Pull Up To The Bumper!

Seduce and destroy: a possible motto for Black Box Recorder, dear old Blighty s great white hope for pop in the year 2000. The bait they use is one Sarah Nixey, one third of a trio containing former members of The Auteurs and the Jesus And Mary Chain whose mannered, manicured vocals have drawn comparison with the likes of fiery ice queens Nico and Jane Birkin.

The destructive element of the equation is provided by the dark subject matter grubby sex, murder, er, road travel which our heroine enunciates with a steely boredom that manages to enhance her siren status. In short, Nixey is a star.
With new single, The Art Of Driving primed for the charts, and the album, The Facts Of Life, notching up the kind of praise usually reserved for Portugese midfield generals, it s the perfect time to catch up with the softly-spoken seductress.
Over the phone, that voice has an impeccable English stateliness to it, posh but unfailingly polite. It s not hard to imagine Nixey a child of Dorset as part of the luvvie set of young Britflick actors, sipping cappuccinos in Notting Hill with Rachel Weisz and Helena Bonham Carter. She baulks at the thought of it, but precisely this fate may have awaited her had she not chosen to expend her energies in the musical rather than thespian world.
However, her degree in drama did come in useful when she joined up with Messrs Haines and Moore, as she explains when asked about the types of roles she played as an actress.
They re not dissimilar to the ones I play in Black Box Recorder, Nixey says. I ve played up-tight but very English girls and I ve also played a very speedy type. I suppose in many ways I ve used those experiences and brought them to the band. With every song that we record, there s definitely a persona there.
I can develop different characters in the songs because they re so observational and quite theatrical. For example Child Psychology from the first album, is literally a monologue. So is The Facts Of Life . The Art Of Driving is very much a duologue between John and I. I can take elements of my training and use it for BBR.
One of the really distinctive elements of Nixey s singing is how, in a world populated by the glass-shattering screeching of yer Whitneys and Celines, she holds everything back. Her refusal to prostitute her vocal cords makes us prick up our ears even higher.
Yes. I think it makes it even more unnerving, she states. There is a certain amount of vulnerability and a certain amount of seduction. There s always that detached, unemotional, understated delivery. It s very English, in fact.
Are you trying to convey the trademark stiff upper lip ?
I come from a very English family, she responds. I know a lot about people not being able to talk about what they re thinking and feeling. I think the songs themselves are also about everyday life in England the good and the bad, the reality. And I think the vocal style definitely complements that.
This seems like Harold Pinter territory we ve wandered into here, where what s between the lines is more audible than the lines themselves.
Yes, the lyrics are definitely like that. Pinter s one of my favourite playwrights and that s probably why I was so attracted to the songs. There s so much going on underneath. There s much more going on in the subtext than there is up above.
And I think that if you look at what s going on in the darker side of life, there s much more inspiration to be drawn from that. It s better than just writing an inane pop song.
The Facts Of Life is anything but inane in fact it s a smart, sophisticated collection of literate pop songs that oozes style and class. It s also held together by its continual probing of English cultural identity. The English Motorway System , for instance, cleverly equates a couple s relationship with the national network. Then there s The Art Of Driving , with its dovetailing of sex and carburettors. What is it about English Johns and their new motors?
Yes: car boot sales, washing cars on Sundays boys n their toys!
Is Mr. Haines (the chief lyricist) a big car fanatic?
No, he doesn t even drive! retorts Nixey. He s a car fanatic in that he ll get in a taxi rather than a bus. John (Moore) s been thinking of getting a sports car for a long time now but it hasn t come to anything. I d quite like an Alfa Romeo! We actually used an Alfa Romeo in the video to The Art Of Driving . It s very lovely.

The album, The Facts Of Life, and the single, The Art Of Driving , are out now on Nude Records.