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BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE
GIRL – Halo Star BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL – Halo Star (CD 2004) (Projekt Records www.projekt.com )
The advance single „Tarnished“ promised a darker album, than the last few have been. I guess, that results from the close cooperation with the Helm-brothers of the wonderful band Audra. „Halo Star“ opens with „Glow“ an instrumental Intro with archaic rhythms and oriental flair, followed by the great Dark Wave-Single „Tarnished“. Then comes „The Gravedigger“, a much more minimalistic and dark track, which reminds me a bit on Bowie´s classic „Low“. „Your Love Is Sweeter Than Wine“ is more typical for the last albums, aetherial and poetic with fairylike vocals. “Indefinable, Yet“ could have been a track for the Soundtrack of „Lord Of The Rings“, it has a certain hypnotic feeling. Somewehere between very early 4AD stuff and Postpunk/Wave-Sound like Mecano comes „Knock Three Times“. It is also close to the sound of Audra and one of the hits of „Halo Star“. „Scarecrow“ has a more folky character and „Damn Swan!“, known from the „Tarnished“-single, too, is really dark and gloomy. „Already Forgotten“ is in the similar style and reminds a lot on some solo works of Goth´s only queen Gitane Demone, simply wonderful! „The Fourth Footstep“ is very ambient with (very little) Dead Can Dance influences. Next comes „Dagger“, a very strange song...think of Peter Murphy doing a Dark Ambient project in collaboration with Psychic TV and Rozz Williams. You can´t imagine that? Just listen to this song! Finally the title song „Halo Star“ closes the album really relaxed. Well, what else can I say, that this album of BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL ist really great again, maybe a bit darker, but also more many-sided than before. Just one question holds me awake in the night: Are BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL able to produce anything else than perfect and brilliant albums with beautiful artworks? Anyone out there, who ever heard a really bad song of the band? Let it hear me, too! (A.P.) BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL – Tarnished (MCD 2004) (Projekt Records, www.projekt.com )
Beside the usual, beautiful artwork, it is a wonderful surprise, that this release is mostly a collaboration of BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL and the great band Audra. Audra´s singer Bret Helm sings on two tracks of the CD and his brother Bart plays the guitar in one song. The title track „Tarnished (Single Mix)“ is suprisingly really dark and close to Gothic (-Rock). It is nice, to see (better: hear), that BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL don´t deny their roots, even, if they changed their style through the years. „Tarnished“ is a great song, which surely will also be a great one live on stage. „Remnants Of A Deeper Purity (2004)“ is a re-recording by the Helm´s of this song from the 1996 album of the same name with Bret´s vocals again. It is mostly an acoustic version of the track and gets a darker atmosphere again, because of the singing. Great to hear, how a song can develop from some kind of a (Neo-) Folk-Song to an acoustic Wave-Ballad. Finally you find „Damn Swan!“ on this short CD, a more typical BLACK TAPE-Song with fairy-like female vocals . „Tarnished“ really makes me curious, if the whole album will be „back to the roots“ or if it is an unususal song on the forthcoming album „Halo Star“. Until the release, „Tarnished“ is a „must have“ for both, BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL- and Audra-Fans. Real beauty in darkness! (A.P.) BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL – The Scavenger Bride (CD 2002) (Projekt Records, www.projekt.com ) This is „out of this world music“, this is dreamy, this is uncomparable!
Even the lyrics are often very poetical and I can really dive into the words of the poem (not a song!)„Nothing I Can Say“ for example, it is very familiar to me. BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL use some influences of writer Franz Kafka and Marcel Duchamp and also produced a tribute to actor Klaus Kinski, so they created bot, a very personal and a very many-sided album, a classic! And, as always, this CD has a very special, beautiful artwork, in fact it is the most wonderful, I saw in the last couple of years, maybe one of the finest ever!. What else can I say to convince you, getting this release? It is simply a „must“! (A.P.) BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL - As One Aflame Laid Bare By Desire (CD 1999)
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Do
I have to mention, that New York´s BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL are one of
the finest Aetherial-(Dark)-Wave-Bands from the US of A? No, I don´t think
so. BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL do not have to prove anything to anyone
with their 9th album in their 18 year lasting band history. They are
simply brilliant.
It
has been some time since the last album of BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL and
so it is great, that a MCD breaks the silence until a new album will be
out later in 2004. Do I have to mention, that I really, really love this
band for many years? They are one of the most outstanding Dark Wave/Heavenly
Voices acts from the US of A ever and this actual MCD is something very
special.
I
really like BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL for more than ten years and I love
all their releases that I know (unfortunatly I do not know all of them),
but this actual album is so wonderful, that it is not easy for me to find
the right words. The only comparison, that I find is the Italian band
Ataraxia, which is one of my all time favourites. BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE
GIRL often have the same melancholic, but not dark, atmosphere. They
combine electronic sounds perfectly with acoustic instruments like Flute,
Violin and Cello and mastermind Sam Rosenthal always finds the right guest
musicians for every song, like Martin Bowes (Attrition), Bret Helm
(Audra), Michael Laird (Unto Ashes), Christopher David (Judith) and Athan
Maroulis (Spahn Ranch). The Band itself has highly talented musicians like
Lisa Feuer (also the beautiful cover model), Julia Kent, Vicki Richards
and Elysabeth Grant, whose voice is fairylike and very many-sided. It is
not possible to name any spezial „Hits“ on this album, but you should
listen carefully and take it as a unity. This is perfect melancholic music
with a lot of neclassical influences and sometimes a couple of
„Celtic“ feeling. In some songs there is also some kind of New Wave
feeling, but don´t exspect any dancable moments. This is music to die
for!
(Projekt,
