Music Kim Gordon impresses with spoken word singing in Bern

Rocker Kim Gordon, founding member of Sonic Youth, gave her only Swiss concert at the Dampfzentrale in Bern on Tuesday evening. The sold-out show impressed with distorted sounds and spoken word vocals.

The American singer stopped off in Bern on her "The Collective Tour", named after her second solo album "The Collective", which was released in March this year. Critics praised both the sound and the thoughts in the lyrics.

The New York-based musician took to the stage with songs from her latest album after a long video intro that immersed the audience in the underground atmosphere of the concert.

Both live and on the album, there is no shortage of spoken word vocals, which Gordon combines with experimental sounds. At around 8.45 pm, the rocker took to the stage with "Bye Bye", the opening song from "The Collective". Gordon sings and talks and a series of things she packs in her suitcase: from cigarettes to pyjamas to travel shampoo.

Allusions to the New York scene of the 80s

She is accompanied on stage by three musicians: a drummer, a bassist who also plays synthesizer and a guitarist. She introduces them all on the penultimate song. Gordon herself also plays guitar on some of the songs.

There was no lack of allusions to the New York scene of the 1980s, when she and her ex-husband Thurston Moore founded the band Sonic Youth, with Andy Warhol being mentioned in one of the tracks.

As befits a good alternative rocker, there is little audience interaction. Before the encore, however, there is a "You're amazing" from the singer.

During the concert, film footage is projected onto the stage, partly of the band, partly abstract images - a reference to her career as a visual artist.

In one song from the new album, the singer, who is also known as a feminist, sings "I'm a man", looking at the world from a man's perspective.

A side blow against Trump

Songs from her first solo album "No Home Record" (2019), which are a little less experimental than her last productions and are sometimes reminiscent of the guitars of Sonic Youth, are not to be missed.

The concert ends with "Grass Jeans", a song Gordon released in December 2021 to raise money for an organization that advocates for the free choice of abortion in Texas, the 71-year-old explains. Looking ahead to next week's US presidential election, she adds: "We hope Trump doesn't win.

SDA