A Reflection - Brigitte Handley (The Dark Shadows) [EN]
‘A Reflection’, my space that with the support of Hispacure, the Official Fan Collective of The Cure in Spain, I ask artists and cultural agents to tell me about their favorite songs and albums of The Cure.
Brigitte Handley was born in Sydney but is currently based in Germany. She is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from the band The Dark Shadows. She also has toured with Deutsch Post-Punk band, Der Streng Geheimne Designer as guest keyboard player and had some recent live collaborations with Paul Wallfisch and Kristof Hahn from Swans.
A REFLECTION - BRIGITTE HANDLEY
I can’t exactly pinpoint when I discovered The Cure. Robert Smith seems to have always been there dancing around with his lipstick smeared in my memories.
I can find no wrong when it comes to The Cure, every album and song has it’s place to fit a certain mood and feel. I still find it hard to comprehend just how many fantastic songs they have written over time and how they still sound so cool. Of course I love their early formative years but I also find it so interesting when you’re looking at a band in retrospect to see how they’ve grown and changed musically over time. They have such a strong signature sound that whatever they do be it the dark n stark to the quirky fun pop stuff, it’s The Cure for all!.
This is so hard to choose a favourite as there’s just so much great material spread throughout their entire career but I guess if I think about the albums I’ve listened to the most would have to be ‘Three Imaginary Boys’ or ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ which I inherited as a scratchy old 12” from a pile of old records my aunt gave me and have cherished and played to death ever since! Always loved ‘Fire in Cairo’ and naturally, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’… ‘Jumping Someone Else’s Train’, ‘Three Imaginary Boys’, ‘Killing an Arab’… too many good songs that I can never tire of. ‘Seventeen Seconds’ of course is also a classic… such a great dark mood and atmosphere on that album and of course, includes ‘A Forest’ which never grows old… always mysterious and perfect accompaniment on a cold rainy day… ‘Pornography’ - ‘Hanging Garden’ also so cool. Love those great floor toms n drum sounds and the creepy cool film clip with the moving statues.
Robert Smith’s voice always fills me with joy and inspiration even in it’s most gloomy state he seems to emit such a positive, honest energy. I read somewhere that they were not so happy with their early music videos but I was always really drawn to them and mesmerised seeing those love cats dancing around, locked tight in a watery closet together playing a hair comb, transforming into a spiderman that puts Edward Scissorhands to shame, drummer boy soldiers in a secret garden and spinning sky trees in a flangy forest … such infectious melodies and fun imagery made a very strong impression on me at an early age.
I first saw The Cure live in Sydney a while back. I guess it was their 'Bloodflowers' tour as I remember a lot of people complaining there were not enough hits and too many slow moody songs but I went there with no real preconceived ideas and I was really transmitted into a greatly inspired mood. I never imagined I’d have the chance to see them live so I was totally grateful for these sounds and impressions. I’ve seen them a couple of times since. The last time was in Cologne a few years ago. They were just as fantastic as ever. I did attempt a live version of ‘Killing an Arab’ in one of my early band formations. That band only lasted a few shows but I do remember it was a really fun song to play live and we all had a mutual love of The Cure. The Dark Shadows were of course greatly influenced by The Cure and I’m sure you can hear glimpses and a tip of the hat in songs like, ‘Line of Sight’, ‘Dark Shadow’ and I still love using chorus on my guitar from time to time when the mood is right.
https://www.facebook.com/thedarkshadowsofficial
Read more interviews-> https://www.distortiongirl.com/a-reflection/
Interview publication, November 24, 2021.
