Violet Indiana - Roulette
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Free Music Notes for Roulette
Free Music Review: Some of the rhetoric about this band is extreme, but I agree that Violet Indiana just isn't' that great
Hit: 2 Stars
While I only recently heard Robith Guthrie and Siobhan de Mare's Violet Indiana project for the first time, as a fan of Cocteau Twins I had been aware of the project for years and had seen some pretty vicious reviews. Some people seemed to take it pretty badly that Robin Guthrie would work with another vocalist after years of glorious collaboration with Elizabeth Fraser. For my part, I was happy that Robin kept working, as the last couple of Cocteau Twins records and his "Lumiere" tour showed that his guitar playing had reached a new clarity and fluency. I put on their first full-length album ROULETTE, released in 2001, and hoped to be impressed.
Unfortunately, the guitar part is about the only good thing on this album, and it's often hard to enjoy Guthrie's talents when they are overlaid by vocals that are perhaps not dreadful, not incompatible with the clarity of the guitar. Siobhan de Mare sounds like she's in an opium trance, undoubtedly enjoying herself but unable to communicate anything more to the outside world than slurred lines and sighs. When the tracks are not grating, they generally still don't arise over forgettable pop.
Now, the album closer "Killer Eyes" is fantastic, possibly worth the price of the album. Here multiple layers of distorted guitar harken back to shoegazing, a flangy sound that Mare's breathy vocals accompany quite well. But it's quite hard for me to recommend this album, even to people who know these musicians' prior work. ROULETTE is a risk.
Free Music Review: Portishead revisted
Hit: 2 Stars
The trend towards trip-hop is an ever evolving genre led by those skillful masters - Massive Attack. Unfortunatley, Robin Guthrie is treading in water more travelled by and oversaturated with whiney female vocals. To top it off, originality seemd to got the better of these two, love vocals heard so many times it makes one squeem with disgust. What Robin needs to do is re-release this album without the whiney female pretentious lovesick puppy, and make it instrumental. His swaying feedback guitar is a heaven, but once the demon is unleashed it makes one press the eject button. Take out the Velvet, add bloody and make it a solo of Robin on Guitar, then I'll give it the rating it deserves.