| Artist |
| Tying Tiffany |
| Title |
| Peoples Temple |
| Format/Cat |
| CD TRI 396 CD |
| Label |
| Trisol |
| Style |
| Goth |
| Date of review |
| 11th July 2010 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 8/10 |
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Hard-Wired Goth Reviews |
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| Home | |
| Review ratings: | |
| 1. Avoid | 6. Not Bad |
| 2. Poor | 7. Good |
| 3. Weak | 8. Very Good |
| 4. Worth The Effort | 9. Excellent |
| 5. Shows Promise | 10. Must Have |
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A new name to most of you, probably, but this is actually this Italian-born artists' third release. The cover image has her looking like a cross between a gothic Jean Shrimpton & a young Siouxsie Sioux but the music is a finely-honed combination of 80s goth & new wave with a smidgeon of electroclash with a generally lo-fi & slightly offbeat mood that is constantly inventive, exciting & enthralling. Right from the off it's clear Tiffany's heart lies in the 80s & with goth in particular, as proven by the atmospheric, brooding mood of 'Storycide' & 'Cecile' while the opening '3 Circles' kicks off proceedings with a mix of lo-fi gothic/new wave guitars & effected vocals that come across almost as a mix of Siouxsie Sioux & Danielle Dax with a distinctly punky edge. Indeed, there's a definite punky rawness that crops up throughout, most notably during the anarchic, thrashy chorus of 'Still In My Head' where she could almost be paying homage to the early Banshees sound while 'One Breath' seems to pay a similar tribute to The Damned, thanks in no small part to Johan Hinders' dramatic & overwrought vocals. Likewise, the offbeat electropop of 'Lost Way', with its authentic-sounding bass work pays homage to yet another 80s staple with another very Siouxsie-like vocal performance while 'Miracle' seems set to take this love of the old skool to its limit by initially sounding like a dead ringer for Killing Joke's Love Like Blood before showing its true colours as one of the album's poppier offerings. All of which leaves the strident, attitude-filled 'Show Me What You Got' to end the album on a pleasingly strong note. It's true to say, then, that this is an album that wears its influences very much on its sleeve but, throughout, Tiffany does manage to at least retain the spirit on invention that was such an important part of those days & thus sounds fresh even while paying homage to the styles of the past. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Since the release of Exile Paradise back in 2006, In strict Confidence have grown into a sextet with the addition of new members Haydee Sparks & Nina DeLianin (with several other musicians lending a helping hand on several tracks as well!). How much this accounts for the guitar-heavy sound that is a staple of this album is open to question (not that it really matters anyway!) but this latest release definitely sees Dennis Ostermann & co exploring a more rock-flavoured path than ever before. The preceding singles 'My Despair' & 'Silver Bullets' which kick the album into life (following on from the circus-themed intro that is the title track), both hinted that this could be the case & the rest of the album fulfils these hints with interest as the metal-like riffs that grace 'Set Me Free' take the band further away from their electro roots than ever before. I guess some purists might find this off-putting but, equally, it could see ISC attracting fans of bands like Lacuna Coil or Within Temptation although Ostermann's distinctive voice brands every track with the ISC trademark. It's certainly full of highlights with the superb 'SnowWhite', for example, proves to be one of the finest tracks they've ever recorded & it's easy to imagine the more melodic headbangers getting plenty out of decidedly epic & full sound, which is another facet of the album's appeal, working its magic equally well during the heartfelt, piano-led 'Ewige Nacht' which demonstrates its latent power in the fullness of time & while 'This Is All' starts deceptively light & playful it soon builds up an impressive head of steam with Antje Schultz again putting in a distinctive performance on backing vocals while the way the contrasts with Ostermann's gruff voice during the chorus of the excellent 'I Surrender' provides further proof of how important she has become to ISC. If there's one possible criticism could be made of the album it's that it does get a tad predictable after a while, a touch more variety would have been a definite plus but, for all that, the album does end on another epic note with 'Golden Gate' boasting a slightly laidback, reflective feel that seems to echo the slight melancholy of the coming of autumn, bringing to an end the greatest summer of your life (good music can do this, you know!) & proving a fittingly epic end to this incredible mind journey. However, as is usual with ISC, that's not quite the end of the story as there's a second limited edition disc that forms part of the lavish boxset (I'm assuming that nobody would want the single album version as to do so must feel akin to only hearing half of it or, to use the novel metaphor that always feels so appropriate with ISC, getting into a really engrossing story & then not reading it all!) that contains a load of remixes, none of which really set the senses on fire (although the fact that Rhys Fulber is responsible for one of them will no doubt prove a draw!), a couple of videos, some extended versions, including 'I Surrender' which explores more fully the exotic elements that the shorter version only hinted at, as well as some new tracks, any of which could easily have made the album proper & are thus of high enough quality that no self-respecting ISC fan will want to miss them. | |||||||||||||||||||
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Sensuous Enemy is the musical vision of Jai (voice, lyrics, piano) & John (programming, guitar) although, on this 2008 release, they were joined by Ffej (guitar, programming, talk box) & Terri (keyboards). Their music is a polished, passionate & expressive style of electro/goth rock underpinned by synthetic rhythms in a manner that should appeal to fans of Ego Likeness while the passion the music evokes should appeal to Cruxshadows lovers who aren't averse to a guitar-heavier sound. The band's main strength lies in the way that Jai's vocals are able to match the expressive heights that John's guitar licks scale (even if they do seem to get a little lost in the mix on occasion) & this holds true just as much for such faster tracks as the opening 'Whispers' or the surging vitality of 'Shiver 2008' as it does for the slower & full-blooded 'Tidal', where her voice really finds its niche. At times, the music takes on an epic, even pompous feel; 'Ashes' & 'Over', for example, both benefit from a decidedly epic sound while the instrumental 'WWIIWD' takes this to its logical conclusion in an almost classic rock style, sounding like the sort of music TV stations use to cover really driving or any similarly action-packed subjects. Similarly, their cover of The Pet Shop Boys' 'It's A Sin' should give them a leg-up while allowing them to pay tribute to their influences. Testament to the album's sound qualities is the fact that even so august a figure as Romell Regulacion doesn't sound any better during his remix of a track called 'Jaded' (not does he need to!) while Jose V Ferraro gives 'Shiver' an appealing synthpop edge which is rather more enjoyable than Andrew 'Iris' Sega's version of 'RedBlueBlack' (although I can't help wondering if the track's exotic edge was more prominent in the original!) before the album is rounded off by a serviceable dance mix of 'Whispers' which should do well enough in its intended environment. There's no doubt that Sensuous Enemy have the ability to go a long way, their poppy but passionate sound & romantic lyrics having a potentially wide appeal among gothic & non-gothic rock lovers. | |||||||||||||||||||
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The beginning of the year welcomes the release which comes from the north of England, quasi matching the amassing masses of snow called “Open The Sky” – a fine piece of atmospheric rock in the style of the 80th/90th. The first tunes suggest wave; the bass presents through the whole work a remarkable presence. Then the female singer Mya starts with her vigorous voice. Her singing qualities are obvious, but the production pushed them much in the foreground that the rest of the music and especially the voice of Edward Grassby get reduced into the back what wasn’t the best decision. Because in the moment Edward starts, the comparison to Andrew Eldritch massively kicks the mind; and this fits to the driving Goth-Rock as well as already the ancestor was able to demonstrate. But it would be too fast to stay with this relation, although the second track comes close to the Sisters of Mercy again. The following title-song “Open The Sky” opens with a jiggy bass-intro, but the guitars point direct to the repertoire of the former Fields of the Nephilim. Not later than now the vocal paintings of Mya squeeze the nerves; simply in the middle tunes too penetrating the expression doesn’t change much and affects the other scenario in a doubtful way. Nevertheless the guitars part in this song is very wavy and beautiful. The style between the songs doesn’t differ very much. The receipt base is to melt driving rhythms and riffs, guitar-melodies, accentuating keyboards and harmonic two-parts vocals in melancholic but danceable forms. This they do consequently, but because of this the music turns to the area of easy-listening, something nice to listen in the family living room while outside whips the snow. „Denied“continues really beautifully with acoustical guitar. In this song Mya shows her strong suit – nuanced, melodic singing with a lot of expression. A rather calm, emotional and varying piece which already has the character of an ear-worm; almost scratching the skin of mainstream, but the stronger side of it. “One Day More” is one more Sisters, fancy bass runs and here the guitars indicate the Vision Thing, too. Got it? The attention is back since “Denied” – the level of the amplifier got up and invites to listen with more care. “Leave You To Burn” starts as a smooth cuddly song, but instead of a close dance this track suddenly becomes energetic; and “Anywhere” takes the energy and rocks powerfully on. Actually the duo-singing fits and makes fun with interesting accents. “Into The Rain” follows greatly the meteorological situation: the snow starts to melt in Old England, and Mya shows again that her strength is located in soulful, quiet ballads; a very good ending of a fickle, but overall strong album with some weak points. Not the change of the world, no musical high-flyer, but a round thing with a conspicuous taste for pretty melodies. Tracklist: 1. Lightning Strikes Twice 2. 4472 3. Open The Sky 4. Addiction FFS 5. Almost Everything 6. Denied 7. One Day More 8. Leave You To Burn 9. Anywhere 10. Into The Rain Rob Walker – guitars Mya – vocals Edward Grassby – vocals, bass Ian Grinn – guitars, backing vocals | |||||||||||||||||||
