Drugstore – THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

THE CD SINGLE LUCKY DIP (13) : Drugstore – El President

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This is a re-post, of sorts, in that the lead song was featured back in 2019 as part of a short-lived series called ‘THE JOY OF (a mixed) SEX duet’.

mp3: Drugstore – El President

The duet is courtesy of Isabel Monteiro and Thom Yorke. The former is one of the two vocalists in Drugstore, while the latter is…..well I don’t think I need to spell it out.

Drugstore were around for much of the 90s, and were highly regarded and respected among their peers. They were the sort of band that more established acts loved to have as special guests while out on tour, which is why fans of the likes of Radiohead, Tindersticks, Jeff Buckley and The Jesus and Mary Chain would have had opportunities to catch them.

El President was the first single to be lifted from their second album, White Magic for Lovers, which came out in 1998. At this point in time, Drugstore consisted of the afore-mentioned Isabel Monteiro (bass and vocals), Daron Robinson (guitar and vocals), Mike Chylinski (drums) and Ian Burdge (cello). The song was written by Monteiro as a tribute to Salvador Allende, whose four decades of political involvement in Chilean politics had seen him become president in 1970 (elected in a run-off by Congress as none of the three candidates had won any overall majority) but just three years later he had committed suicide rather than give in to a military coup. It was a coup supported by the CIA, which in itself was no surprise given that Allende was a committed Marxist and the Cold War was being fought.

I’ll just mention in passing that he was succeeded by General Augusto Pinochet….unarguably one of the worst persecutors of his political opponents in the 20th Century.

There are two additional tracks on the CD single, both of which really are well worth a listen.

mp3: Drugstore – The Night The Devil Came To Me
mp3: Drugstore – Perfect Movie

The former is another that was written by Monteiro. I’m not sure if it is a genre, but I’d describe it as ‘gothic soundtrack’, and could pass easily for a brilliant cover of one of the slower songs of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. It’s one that I hadn’t listened to in well over 25 years since buying the single, and I’m kicking myself for not being more aware of its magnificence, as it would certainly have found its way onto a mixtape by now.

The latter was written by Mike Chylinski, the drummer in Drugstore, and yet it’s a song in which the drumming is very sparse to the extent of being almost non-existent. It’s another duet in that the opening verse is sung by Daron Robinson, with Isabel Monteiro coming in for verse two. It really is a lovely little ballad, one which deserved a better fate than being consigned to being an extra track on a single.

El President reached #20, and proved to be the only hit single Drugstore would ever enjoy.

JC

Drugstore, Thom Yorke

THE JOY OF (a mixed) SEX (duet) : Couple #7

Thom Yorke has a very distinctive voice. It only takes a few words and you know immediately that you’re listening to Radiohead, a solo effort or, very occasionally, a guest contribution. I reckon, for the most part, his voice is perfect for the songs on which he sings; but just occasionally, whether it’s because he buries the delivery with a near-mumble or, at the other extreme, goes effortlessly into OTT mode that he ends up overpowering the work of his bandmates, he ruins things.

As Radiohead became increasingly popular, he found himself much in demand for vocal contributions – for instance, there were three with PJ Harvey on her album Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (released in 2000), but just two years earlier he had guested on this, helping to provide a band with their sole chart single:-

mp3 : Drugstore – El President

Drugstore were around for much of the 90s, formed in London but with a Brazilian born singer-songwriter in the shape of Isabel Monteiro. The band were one of those who always made for an interesting opening act and so fans of the likes of Radiohead, Tindersticks, Jeff Buckley and The Jesus and Mary Chain would have had opportunities to catch them.

El President was the first single to be lifted from their second album, White Magic for Lovers. It was written by Monteiro as a tribute to Salvador Allende, whose four decades of political involvement in Chilean politics had seen him become president in 1970 (elected in a run-off by Congress as none of the three candidates has won any overall majority) but just three years later he had committed suicide rather than give in to a military coup. It was a coup supported by the CIA, which in itself was no surprise given that Allende was a committed Marxist and the Cold War was being fought.

I’ll just mention in passing that he was succeeded by General Augusto Pinochet….unarguably one of the worst persecutors of his political opponents in the 20th Century.

Drugstore faded off the scene just after the turn of the century, but had a low-key but critically successful reunion for a few years from 2009 onwards, before the singer relocated to her home city of Sao Paulo in 2015.