Algiers seem to seethe and writhe with a rare intelligence.
Each song – hell, each note, even – seemed to be place with expert precision, designed to cause the maximum impact.
The trio released their self-titled debut album earlier this year, a record which nodded towards the stark visions of post-punk and industrial but reflected these in an extremely modern, very American fashion.
A terrific, inspiring record, 'Algiers' is at times caustic, at other soothing but always gripping.
Clash invited vocalist Franklin James Fisher to take part in Their Library, a feature designed to explore the literary influences and references which underpin a musician's approach.
What we got back was a little more involved – and extremely fascinating.
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What is your favourite book and why?
This question is always impossible because the meaning and significance of a text is always in flux in relation to the reader as he/she as a person is always changing. There was a band that used to always post on their website a list of 'The Ten Greatest Songs of All Time (Right Now)', and they'd update it every week. I think that's the right way to go about it.
Anyway, my favorite book right now is probably In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I've always been enamoured with Capote's ferocious creativity and ambition in seeking to create new forms of writing as a means of engaging with the world. I've also been into so-called "true crime" lately as a way of coming to terms with having lost friends of mine to random acts of violence as I'm continually trying to gain perspective on the senseless barbarism that seems so inextricably bound to everyday life. Some may argue that "true crime" literature or any such form that references real-life tragedy for artistic exploration is actually exploitation, and I understand that point.
For me, however, works like Capote's Blood, if well-researched and written from a place of sincerity, provide a lens through which to really humanize and empathize with people like the Clutter family as individuals who in their last moments endured something more horrible than any person should ever have to suffer. This also provides a way of remembering and resurrecting the identity of the victims of violence over that of their killers – the reverse of which is usually the case, unfortunately, in our current paradigm. To that point, however, and somewhat controversially, Capote forces us to also look for the humanity in the family's executioners.
The result is a disturbingly nuanced but nonetheless human picture of what, at first glance, may have seemed like an isolated event but functions as a platform from which to confront one's faith by looking into the darkest recesses of life and to still try to come away with some shred of hope… or maybe even redemption. There was a time when I wanted to do doctoral research on the literature and letters of victims of wartime atrocities. Maybe one day I'll follow through on that.
What other authors do you like?
As an African-American from the US South, the authors who resonate with me most are those who dared to hold up the mirror of hypocrisy to American society: James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, William Faulkner, Flannery O'Conner, and more. They have a way of articulating righteous indignation with an artistic fluency and lyrical poignancy that never comes across as preachy or sanctimonious.
What draws you to certain books?
For me, the humanities in general are about validation, vindication and redemption in the midst of pain and loss. I've always been drawn to anything that can gaze into the hideous or the lost and manage to extract something beautiful. If you're able to do that then the suffering is never in vain.
Do your literary influences have a direct impact on your songwriting?
Absolutely. It was actually when I misread T.S. Eliot's Objective Correlative that I was able to finally start writing prose that didn't make me cringe. At this point I was able to come away from naïve romanticisms of songwriting being about baring one's naked artistic soul and became much more aware of constructing a world outside of myself wherein I or anyone else could experience and/or exorcise a certain set of emotions whenever I chose to go there. Eliot is also one of my favorite poets and I developed a penchant for allusion from the Modernists. I started keeping a journal when I was about thirteen and I still go back into them for material from time to time.
What are you reading at the moment?
I just started Cormac McCarthy's All The Pretty Horses.
What is the first book you remember reading as a child?
I actually can’t remember the first book I read, but the first book I loved was The BFG by Roald Dahl. My sister Kellie read it to me all the time when I was a child, and she’d make up these amazing voices that she’d assign to each character. It transported me to this incredible fantasy world. That's one of the main reasons I got into reading.
Did you make good use of your library card as a child / teenager?
Absolutely. When we were kids my sisters and I used to go stay with my Aunt for the summer. Every week she would take us to the library, make each of us pick out a book and we'd have to write a book report. Every week, all summer long.
Have you ever found a book that you simply couldn't finish? Do you read book reviews?
I don't really read book, music or film reviews but there have been quite a few books I couldn't finish. I love Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 but I literally lose the book every time I try to read it. On the other hand, reading Flaubert is always like pulling teeth. I'm not the biggest fan of 19th century French Realism.
Would you ever re-read the same book?
I did it more when I was younger. Nowadays it feels like I have to keep reading new material as if to catch up for lost time. But a great book is like a great album. As you change and grow as a person so do the nuances and contours of a great piece of work and how they resonate with you. I love Roland Barthes' exploration of this concept in S/Z.
Have you ever identified with a character in a book? Which one and why?
Like every other kid in America, I may have thought I was Sal Paradise for about six months when I was fifteen. I had just begun to start writing "seriously" and the way Kerouac plagiarized his life experiences struck a chord with me. Otherwise, I knew that I was Prufrock the first time I read his Love Song – even though that's not a book.
Do you read one book at a time or more than one?
It depends on the book but I can be pretty impatient if I start reading something that takes a while to capture my imagination. If I don't fall in love with a novel, it can take me years sometimes to go back to it. I think it's a healthy relationship to have.
Is there an author / poet you would like to collaborate with?
There are several:
Peter Bogart Johnson
Michael Salu
Ben Lerner
Blake Butler
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'Algiers' is out now.