Nikki Sudden Waiting On Egypt

In founding Swell Maps, the post-punk prefacing Birmingham art-snots, Nikki Sudden and his drumming brother Epic Soundtracks charted new territory for racket and corrosive guitar. But after folding Swell Maps at the dawn of the ’80s, Nikki Sudden plowed through another decade’s worth of terrifically fertile ground. Drawing on his devotion to the Rolling Stones and T. Rex—alongside guitarist Dave Kusworth as Jacobites, plus a cheekily named cohort of British sidemen—Nikki Sudden cut a string of raw, inspired rock ‘n’ roll records, etched with double edged travel melancholia and hard-bitten punk dejection.

For Waiting On Egypt, Nikki Sudden’s 1982 solo debut for Abstract Records, the Birmingham post-punk cut back on the skronk and clatter of his own latter-day Swell Maps. Unused Maps material received Sudden resurrection and pared-down guitar propellant, while Nikki’s new ideas moved confidently in a Bolan direction. Elsewhere, pained homage is paid to early Stones gem “I’d Much Rather Be With The Boys,” recast in withdrawn piss and vinegar.