David Cronenberg's Wife: Bluebeard's Rooms
David Cronenberg's Wife: Bluebeard's Rooms
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Tuesday, 12, Aug 2008 04:51
Blang, out August 4th 2008.
In a nutshell...
Dark, disturbed, up and down
What's it all about?
Bluebeard's Rooms is unarguably dark - even the more upbeat tracks are played in a minor key, while the lyrics seem to match the relatively dischordant mood of the piece. That being said, there is still some variety here, as is evident in the first three tracks on the album, the pace of Runaway Pram and Coming To Your Hometown offset by the more melancholy I Do Know.
The back end of the playlist mirrors this pacing, with the genuinely disturbing Harry The Morgue - it's not every day you hear the words "vaginal swab" on a new release - contrasting with the album's closing track, I'm On The Booze Mama. All in all, it is the constantly changing pace which helps to keep things interesting, the 11 tracks coming in at a shade over 40 minutes and none individually shorter than three minutes, yet never given the chance to become pedestrian.
Who's it by?
This is the debut album from David Cronenberg's Wife, a five-piece fronted by Tom Mayne on vocals and guitar. The strings are perhaps a little over-represented, with three of the remaining four band members also taking up strumming duty. Mark Watts serves double duty on guitar and bass, while Thom Alder adds a little variety on guitar and violin. A further bassist, Rhi Tucker, extends the group's repertoire with the addition of keyboard skills, while drummer Stuart Saunderson completes a line-up which, for its string-focused abilities, has an admittedly impressive range of talents for a quintet.
Bluebeard's Rooms follows the release of lead track Runaway Pram as a single, giving the band interests in both charts and, with their MySpace page proudly declaring that BBC Radio 2's Mark Lamarr terms them as "where genius meets idiocy", it seems reasonable to say that David Cronenberg's Wife are targeting the more considered and aware - and slightly down-tempo - gothic, angsty, downbeat end of the indie genre.
As an example.
"What would you think/If I slept with your best friend?/Would you put the blame on her?/I hope you know/That all breaks must surely mend/And as if they never occurred." - I Do Know
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Call me a cynic, but I suspect this one will go undeservedly overlooked. But I do wish that were not the case - it's deserving of some recognition at least.
What the others say
"The guitar riffs on album opener Runaway Pram sound as though they're auditioning for a 007 movie." - IndieLondon
"A possessed old steam train rattling its bluesy oiled rock along the state lines of Tennessee, twisting perfectly between instrumental maturity and crudely awkward teenage vocals." - Supersweet
So is it any good?
OK, if I'm being honest, the first few minutes of the listening experience were not that great. Runaway Pram is distinctly not the best song on the album. But the problem is, I suspect, that David Cronenberg's Wife's style is not particularly saleable in the singles charts. They're like a cross between Nick Cave and Kylie's Where The Wild Roses Grow and the darker elements of the Divine Comedy, but wrapped up in an indie band.
What does this mean? Well, for their single prospects it's probably not great - despite its name, Runaway Pram lacks just a little of the energy other indie bands have to offer. But what Bluebeard's Rooms brings to the party is so much more - it has subtlety, craftwork and character. As the album develops, there is a sense that one song is not enough to convey that, but that the 40-something minute experience comes closer to breaking down the listener's guard and making a convert of them.
8/10
Bob Bardsley