music reviews
::: Fear of Dolls ::: "When the Organ Played at Twilight"
darkwave-rock-gothic
Low and husky female vocals, swirling, droning & hypnotic, dissonant
guitars, ritualistic bass & drums... these make up the dark brooding
gothic concoction that is the Fear of Dolls. Imagine a much more polished
and darker version of the Velvet Underground crossed with early Siouxsie
& the Banshees & Einsteurzende Neubauten and you'll get something close
to Fear of Dolls. Another possible descrition would be Babes in Toyland
without the screaming and obscenities.
I was surprised that this CD blew me away as dark gothic music has
largely slipped out of my audio-diet in recent years. "St. Dymphna"
broods & snarls like a twisting serpent. "Bleeding on her wings" is
an 11 minute epic that begins with several minutes of ambient drones
and then a gradually building slow piece of minimalist dark rock that
reminds of Loop (an old favourite of mine). "Fragile toy" has a childlike
folk-lullaby feel to it. Whereas "Show me my insides" is very industrial
but without any electronics. Slow and ritualistic it reminds of mid-80s
Einsteurzende Neubauten. Each track is quite distinct even though it
works very well as an album. 6 tracks over 33 minutes.
Available for: $8 US, PO Box 20151 Seattle WA 98102 USA. E-mail:
[email protected], [email protected]
Web: www.fearofdolls.com
They also have a page on mp3.com