Friday, February 4, 2011

The Fetish - The Fetish (1992)

Here is an oddity that is definitely an acquired taste, but these ladies seem to have quite a cult following considering the requests I've had for their music. I already featured their 1989 12" single (released as Stiletto Fetish) containing the tracks "I Think I Love You" and "Broke On Coke" on Lost Pop Treasures. To repeat what I wrote there: "Stiletto Fetish were a sassy Canadian female duo who had a small underground cult following in the late 80s/early 90s. Kim Jacobson and Liane Alliston specialized in provocative rap rock with a goth edge. This was their first self-released single, a remake of the Partridge Family hit along with an original track "Broke On Coke". The video got a lot of play back in the day. They later changed their name to just The Fetish and released one self-titled mini-album in 1992... According to Kim (on another website) they were signed to Warner UK (but never released anything on it), and she is now a flight attendant and Liane is apparently married to a rich man." This self-titled mini-album, released three years after their debut single, was recorded mostly in England. According to the ladies in the interview I also posted a link to on LPT, famed producer Zeus B. Held, who has worked with acts like Dead Or Alive, Nina Hagen, Transvision Vamp, Men Without Hats and Isle postee Annabella, called them up and told them he had heard their single and liked what he heard. He asked them to go to London and said he'd help finance their new music. They managed to record six tracks that were published in part through Warner, but for some reason a major label deal didn't materialize. They ended up releasing the resulting music independently, though after changing their name to just The Fetish, it's likely people didn't realize that the ladies behind "I Think I Love You" had new music. After that they went their separate ways. To be fair, it's not likely that their music would have appealed to a large audience, as its mix of hard rock, hip hop, synths, off-key vocals and strange white girl raps are certainly not for everyone. But the album is a very rare and interesting reminder of an underground duo who may have been on the edge of 'stardom', and have somehow maintained a cult following since.

Video for Black Tears

Download The Fetish

1
Vampire Love
2
Sex Time
3
Crosstown Traffic
4
Black & Blue
5
Psychotic Sympathy
6
Sex Time Extended
7
Black Tears

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