<![CDATA[Idolator: life without buildings]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/idolator.com.png <![CDATA[Idolator: life without buildings]]> http://idolator.com/tag/life without buildings http://idolator.com/tag/life without buildings <![CDATA[The Vault: Life Without Buildings Envisions A World Without Quonset Huts And Lean-Tos]]> lwb.jpgScottish band Life Without Buildings broke up in 2002, before they could really benefit from being an early-adopter in indie rock's renewed 21st-century postpunk arms race. But while the band expertly combined classic twee-era Brit indie jangle with cooler cardigan coordinates like Josef K and Orange Juice, Life Without Buildings fans were often really Sue Tompkins fans. Like the ebullient hoots and hollers of the ladies of Kleenex and Sugarcubes-era Bjork, Tompkins sang inscrutable—like Beckett-level inscrutable—love songs in a gust of childlike yelps. The band only released one proper album, 2002's Any Other City, but the soon-to-be-released Live from the Annandale Hotel, a live show from Sydney, Australia, bristles with bouncy joy. Seriously, you won't hear another record this year where the singer sounds so damn excited to be alive.

Life Without Buildings - Juno (Live) [MP3, link expired]
Life Without Buildings - The Leanover (Live) [MP3, link expired]
Life Without Buildings [Official site]

]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/mp3/the-vault-life-without-buildings-envisions-a-world-without-quonset-huts-and-lean+tos-264653.php http://idolator.com/tunes/mp3/the-vault-life-without-buildings-envisions-a-world-without-quonset-huts-and-lean+tos-264653.php Thu, 31 May 2007 12:35:40 EDT idolguest2 http://idolator.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=264653&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Run For Covers: 'Pop Life' Given Scottish Makeover]]>

Sue Tompkins, the lead vocalist of the short-lived Scottish band Life Without Buildings, delivered her elliptically personal lyrics in a manner that was somewhere between Ari Up and an inquisitive five-year-old. Tompkins hasn't been in a proper band in a while, instead focusing on her work a sound-poet. One of her recent works involved performing spoken-word pieces that splice popular music into stories from her life; listening to her reinterpret Prince's "Pop Life," you can't help but wonder if her million-dollar check was, in fact, put in someone else's box by the mailman.

Life Without Buildings - Pop Life [MP3, link expired]

]]> http://idolator.com/tunes/mp3/run-for-covers-pop-life-given-scottish-makeover-205283.php http://idolator.com/tunes/mp3/run-for-covers-pop-life-given-scottish-makeover-205283.php Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:13:05 EDT mjohnston http://idolator.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=205283&view=rss&microfeed=true