Two Lone Swordsmen to Release New Album
But would be no match for Wu-Tang's Shaolin Tec-9's

Andrew Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood, more commonly known as Two Lone Swordsmen, are gearing up for a big return after a four-year absence from the electronic landscape: In November, they issued their first-ever remix album, Peppered with Spastic Magic, featuring material originally performed by Calexico, Lali Puna and Saint Etienne. And now, they're gearing up for the imminent release of From the Double Gone Chapel, which is due out on Warp Records this Tuesday in the UK, and on June 1st in North America.

The album reportedly marks quite a departure for the two: They've apparently transformed from an IDM duo (one strong enough to nab a position on our Top 20 Albums of 2000 list) into a live band, with Weatherall taking lead vocals (!), Tenniswood pulling guitar and bass duties (!!), and various drummers playing a kit that formerly belonged to both Jah Wobble and Killing Joke (?). Indeed, this DJ coup d'etat keeps one foot firmly planted in the experimental electronic music and downtempo they're known for, and the other in dub and early 80s post-punk. Slinky chorus-ridden basslines wrap around jagged guitar lines, while Weatherall's evil vocal style ensures that their new direction remains shrouded in elements of goth and darkwave. Bizarre!

Several forces were at work in this new direction. Apparently, for the past two years, the Swordsmen have been so busy with their exploding DJ careers (boo-goddamn-hoo) that they began to grow bored with the confines of techno and e-music. In addition to this, Weatherall took up a DJ residency at a local pub (Double Gone Chapel), at which he spun strictly garage, psych, and rockabilly. Naturally, covering The Gun Club's "Sex Beat" on an album more New Order and early Cure than Zero-7 was only a step away. The Swordsmen are presently planning to take their show on the road over the summer with "a soundsystem and live band," though no dates had been announced as of press time. Tracklist:

01 Stack Up
02 Faux
03 Formica Fuego
04 The Lurch
05 Sex Beat
06 Damp
07 Punches and Knives
08 The Valve
09 Kamanda's Response
10 Sick When We Kiss
11 Taste of Our Flames
12 Driving With My Gears In Reverse (Only Makes You Move Further Away)

Warp: http://www.warprecords.com