Lady from Shanghai (Fire,2013)
35 years since their seminal debut 'The Modern Dance', Pere Ubu's 'Lady From Shanghai' is arguably their best record since that early '80s post-punk heyday. David Thomas is beguiling and compelling as ever as the wryly observant and visionary frontman - Cleveland, Ohio's answer to Manchester's Mark E. Smith. widescreen feature combining traces of their youthful best - sci-fi synth tones, unstable concrète dynamics, lean krautrock rhythms, uniquely expressive guitar and, of course, those inimitable, influential vocals - with an eternal maturity and that experimental, borderline surreal or psychedelic streak cultishly adored by so many.
