE SHIRT + BLACK FRIDAY

Happy Black Friday!

It's here! WRIGGLE LIKE A FUCKING EEL special time-limited T-shirt release date 11th December, now available for pre-orders! Absolute must-have!
Use special code 'CHLORINE GARGOYLE' for 10% discount :)

Bandcamp exclusive bonus track has been added to LA177 in the form of the amazing 16 minute live improvised collaboration between William Bennett and Japanese noise legend Toshiji Mikawa (INCAPACITANTS) - entire LA177 album is now freely downloadable for a week or so.

Also, 30% Black Friday discount there off everything by entering code 'blackfriday23'! 
Code is valid until Monday night.

BANDCAMP UPDATE: LA120 + 177

Live Action 120 (What Is Music? festival, Melbourne, Australia) and LA177 (Yokohama Art Triennale, Yokohama, Japan, 2008) are now both freely available to download for one week at Susan Lawly Bandcamp page!

Very fond memories of both of these shows, the Melbourne one was absolutely wild and I think the recording fully reflects it; that entire What Is Music? tour in 2004 was stacked with an incredible line-up and very well organised - meanwhile, the time spent at the Art Triennale in Yokohama was really enjoyable in particularly hanging out with Toshiji Mikawa (we even did a short live performance together at the event which may also be released at some stage.

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Special October review update after the momentous release of a new Saw movie.

Saw X, 2023 (*****)
The magnificent Tobin Bell is given centre stage and it's his presence that elevates a tried and trusted formula to yet another level. And the greater emotional investment pays off by the time the trademark menacing climactic theme reassuringly fades in for the horrific final act.

Past Lives, 2023 (***)
A film about the lives and interconnected loves of two close childhood friends who are separated by one of the families emigrating from Korea. Yes, it's well acted and you will identify with all kinds of poignant moments throughout however the female lead is such an incredibly cold fish it is the antithesis of romantic. How 2023.

Killing Romance, 2023 (**)
Scattershot comedy/musical/romcom that despite being full of energy and panache all just feels a bit flat and try-hard.

The Artifice Girl, 2022 (**)
Certainly an interesting premise of the evolution in three time periods of a revolutionary AI girl, Cherry, programmed to catch child predators. Nevertheless , poor acting and a wordy script laden with laughable amounts of exposition result in a film that rarely feels believable leading to the final act where, dear Lord, 'Cherry' devolves into a whiny narcissist. 

The Invitation, 2015 (**)
Couple are invited to an LA dinner party hosted by his ex-wife. Highly enjoyable quasi-Pinteresque dialogues and awkward tensions between the weirdo guests are sadly let down by a substandard lead actor and a dreadful final act when all the 'action' starts.

Frailty, 2001 (****)
Missed this the first time around! Bill Paxton directs and features in a highly original horror thriller about a father who superficially seems nice enough despite being a religious fanatic. Some real shocks ensue. Props to the two young sons for their fantastic performances.

Be With You, 2018 (****)
Love and death as a woman dies leaving behind her husband and young son. The two lead actors are great but just a bit too good-looking and support characters are more developed in the superb Japanese 2004 original but there are still some really powerfully affecting moments and it's the little boy who steals the show here.

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CUT HAS THE SOLUTION 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHIRT

CUT HANDS HAS THE SOLUTION special 20th anniversary limited T-shirt release date 25th September (won't be available after this date), now available for pre-orders from our friends at Dirter Promotions.

Absolute must-have!!

More pictures at Instagram.

PS: you can use the code 'ITSHELPING' for a 10% discount :)

BANDCAMP UPDATE: LA30 + LA146

Live Action 30 (Metropol, Berlin, 1984) and LA146 (Subterranean, Chicago, 2006) are now both freely available to download for one week at Susan Lawly Bandcamp!

The full video recording of LA146 will also be available in three parts at Susan Lawly YouTube channel later today (August 17th).

Live Action 30 was a highly surreal experience taking place at the huge and very famous Metropol venue in front of an audience of about 10 people owing to the event being totally unpublicised. Afterwards, in scenes reminiscent of a gangster movie, the venue boss refused to pay the band guarantee but, fortunately, accompanying Whitehouse on some of these Germany tour dates was an NME journalist: she helped greatly by stating in no uncertain terms that failure to pay would result in bad publicity for the venue.

BANDCAMP UPDATE: LA25 + LA112 + LA114

LA25 (Paris, 2003), LA112 (Cork, Ireland), LA114 (Glasgow, 2003) audio recordings newly remastered are all available to freely download for one week at Susan Lawly Bandcamp page!

Thanks once again for the great support, more coming next month.

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Bumper movie review update - many new ones, some older titles that eluded me, a few different genres.

6/45, 2022 (****)
Thanks to a stray winning lotto ticket fluttering across the border, soldiers from North and South Korea meet up and bond in this really funny comedy. Entertaining from beginning to end.

The Cleaning Lady, 2018 (*****)
Fantastic, highly satisfying, unsettling psychological horror, can't believe I missed this one at the time. Superbly acted and written. Best to jump in with no expectations.

Kill Boksoon, 2023 (*)
Korean action movie featuring an ajumma assassin looking to retire from the business. In addition to its surprisingly awful casting and interminable runtime, film suffers from a massive identity crisis: one part John Wick, one part dark comedy, and another part mother-daughter coming-of-age coming-out drama. I blame Netflix.

Starry Eyes, 2014 (****)
Low-budget freakish horror and sleaze definitely not one for the milquetoast. Love the FL.

Christmas In August, 1998 (*****)
A terminally ill young man meets a girl. Romantic masterpiece that by the closing credits left me utterly stunned, so heartbreaking is its quiet understated poignancy. A classic of Korean cinema.

Art Museum By The Zoo, 1998 (****)
Another high quality Korean romantic comedy full of delightfully gentle and beautiful and, above all, relatable touches.

Unlocked, 2023 (***)
More Netflix commissioned nonsense. Actually the first act setting up someone gaining full access to a young woman's phone are skilfully directed with just the right amount of paranoia yet sadly credulity dissembles as fast as silly coincidences begin stacking up.

Infinity Pool, 2023 (**)
After a decent opening few scenes Infinity Pool quickly degenerates into an increasingly silly farcical mess. 

What Josiah Saw, 2023 (**)
Couldn't get past the 20-min mark. Dull, depressing, zero pay-off.

Island Of The Dolls, 2023 (*)
Atrocious Mexican horror film, not even one for the completist.

Switch, 2023 (***)
Saccharine romcom certainly has its moments in an It's A Wonderful Life kind of way. 

Orphan: First Kill, 2022 (***)
Far too much to live up to the original classic for which we never imagined any kind of sequel yet thanks to a laughably outrageous camp twist to the story I have to admit to really quite enjoying this highly unexpected revisit.

The Shrine, 2010 (**)
Initially promising as we follow the investigation into young Americans disappearing in a village in 'Poland' but sadly degenerates into a silly pastiche of Hammer House and Wicker Man tropes.

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BANDCAMP UPDATE: LA34 + LA102

A quick announcement that the audio recordings of Whitehouse Live Actions 34 (Chicago, 1984) and 102 (London, 2003) have been added to the Susan Lawly Bandcamp page and are freely available to download for the next few days. Also an option to purchase the entire discography has now been added.

USA 1983 TOUR : FINAL REHEARSAL RECORDINGS

Announcing a very special Bandcamp exclusive new addition to the page and freely available to all followers for one week, thanks once again for all the highly appreciated support!

USA 1983 Tour Final Rehearsal has only previously been released as an exclusive Come Organisation cassette entitled 'USA VII: Live Rehearsal' back in 1983, it formed part of the series of live recordings from the tour. Original copies of the cassette are now rare collectors' items.

It was recorded in London on 23rd March with William Bennett and Kevin Tomkins and was the final rehearsal session just before the first American tour beginning a few days later. Various songs and sounds are tried out throughout the rehearsal in preparation for the 6-week tour.

The version here has been carefully restored and remastered, each part representing a side of the cassette release, however as usual please bear in mind that these archive recordings are of varying degrees of sound quality depending on original recording conditions.

FINAL FOUR STUDIO ALBUMS AT BANDCAMP

The last batch of Whitehouse studio albums have now been added to the Susan Lawly page at Bandcamp. All four albums include rare bonus tracks!

GREAT WHITE DEATH (SPECIAL EDITION) (1985)

HALOGEN (1994)

QUALITY TIME. (1995)

THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS (1990)

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Quite a variety of genres this time around, most from great and much appreciated recommendations!

M3GAN, 2022 (****)
whoever designed and wrote for the doll is an absolute genius, all her scenes taken in isolation are absolutely spectacular, sadly the rest of the film is dumbed-down PG-13 trash with Hallmark Channel-quality acting - had to give extra star for inspired inclusion of Skatt Bros' classic 'Walk The Night'

Hospitals: The White Mafia, 1973 (****)
Luigi Zampa's remarkably disturbing drama and chief surgeon character study set in a big city hospital resonates more than ever despite its fifty years of age

Speak No Evil, 2022 (*****)
one of the most unsettling films I've ever seen, a living nightmare of helplessness to be involuntarily felt throughout the entire film

Triangle Of Sadness, 2022 (****)
despite occasional heavy-handed messaging, if taken as pure black comedy, you find a highly enjoyable film with some extremely memorable interactions and plot twists

The Menu, 2022 (**)
black comedy starts out so promisingly yet quickly (and unexpectedly) degenerates into a thriller-by-numbers with absolutely zero character development, so jarring that it recalls Robert Altman's Hollywood satire The Player

On Your Wedding Day, 2018 (*****)
I do love a good romantic comedy and Korean ones are the best: this is a particularly good one, very real and raw and relatable

20th Century Girl, 2021 (****)
cute and fun Korean romantic comedy with quite the sting in its tail

Piggy, 2022 (*)
opening credits' list of sponsors and backers was already a massive red flag but this is little more than an incoherent revenge horror with a porn-quality cast, also a huge no to thirtysomethings playing teenagers

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FOUR NEW ALBUMS AT BANDCAMP

 

Four new Whitehouse studio albums have now been added to the Susan Lawly page at Bandcamp. 

RACKET (2007)

TWICE IS NOT ENOUGH (1992)

NEVER FORGET DEATH (1992)

NEW BRITAIN (1982)