181. Miki Berenyi Trio Discuss The Associates, Sulk

On this episode, Al has not one or two, but three guests to introduce him to an album he has never heard before. Miki Berenyi (Lush, Piroshka), KJ “Moose” McKillop (Moose, Piroshka) and Oliver Cherer (Aircooled, Dollboy, Gilroy Mere, Australian Testing Labs Inc.) of the Miki Berenyi Trio share their thoughts and memories about The Associates’ 1982 album Sulk. Miki, Moose and Ollie talk about the unconventional aspects of this album, its popularity in the UK and how pop music went through a “weird” phase in the early ‘80s. They also discuss their debut album as a trio, Tripla, which will be released on April 4. In particular, Miki, Moose and Ollie talk about their process for writing the songs for the album, as well as their upcoming plans.

Be sure to follow Miki on Instagram (@berenyi_miki) and Bluesky (@mikiberenyi)! Also, you can get more information on the Miki Berenyi Trio and Miki’s other work (including her superb memoir Fingers Crossed) at mikistuff.com. You can also sign up for her newsletter on her website.

You can keep up with Ollie’s work on his YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@OliverCherer, and on his website, www.olivercherer.co.uk.

As he noted on this episode, Moose is blissfully absent from all social media.

Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior. This show has an account on Instagram at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/. You can also support the show on Buzzsprout at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1542814/episodes or at the link at the bottom of these show notes.

NOTE: At 54:31, Al incorrectly referred to the Miki Berenyi Trio song “8th Deadly Sin” as “Deadly Sin No. 8.”

1:56 Miki, Moose and Oliver join the show

2:13 How did the three of them agree on an album to discuss?

3:02 Miki talks about her early memories of Sulk

4:34 Ollie discusses the weirdness of ‘80s pop music in the UK

5:51 Moose explains why he chose Sulk for this episode

9:20 Ollie talks about how the drums add to the album’s weirdness

12:28 Moose explains why the album’s messiness doesn’t bother him

15:11 Moose and Miki surmise why The Associates chose not to have vocals on the first five minutes of the album

19:06 Ollie notes the oddness of the hook in “Party Fears Two”

22:27 Moose talks about Billy MacKenzie’s vocal prowess

24:24 Miki and Ollie discuss how experimentation was built into a lot of early post-punk music

28:18 Moose, Ollie and Al talk about Sulk being an expensive album to make

31:19 Moose cites his favorite tracks from the album

34:28 Miki delves into her favorite track from Sulk

39:22 Ollie talks about his favorite tracks from the album

41:43 Sulk has more staying power for Moose than many other albums from the ‘80s

44:20 Ollie explains how Sulk influenced some of his recent work

46:56 Miki notes how The Associates’ confidence makes Sulk work

49:37 Moose recommends a deeper exploration of The Associates’ discography

52:12 Moose sees Sulk's cover art as a reflection of the album’s music

53:26 Moose talks about a clever lyric from “8th Deadly Sin”

56:29 Miki and Ollie explain how the trio’s songwriting process has worked

1:03:50 Miki discusses the trio’s touring and songwriting plans

Outro music is from “Vertigo” by the Miki Berenyi Trio.