Rosegarden Funeral Party : "From the Ashes"

 

This band might have dialed up the Siouxsie influence on this album, but they did it oddly.  Rather than just pay tribute they pondered what if Siouxsie fronted Roxy Music during the Brian Eno years. It's dramatic and glammed out while basking in the indulgences of cocaine-fueled art rock. It has taken them out of the post-rock revival, This is not a bad thing. Bands need to grow. When they get stagnant every album sounds the same then it feels like punching a clock and they break up. The creative fires are alive. Some of their ambitions might exceed their grasp but you can not fault them for trying. 

Things get moving as the drums build the momentum of "Pillar of Salt". Though it sounds like a Kate Bush b-side. This speaks volumes to how their singer Leah Lane's voice improved, as I do not recall her belting it out like this. They are clearly inspired by Nadine Shah on "Love Like Goodbye". There is a familiar flavor of dynamic brooding on "Embers" that calls back to 90s alt-rock.  This is closer to the goth tag than most of the songs on this album so far, though I would not say it makes it the album's strongest song. The gallop of the bass line keeps it pumping, but aside from that it does not grab your attention and make you beg for more. "Almost Heaven' works better as it is more brooding which this kind of thing needs. I want my goth to rock enough to feel at home on the Crow soundtrack. 

The album begins to ease back into steamy midnight reflections with the first ballad"A Different Kind of Carnage" . Her vocals are interesting enough, though leaning more in the Nadine Shah direction.  There is almost a trip-hop feel to the sedate groove of " Like the Rain'. There is a more rock feel to the last song, that works off a more post-punk tension thanks to the guitar. I will give this album a 9, as it is what they wanted to make, and in many ways better than their past work due to the chances they took here. Not sure how much replay value I will get from it but if you are a fan or looking for well-produced post-punk that allows itself to indulge in 80s nostalgia. 

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Rosegarden Funeral Party : "At the Stake"

What I can tell I am going to need from this project one minute into it , is to hear where the Siouxsie tribute ends and where they begin. Vocally she does make different choice in where her intervals go in terms of melody. Tonal is where the Siouxsie Tribute begins. Her backing band is not doing her any real favors , though the guitar offers the most chance of redemption as it can hit a bouncy punk jangle after droning on the same single note melody most of the song. Perhaps it is where they sit in the mix but the drums and bass do not slither or drive the way they should. The arrangement of the first song played into this to some extent as they are more present going into "Tortured Decline". Lyrically it lost love lamentations. The guitar continue to push for a more rock direction and vocally she is willing to accomodate.

There is a smoother dynamic dialing back of intensity for what is the best song so far with "Salvation and Saving Face". This shows the Siouxsie influnce can work and nbe molded into their won thing. Does it still have that vibe? Yes, and the melodies are strong enough that it doesn't matter. There are other bands who can take a band's sound and make it work by writing damn good songs to distract you from this fact. Chevelle and their early Tool fixation being one case in point. They are more explosive on "Justifacation" and while it might work well live it is still not as good as the previous song. She does go into more of a head register, which is what I need to hear more of from her. She does have some power to her voice , but not get a great deal of vocal colors . Though she has  nice alto rnage she dip down into .

The singer of Sub Sahara joins her on "Ghost of You" . It goes past Siouxsie and feels more like Savages. The bass is not as beefy as Savages , nor are they as aggressive as Savages. The song is very well written. I will give this album a 9. See you thought since I was going to be a little bristly about the Siouxsie thing that I would just pick this apart in the worst way, and I am a tough audience when it comes to this sort of thing , because I have been listening to Siouxsie for 25 years , but they are good at what they do and excellent song writers worthy of carrying the goth torch now that we have not heard anything from Savages.