Artist Gene Loves Jezebel

The Dead Milkmen once memorably sang that if there were a God in heaven, Gene Loves Jezebel would burn in hell. It’s a matter of opinion whether Gene Loves Jezebel’s continued existence is any indication of God’s absence, but anyone watching120 Minutes in the late ’80s will surely recall the distinctive sound of identical twins Michael and Jay Aston. The band’s goth-pop stylings may not bring in huge crowds, but anyone wanting to relive the waning years of the Reagan administration could do worse. Michael left the group following 1987’s The House Of Dolls, and other than a brief reunion with Jay a decade later, the relationship has been remarkably (and depressingly) fractious, resulting in dueling versions of GLJ that each claim to be the one and only true version. Michael has rights to the name in the United States, so it’s his version that comes here.

Updated 01/22/2010