Brooklynite anti-folk cult hero Jeffrey Lewis graces The Haunt with his presence on Thursday with what will no doubt be an unpredictable medley of wry drawled melancholia, comic book show-and-tell, and industry commentary.
A longstanding figure in a niche brand of self-conscious folk, steeped in irony and pop culture-savvy references, Lewis was signed to uber-cool album Rough Trade in 2001. Since then he has scruffily shuffled through projects as overtly anti-commercial as an album entirely composed of Crass covers and, recently, a re-imagining of Sonic Youth’s seminal Goo as Shakespearean sonnets, titled Sonnet Youth. His croaky brand of comic nihilism and self-castigating autobiography comes coupled with a talent for the occasional appropriation of melody, married most successfully on 2009’s ‘Em I Are. Also a comic book artist, Lewis often sandwiches showcases of his trade amidst songs during his live shows in a charmingly slapdash flex of multi-facted artistry (that also includes ponderous analyses of cult stardom and the music industry as demonstrated most fluently on his six-minute epic ‘Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror’).
Undoubtedly an idiosyncratic performer, his unmatched lyrical wit and intimate storytelling will befit The Haunt’s dual-level interior perfectly and make for an unmissable show.
7pm, £9 adv
For more information visit www.thehauntbrighton.co.uk
