Du Blonde, AKA Beth Jeans Houghton, has just released her fiery new album ‘Welcome Back to Milk‘ on Mute Records.
Her 2012 album ‘Yours Truly, Cellophane Noise‘ created with her band The Hooves of Destiny is a stark contrast to her latest work. Tracks like ‘Atlas’ and ‘Dodecahedron’ propelled Beth’s music to another level. Beth has since reinvented her character under the pseudonym of ‘Du Blonde’. Houghton feels that ‘Du Blonde’ is her tool to being a more open artist “I can be Du Blonde on stage, singing my diary, then go home. It’s easier to compartmentalise it like that.”
‘Welcome Back to Milk‘ removes the polished, pleasant and serene 2012 traits of her previous album and brings an impassioned, hot-blooded and autonomous sound. The album begins with ‘Black Flag‘ (Listen below) standing as a symbol of anarchism. Beth appears to take on the role of a Wonder Woman-like figure, dressed in a red leotard and gold belt, cutting over to Beth in a gold cape. ‘Chips To Go‘ follows, emphasising Beth’s deep oscillating vocals layered on top of a battering drum.
‘Hunter’ is the ballad of the album. “It was one of those songs that just kind of pours out, it wasn’t hard to write.” Beth tells of listening to Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin, stating “I was really into their way of putting a lot of honesty and emotion into their songs.” Along with ‘Raw Honey‘, ‘After the Snow’, ‘Four in the Morning’, and closing track ‘Isn’t It Wild‘, these are the more tender tracks of ‘Welcome Back to Milk.’ In contrast ‘Mr. Hyde‘ is one of the more humorous tracks on the album, as she says in the lyrics “Jekyll’s in the kitchen sucking off Hyde” as she continues “Baby close the door as fast as you can.”
Du Blonde teamed up with Samuel T. Herring of synth-pop band Future Islands on upbeat track ‘Mind Is On My Mind‘. With Samuel’s soulful voice leading up to the end of the song, including his fiery outburst of vocals before the outro, it is certainly one of the highlights of the album. Followed by ‘Isn’t It Wild‘, a track that enters with a soft piano sound and spoken voice recording as we hear Du Blonde’s vocals introduced into an echoey hollow of emotion. It is the perfect ending to a spectacular turn-around of an album with eccentricity and humour being the undertone of the wonderfully produced ‘Welcome Back to Milk’.
Du Blonde begins her UK tour on June 3rd, see links for tickets below. Don’t forget to watch the video for ‘Black Flag’, also below:
DU BLONDE – UK TOUR
3 Jun – BRIGHTON GREEN DOOR STORE – http://po.st/DuBlondeBton
4 Jun – LONDON 100 CLUB – http://po.st/DuBlondeLondon
5 Jun – LEEDS BRUDENELL SOCIAL CLUB – http://po.st/DuBlondeLeeds
6 Jun – BRISTOL LOUISIANA – http://po.st/DuBlondeBristol
7 Jun – NOTTINGHAM THE BODEGA – http://po.st/DuBlondeNHMan
9 Jun – MANCHESTER DEAF INSTITUTE – http://po.st/DuBlondeNHMan
10 Jun – GLASGOW BROADCAST – http://po.st/DuBlondeGlas
11 Jun – NEWCASTLE THE CLUNKY – http://po.st/DuBlondeNC
24 Jul – THIRSK DEER SHED FESTIVAL – http://po.st/DuBlondeDeerShedFest
