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Current concise reviews of the albums by adult alternative, contemporary, and crossover artists. Images of album artwork and links to both internet-based resources are always included. Click on the title to view the article.

Content
After Forever
Halflight
Jennifer Terran
Diana Berry
Cathy Burton
Cathy Burton
Amelia's Dream
Trespassers William
Rose Robbins
Hannah Fury


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Remagine CD Cover
Image © Transmission Records 2005

More After Forever:
Interview and CD Reviews (2000-2004)
Concert Review (2005)
Slide Show (2004)
 

(04 December 2005) After Forever are back with the strongest effort to date. Entitled Remagine (Transmission Records (Netherlands) TMSP-055, 2005), the new album finds the band sounding more comfortable than they have on their previous work, particularly noticeable in regards to Floor Jansen's vocals. Not only does Floor turn in a stellar performance, this time around she sounds as if she is part of the band rather than simply fronting it.

Remagine offers a number of reasons to get excited about After Forever's potential, most noticeably in the album's top notch production. The production creates that huge sound that the band has obviously been striving for over the last few years. It suits the band very well.

The band finds a more epic sound in both the songwriting and lyrical themes on this album as well. The opening song, "Come," boasts a strong groove that is fearlessly led by Jansen's vocals. When it breaks into the song's operatic break Jansen's voice sounds as if it were inviting you into an enchanted forest, it's smooth and feminine and absolutely wonderful. The epic 'Only Everything" begins as a nearly classical piece and then explodes into a mountain of sound that grabs you and refuses to let go. The album's ending track, "Forever," boasts a slight Middle Eastern flare, injecting some very welcome new influence into their classic style.

After Forever has always seemed somewhat reserved when it came to making the heavy songs really heavy, yet maintaining accessibility to the mainstream but they accomplish this goal a number of times on Remagine (particularly with "Living Shields," "Attendance," and "No Control"). The band seems to have gotten a lot more adept at growling and grinding since Invisible Circles, which should bring them more credibility with fans of more extreme music, a category they are often lumped into.

After Forever sound excellent on this album. The songs are tight and much better written than their previous work. They have finally managed to create a truly fantastic album from imagery to delivery. Of course the key to After Forever is Floor Jansen's vocal; it has been since she joined the band in 1997. On Remagine she delivers wholeheartedly moving from lady to rock goddess flawlessly and you can't help but feel excited listening.--Mark Fisher in West Virginia and Russ Elliot in New York

 
Halflight - Pick Me - CD Cover
image © My First Records 2005

.: more Sarah Howells :.
Interview and Photos (2004)
Jylt: Surrender (2003)
Halflight: Subside (2004)
Paper Aeroplanes Feature (2013)

Halflight - My Desire - CD Cover
My Desire cover artwork
image © My First Records 2007

 

(26 November 2005 | updated 06 July 2013) In 2004, Halflight's debut release, Subside EP signalled the arrival of a rare new talent. Centered around the heart-breaking vocals of Sarah Howells, Halflight take acoustic and electric guitars and cello and transform them into a compelling and emotive alt-pop sound. The band released the Pick Me (My First Records (UK), mfrcd002, 2005) six-track mini-album in November 2005.

Halflight began at the end of 2003 after Sarah Howells' previous band Jylt, tragically came to an end. Bassist, singer and best friend, Nia George (review) had been diagnosed with Leukaemia and eventually died of the illness at only 21. Despite the indescribable sense of loss and despair this brought, Sarah was compelled to continue writing and performing and out of this, Halflight was born. The live Halflight lineup is completed by Richard Llewellyn (guitars, noises), Emma Bryden (cello), Avvon Chambers (drums) and Gwion Rowlands (bass).

Pick Me opens with the upbeat "Smiles and Air," crisp percussion underscoring acoustic and electric guitars with Sarah's tender and evocative voice gently soaring above instrumentals in the memorable chorus. With the richest instrumentation of the CD, it is one of the mini-album's standouts. "Paper Cuts" is a classic singer songwriter ballad, tender and well produced vocals atop primarily acoustic arrangements. The mini-album continues to develop with the title track "Pick Me," a lovely and melodic chorus atop crisp percussion and rocking electro-acoustic instrumentation. The accessible title track is another standout track on this CD.

While Halflight will attract a range of listeners, Sarah Howells' emotional and evocative voice will draw female vocals enthusiasts as much to this band as they were drawn to Jylt in years past. The tender ballad "Mari" is sweetly sung to light electric guitar with cello carefully underscoring the melancholy chorus. Bass and percussion add texture to the piece. Acoustic guitar provides the essential backing to the lovely singer songwriter ballad "Loveworn." And as with the other numbers on this mini-album Sarah's vocals remain solo. Her voice is strong enough without the layering commonly found on so many of today's recordings--with the exception of the closing track where it works to great effect.

The album concludes with "The Ending," again acoustic guitar providing the gentle foundation for Sarah's sweetly sung melody. Cello and further guitar work contribute texture to the number in addition to a thicker-than-typical bass part. On Pick Me Halflight have clearly demonstrated they continue to grow. We are again incredibly impressed with Sarah Howells' tender vocal work and look forward to the band's continued evolution and wish them godspeed in a full length release.

The Halflight story has continued after Pick Me and the band's evolution continued. Sarah and Richard recorded further material and released a lovely seven track collection, distributing the My Desire EP (My First Records (UK), 2007) at gigs before changing their name to Paper Aeroplanes. A digital version remains still available at BandCamp. Here, enthusiasts of the band's music can cross the bridge from Halflight to Paper Aeroplanes right along with the artists by listening to their music!

 
Full Moon In 3 CD Cover
Image © Grizelda Records 2005

More Jennifer Terran:
The Musician (2000)

Jennifer Terran Image © Grizelda Records 2005

 

(22 January 2006) Previous offerings from Jennifer Terran, Cruel (1996) and The Musician (2000) (review) proved to be a highly interesting and entertaining mix of heartfelt piano led songs and her latest album, Full Moon In 3 (Grizelda Records (USA) 616471200537, 2005), brings us more of the same.

On first listening much of the subtlety and beauty of this album may not be entirely evident. It requires further listening to begin to appreciate some of the songs due to their complex melodies and structures. These are not songs to sing along too but to sit back and enjoy. There is nothing on this album to match the weirdness of "Kitty, I Can't Stand It" (Cruel), but it still contains some strange insights into the imagination of this remarkable songwriter.

"Pretty Random" as she herself says in "Multi Orgasmic Three." "A Big Brown Trout Lives There" is not a title you would find on most albums but the song is a wonderful example of Terran's work, a simple piano-based piece and "Ohhh Eee" with its extended atmospheric opening and simple piano chords is a good example of how Terran moves away from traditional song structures but keeps the music extremely listenable. This is not to trivialise what Terran has to say; many of her songs are highly intelligent and self aware like the stunning "Circle Of Life," "When I started this song the third verse hadn’t been presented to me..."

Overall this is another beautiful, varied album from Jennifer Terran, though not as immediate as The Musician or as strange as Cruel. Full Moon In 3 showcases Terran's unique, fragile voice, sensitive piano playing and some wonderfully innovative and interesting songwriting. Every song has something special about it. The standout tracks are "The America Song," "Circle of Life" and "A Big Brown Trout Lives There." Everyone will like something different from this album. If you like your music interesting and meaningful then this album is worth a few listens.--Evelyn Downing in Manchester, England and Russ Elliot in New York

 
Very Berry CD Cover
Image © Diana Berry (BMI) 2004  
 

(04 December 2005) Diana Berry has released her sophomoric effort with Very Berry which is a mix of pop and electronica. Her husky voice explores a variety of styles ranging from funky rock to punk to some mellow ballads. She's been compared to Debbie Harry and Patti Smith, but she puts her own stamp on her music. This thirteen track CD showcases her earthy and raw emotional style.

Diana has been singing, playing guitar and writing music since she was four years old. She has been featured in the CMJ music festival, the BMI songwriters series, and her song "Tendertown" is currently on exhibit at a memorial environmental sound installation museum in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. She is a dedicated artist and poet and has played extensively throughout the USA both solo or with a full band. In addition to her musical talents, Diana has been an actor since childhood. She has worked extensively in theatre, film, television and playwriting. She has said she would like to teach acting someday as well as write a smashing musical, screenplay, get involved in soundtrack work, perform great roles, and of course make and produce many more records.

This artist has written all but two of the songs on this album. Her music has a fun and funky style, revealing her imaginative approach. According to Diana, "I write from my heart always romantically (romantic in it's literal sense, imaginative ... emotionally appealing) communicating ardent imagery amidst a landscape of cutting edge juxtaposed retrospective styles. The objective is to achieve appealing sounds by unconventional recording techniques, musical arrangements and mixes. My lyrics usually have double meanings and are based on an idea, feeling, memory, incident, opinion, or story set to music."

One of the standout tracks on this CD includes the touching and soulful "What's a Girl to Do." This song of unrequited love mixed with some spoken word is creative and shows her expressive range. In "Farm Song" Diana displays her tender tones, while in contrast, "Next To You" takes you back to the 60's rock scene. "Super Sensual" is a fun melody with some mellow saxophone adding to the mix. Diana's earthy style comes through in the cover of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses." She certainly makes the song her own. The guitar ballad, "Slowboat," has a sensitive and emotive style. She closes the album with "Athena" where she again uses the spoken word to make an impact on her listener.

Very Berry is a fun album that showcases the raw, earthy style of Diana Berry. She has a unique, yet versatile approach to her music, utilizing her talents as an artist, poet, actor and musician. She creates varied moods with her imaginative approach. This album is certainly worth a listen.--Audrey Elliot in New York

 
Burn Out CD Cover
Image © Fierce Records 2002

More Cathy Burton:
In Concert At Greenbelt (2005)
Share Your Love (2002)

 

(08 December 2005) English singer-songwriter Cathy Burton is one of those wonderfully talented artists that should become huge stars, but always seem destined to inhabit the fringes of the music scene. A support gig here, a low-key acoustic tour there, musicians of Cathy's calibre deserve so much more. Nonetheless, her pedigree is impressive. She has written with a variety of respected musicians, including Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross, with whom she performed at the 2005 Greenbelt Festival, Paul Statham (of Dido fame), and has supported or sung backing vocals with a variety of top names. She has found a home on Fierce, a Christian label, yet with the odd exception her lyric writing tackles universal subjects in a way that all sensitive people will understand.

Cathy Burton's first album (Fierce Records (UK) Fiercd02, 2002) has arrangements clearly aimed at the contemporary pop market, pitched somewhere between the soft rock sheen of Dido and the harder edged rock sound of Michelle Branch or Avril Lavigne, held together by Cathy's powerful, yet appealingly girlish vocal performances.

"Don't Wannabe" is a strong, rhythmic opener, with some crunching guitar, while "Take me Out" is lighter and poppier with a delightful chorus. It is a song that should have been earmarked as a single. "Hollow," up next, is a shimmering, atmospheric ballad with a lovely vocal performance from Cathy, and an arrangement that complements the song beautifully. "The Fuss" is a mid-paced song with a more traditional arrangement, dominated by guitar and piano. Cathy once again delivers a charming chorus, while the next song "Sending" is a pleasingly gentle waltz.

Shimmering keyboards and programmed percussion herald the gentle ballad "Won't Make It," where, perhaps for the first time, the contemporary sheen masks the delicacy of the song itself. However, the pace quickens for the guitar-led rocker "Melting," before returning to more familiar territory for the faintly disappointing title track. "To Say You Love," however, is an excellent up-tempo song with a faintly alt country feel to it, while "To Close the Door" is an aching, heartfelt ballad with a beautiful vocal performance. The heartfelt "Belongs to You" is both a very strong song to close with, and the only overtly Christian piece on the album.

While this was a strong debut, the contemporary arrangements and production often feel unconvincing, masking the true quality and dynamics of the song writing. Nonetheless, Cathy's voice andher undoubted talents as a writer still win out in the end, making this, on balance, a satisfying debut.--Stephen Lambe in Cheltenham, England

 
Speed Your Love CD Cover
Image © Fierce Records 2004

More Cathy Burton:
In Concert At Greenbelt (2005)
Burn Out (2002)

 

(10 December 2005) Lessons have clearly been learnt from Cathy Burton's debut album Burn Out, and perhaps it was recognised that she was being pitched at slightly the wrong audience. For the magnificent Speed Your Love (Fierce Records (UK) Fiercd05, 2005), the arrangements had been subtly altered towards a more straightforward pop-rock backing, allowing the songs and Cathy's voice more room to do their work. This is immediately apparent on the wonderfully catchy opener "La La Love" with its guitar-led arrangement and dynamic ending.

"Love without a Trace" follows, with a faster tempo but a lighter arrangement, again emphasising the strength of the chorus. The magnificent title track is full of passion and dynamics, a beautiful verse providing plenty of tension, breaking into a glorious chorus, enhanced by an orchestral backing and dramatic choral vocals.

"Home," if anything, is even better. The beautifully still piano and vocal verse leading into an almost shockingly powerful rock chorus, with a stunningly emotional vocal performance from Cathy, which leaves me breathless every time I hear it. The up-tempo "Down the Road" is a lighter piece, but makes good use of male vocals on its excellent chorus, giving it a folky feel.

The lighter tone is maintained by "Falling" another lighter song with a simple message and a charming chorus, while "Right Now" is a lovely ballad with a beautiful, orchestral arrangement. "Someday" is another excellent song, very reminiscent of Natalie Imbruglia, with a fine, guitar-led rock arrangement with plenty of passion, while the delightfully gentle "Leave me with You" with its acoustic picking and backing vocals is reminiscent of Judie Tzuke at her finest, and has a very British feel to it. "Hold You Hand" is a beautiful finish to the album, a delicate, throbbing ballad with an intricate, delightfully paced arrangement.

Having stalled slightly with Burn Out, Cathy and her collaborators have produced a winner in Speed Your Love. By emphasising the dynamics of her voice and song writing, they have produced an album of majesty and depth, which is sure to appeal to fans of Natalie Imbruglia and Judie Tzuke. Indeed, all those that enjoy the songwriters' art should enjoy both of Cathy's albums a great deal.--Stephen Lambe in Cheltenham, England

 
Unravel CD Cover
Image © Amelia's Dream 2005

Amelia and Harold Image © Amelia's Dream 2005
 

(11 December 2005) Since 1992 Amelia's Dream has been brewing their own brand of subtle rock music in the underground. Their debut album, Here in the Rage, turned a few heads (including those at the CMJ charts) but it was their follow up Love Tattoo that found a wealth of critical praise. The band has just released their most potent work to date, a live album titled Unravel. Live at the Magic Shop (2005).

Unravel manages to capture the sound the band has struggled to get across on a recording for the last decade. The intimate atmosphere of the album, immediately draws you in. Even if you end up not caring for Amelia's Dream's music, the initial sound the album exudes will certainly peak your curiosity.

The highlights here are abundant. The title track opens the album, setting the tone instantly with its driving beat and powerful vocal. Amelia's voice has seemed very "hit and miss" on the band's two studio offerings, however she establishes a much more authentic sound with her voice on Unravel and the key is this song. The album twists and turns through a series of up tempo acoustic based rock songs and introspective quieter songs. Another highlight comes in the form of "Blue Sky." While you may not find this song immediately striking, it is one often returned to on repeated listen. It's soft and gentle invitation is simply too much to resist.

The patriotic "Light a Candle" has a classic rock feel to it musically but lyrically it stands as a voice of defiance (likely inspired by the events of 9/11). The piano lays the groundwork for the song but, again, it's Amelia's vocal work that completes the songs and convinces the listener to come back. The "Save Me" bonus track is a brilliant piece of acoustic pop rock as well and is undoubtedly a highlight, a rare achievement for a bonus track.


Why did you choose The Magic Shop to record the album?

Amelia: The magic shop has a great vibe and they have a recording console that was actually used for many years on the BBC that is very warm and full sounding.

"Blue Sky" is an amazing song.

It was inspired by an actor that I am fascinated by visually A whole little movie of my own went off in my head and I put the movie in my head down on paper and melody.

Unravel Live really sounds like you have come into your own. It has a very comfortable sound. How do you feel you/the band have changed since the release of Love Tattoo?

Dramatically. We are not so concerned with the suits anymore. Love Tattoo set records for Amelia's Dream's licensing which is great, and financially wonderful, but the business is so obsessed with young little girls. I think I just surrendered to the fact that we have to support this financially for a long time (since I am not 16) and so I now write for me, not for the possibility of getting a “suit” to believe in me and help with the bills.

You have been around for awhile now. At this point in your evolution where do you feel you fit into the vast sea of modern music?

I hope authentic and inspiring. Other than that your guess is as good as mine!

As a songwriter which is more important to you, what the listener takes from your songs or what you intend when you write it?

What the listener takes away from it without question.

Do you have any plans for a new studio album?

Well I do need to finish this painting series, so that is my next priority. Honestly, we are always working on new material (we can't help ourselves). Our general plan is to throw stuff up on Itunes even before a new album is recorded. As long as Harold and I are around I am sure there will be another record.

Thanks so much for your time. Do you have any parting thoughts for our readers?

We appreciate your support and hope that you all share your unique voice with the world. Always trust your gut. Thanks for listening!


Amelia's Dream comes one step closer to capturing the hearts of the masses with Unravel. There are few moments here that feel like filler material and that certainly contributes to its strength. The less electric approach is a better fit for Amelia's voice and as a result many of the songs have a more inspired feel to them, which in turn offers a more clear understanding and connection to the music and lyrics. Those looking for some strong acoustic rock with a singer/songwriter should not miss out on Unravel.--Mark Fisher in West Virginia

 
Having CD Cover (Temporary)
Image © Nettwerk 2005

Different Stars Image © Nettwerk 2004

Trespassers William Trespassers William
Photo © Eric Macklin 2004
(courtesy Trespassers William website)
 

(10 December 2005) Trespassers William are a sensational trio hailing from Orange County, California. Their third album, Having (Nettwerk (USA), 2006) is forthcoming in February 2006 at this writing. Although one would not instantly associate Trespassers William's gauzy, neo-folk sound with the OC, there is definitely something of the ocean and the hills in this music--and something late-night, dreamy, and somnambulistic about it as well. Although comparisons to Mazzy Star, Cowboy Junkies and Sarah McLachlan are inevitable (and reasonably accurate), Trespassers William have definitely harnessed something uniquely mysterious and gorgeous in their music.

During more than eight years of developing a sound and community, Trespassers William switched several members before forming its current and longest lasting group: Matt Brown, Ross Simonini and vocalist Anna-Lynne Williams. TW came began garnering significant attention after the release of their second album, Different Stars (Nettwerk (USA), 6700 30390 2, 2004) which was originally released only in Europe but later, re-released worldwide. Order Different Stars here.

The group spent two years touring internationally and performed with such acts as Damien Rice, Stereolab and Morrissey. In early 2005, TW began work on their most recent effort, Having with the renowned producer/mixer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Mogwai, Low).

With Having, TW reestablish themselves as songwriters and musicians of the highest calibre. While the trio have retained their signature style, the songs on Having display a heightened assuredness, maturity and willingness to explore the bounds of sonic nuance. Trhoughout, Anna-Lynne's voice is in top form and imbued with a paradoxical quality that makes her seem pointedly passionate but observational and removed. Musically, the album blankets the listener in chilly and warm ambience of forlorn rumination.

Tracks like "What of Me" and "My Hand Up" straddle the line between Angelo Badalamenti's 50s influenced Twin Peaks soundtrack work, Love Spirals Downwards acoustic ambience and Cowboy Junkies late-hour quietude. With soft piano chord breaks, reverse guitar effects and subtle firefly percussion, "Weakening" is a softly burning piece of dark romanticism.

"Safe Sound" experiments with a gate effect on Anna-Lynne's voice creating a distinct quavering effect that adds a fresh quality to the acoustic and electric guitar tracks. The ghostly and seductive "And We Lean In" resonates with swirling reverb guitar that drowns the listener in lush beauty as Anna-Lynne's softly insistent voice drips like honey. "Matching Weight" is a bittersweet and lovingly rendered track that unfolds with a sense of inevitable heartbreak.

An impressive and noteworthy effort, Having should appeal to a wide audience looking for music that is quietly bracing and intelligent. Take this album along if you've ever got to make a long drive through the desert at night. This is the type of music that makes you think and feel.--Justin Elswick in Provo, Utah

 
Close Your Eyes CD Cover
Image © Rose Robbins 2005  
 

(22 January 2006) Although she now lives in Idaho, Rose Robbins was raised on a farm in the Pacific Northwest, and spent her childhood immersed in the classical composers, listening for hours to Mozart, Mendelssohn and Brahms. When she was eleven, her family bought a piano, and soon after that, Rose bought her first record of piano music, a second-hand copy of Mozart's C Major Piano Concerto. She learned the whole slow movement by memory, from listening to the record over and over. Her compositions, during these years, were strictly classical, string quartets and sonatas that were scribbled in pencil over any available piece of paper.

In her teens, Rose began to compose songs with words. Her own deep, smoky voice sounded "wrong" to her. She'd heard that girls are supposed to sing high – so she contented herself with writing songs for other girls to sing. It wasn't till the age of twenty-three, with close to fifty songs already written, that Rose performed a song she'd written in public.

On her self-released debut CD, Close Your Eyes, Rose plays all the keyboards and guitars and she also writes and arranges all the songs. The balance of the playing is carried out by session musicians. Rose's piano playing is especially effective throughout, allowing space for her mesmerizing voice to seduce you, through her songs, deeper and deeper into her world.

"Luminous" deservedly won Best Song of 2004 in the International Online Music Awards, in which Rose was also nominated for Best Female Solo Artist. It's a superb song with a luscious piano intro which is almost a track in itself before the rest of the instrumentation kicks in. It has a wonderful feel and atmosphere and her delivery is terrific, it would be an easy song to over-sing, but Rose hits it just right. Matching this is "Falling Down" with its memorable chorus, some gorgeous harmonies, a timeless feel and again the delivery is spot on.

The album is peppered with beautifully effective love songs. "Stained Glass Window" and "Call Me Softly" convey a true sense of the emotion unlike so many songs of that ilk. The inherent strength and power of "Let Me Go!" is unfortunately hindered by a surprisingly tame and anemic arrangement which does the song few favors. This is perhaps due to lack of forces she's able to muster for a debut album, but somewhere in there, there's a massive Motown style song trying to get out.

"Whisper" has a late fifties feel to it and is a song an artist like Julie London would have given her eye-teeth for. While it's a moving piece, it doesn't quite fit with the pervading feel of the album. But there is a strong visual, filmic quality to this and much of the work on the album.

The album closes with two stunning tracks. "Pale Yellow Rose," a hypnotic tale of domestic violence and "131" her setting of 131st Psalm, which also benefits from some lovely, subdued cello work from Jesse Ahman, though as with the rest of the disc, it's Rose's mesmerizing voice that is the undoubted highlight. It is hard to counternance that this woman spent such a long period of her life believing she couldn't sing.

The album covers a lot of ground stylistically, and there-within lies the album's only weakness. A cabaret / show style piece like the title track, or the amusing "Just Shoot Me" which owes much to Tom Lehrer, may well be fine in the right setting, but in the context of this CD, they are patently out of place and break the mood and flow of the disc, and, worst of all--distract rather from the other tracks--which is a great pity because despite these reservations, this is a disc, and a voice, that demands and deserves a wide audience.

For the most part Close Your Eyes is a wonderfully intimate album, full of depth and emotion, displaying some fabulous song-writing and a voice that will haunt your dreams.--Jamie Field in Hereford, England

 
Subterfuge EP Cover
Image © MellowTraumatic Recordings 2005

More Hannah Fury
The Thing That Feels 2000
Soul Poison 1998



Hannah Fury Image © MellowTraumatic Recordings 2005
 

(02 February 2006) To say that Hannah Fury's latest EP Subterfuge is a dark, dreamy and epically romantic masterpiece would be a huge understatement. Her remarkabley pure and exquisite voice has a range that can oscillate between a tremorous vapor to the depths of a deep well of Arthurian emotion that sends velveteen daggers to the heart. Listening to this next episode from Hannah's journey into the shadowlands of love feels like a door has opened to another realm, a phantasmagorical dreamscape where every loop is an occurance.

Hannah's virtuoso piano style is so hauntingly beautiful and rivoting. She is a masterful pianist who played each keyboard track in real-time. There was no looping of her piano performance on this EP. The combination of all these elements piano/voice and production make Fury an enigma.

Her melodies evoke tragic, gothic, landscapes drenched in kaleidospcope sounds. Layered in moments of sadness, longing, regret and release like walking through the "House of Mirrors" and seeing everything shattered in a million pieces all at once only to emerge back into the whole again, as she whispers one small kiss in your ear. While each track bares it's own distinctive aspect, like her previous work each song is part of one theatrical journey, a larger narrative of desire and mystery that bears telling.

Fury's mixing of this album illustrates that she is an alchemist, with a unique vision all her own.The dense production washes over you but you cannot resist the sensation to drown in the sonic prisms, echoes and wails. There are layers upon layers of dreamy elements. Like the quote offered in the CD's artwork of Subterfuge, "And then came the moment when the swarm of bees drowned"-from Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire-(a personal favorite film). It's like each layer swarms around you and draws you into its deep currents.

There are six little masterworks on this EP; absolute essentials are "My Next Victim" and "Girls that Glitter Love the Dark." Both wrench the listener into abject heart seizures of longing and rememberence. "A Latch to Open" evokes that feeling of escape and slipping away, breaking free of a dream that you can never seem to wake from. The first track "You Showed Me" (written by Gene Clark and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Turtles hit from 1969) is created as a music box hymn. "Je T'aime" is absolutely beautiful and "Carnival Justice" is a ravenous tone saga of jilted love. With the typically extraodinary imagery of her lyrics like "My heart is like the Moulin Rouge/All lit up in subterfuge."

The bonus "Carnival Justice (The Gloves are Off) Part 2" DVD is a treat. Directed by Chris Ohlson It features Scott Radke's marionettes-- he Queen of Hearts and Anathema Rose. They co-star with Fury and create an atmosphere of desire and retrobution. Evocative and haunting it is a wonderful accompaniment to the EP.

Hannah Fury should be lauded as a contemporary siren of the dreamy. A charismatic, bewitching enchantress of the romantic gothic wave genre. And although surely she will draw time and again comparisons to Tori Amos and Kate Bush, rest comfortably in knowing that she has the command of her art in such a masterful way that it would be unfair not to recognize that she is quite an inimitable genius set apart from these other women of this genre.

The entire mystique of her label Mellowtraumatic is evidence of her originality. From the incorporation of Scott Radke's incredible emotionally dimensional marionettes, to the profoundly delightful mythos of her alter-egos, her artistic-design and her storytelling, her music creates a dreamworl. She has seduced us into anxiously awaiting the full length CD. Listeners will surely continue to experience the saga that is the passions of Hannah Fury!--Jo Gabriel and The Little Egg Guy in Madison, Wisconsin

 
 
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