Deborah Curtis’s ‘Touching From a Distance’ firmly flings open the doors to the Ian Curtis and Joy Division story, revealing the harsh reality that had once laid silently beneath the heavy weight of contrived myths of a dead hero and idol. Curtis is able to give an in in-depth account of the life she led with Ian Curtis; a man worshipped by fans, profoundly honoured by friends, an enigmatic stage presence, but to her simply a husband and father to her child.
Although Curtis is careful not to romanticize the short life of her husband, it would be hard for the reader to not become at least mildly infatuated. Whether this is down to one’s personal perception it is unclear, for Ian Curtis’s fascination with death is fascinating in itself.
‘Touching From a Distance’ documents Ian Curtis’s difficult marital life yet still includes information from other sources such as Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Tony Wilson who all tell of their own relationship with the late Ian Curtis. At some points the biography can seem slightly bitter and biased yet still recounts events while bravely expressing the highs and lows of the life she lived before Curtis unfortunately took his own life on 18th May 1980.
This is a well written, truthful insight into the life of an idol. Looking further beyond status, this is a biography written by, in the words of Ian Rankin “the only person qualified for the job”. Instead of leaving the reader in awe and inspired by the emotionally complex life of a dead rock star, Deborah Curtis makes it clear that it's not an ideal for living.
Out of the midst of the ever declining talent from the 21st century, springs up a fresh new act going by the (somewhat distasteful) name of Yuck. Fronted by Cajun Dance Party’s Daniel Blumberg and Max Bloom, from what sounded like a conventional, unremarkable, whiny kook-y type indie pop band has emerged a 90’s shoegazing revival in the form of Yuck.
Possible shoegaze revival? This is a sign!
Given the fact that Yuck have taken undeniable influence from pre-grunge acts such as Dinosaur Jr makes it impossible not to see that this young band are shamelessly recycling the sound from the shoegazing era of around two decades ago. With howls of feedback and reverb mimicking those of predecessors The Jesus and Mary Chain and with melodies and guitar that resemble the work of Sonic Youth, Yuck are breathing air back into the ever fluctuating lungs of transcendental pop.
Despite the obvious influence Yuck are under, it would be somewhat idiotic to dismiss and bypass this young new band. Even though they might be as derivative as can possibly be, there is no denying that Yuck’s powerful, remarkable melodies are in no way inhibited by the dissonant feedback and rich howls of guitar which actually contrast well with Yuck’s razor sharp melodies.
There is no denying that they have a lot ahead of them after an appearance on Jools Holland and releasing self titled debut album Yuck. With a debut so sophisticated it’s hard to believe that Yuck have only been together for around 2 years; you could only assume that this band have had years of experience. After playing on the John Peel stage at Glastonbury and Radio1/NME at Reading and Leeds this year, Yuck can expect a whole new fanbase and following, there’s nothing this band can do but grow.
