It is pretty unbelievable to note that the genesis of Dutch band Asrai was formed way back in 1985. Mind you it took until 1997 before they released their debut album and that must be some sort of record (well it was a CD but you get my drift). Thankfully we haven’t had to wait so long for follows up’s, which saw me first encountering the band on 2004 Transmission release ‘Touch In The Dark.’ This was an album I absolutely loved and catching the group supporting Arcturus in 2005 only enforced their position in my heart.
‘Pearls In Dirt’ was obviously an album I had been looking forward to and I am not disappointed in the slightest. The spooky graveyard cartoon art (of which I am sure with the promo sees me missing out on the full effect) perfectly illustrates the music within; dark, crafty and with an unmistakeable splash of fun about it. The 10 tracks here are all stormers and singer Margriet has one of those voices you cannot help but fall in love with, packing emotion into her soaring range in a way that makes even an innocent ballad forceful in the extreme.
Bouncy and perky we bound into ‘Delilah’s Lie,’ vocals are at first low and sultry before like a rose they blossom into life with thorns to prick the unwary, whilst the music sinuously twists around them. The melody here is nothing short of infectious and this is an album that sees me like a kid in a candy store, unable to stop gorging on. ‘Your Hands So Cold’ could well be revenge for that ‘Touch In The Dark.’ The chorus and bristling synthesizer backbone here work well together giving this the sort of dance-floor stomp that should have to most miserable of Goths coming out their dark corner to enjoy.
‘Stay With Me’ is that ballad I mentioned, in a word beautiful and there isn’t a touch of cheese about this in the slightest. The dreamy wash of the song flows in a way that is perhaps slightly reminiscent of fellow country-folk The Gathering, perfection. At complete odds ‘Go’ does just that and bounces in like Shampoo and We’ve Got A Fuzzbox And We’re Gonna Use It’ (anyone remember them). The candy has been stuffed and this is pure sugar drenched bubblegum waiting to be blown and popped.
The joy de vivre of the chorus of ‘Something I Said’ is overpowering. It could be a single apart from the slow ‘lighters out’ pace of the instrumentation. It must have been difficult picking a single here as each and every number here is a contender. ‘Sour Ground’ was picked and is another quirky perky number with a melody sweeter than Willie Wonka’s factory. Seriously I don’t understand how this lot are not a household name with anthems like this.
In a year infatuated by female fronted metal bands of all types and descriptions ‘Pearls In Dirt’ stands out as being one that tries not to be too clever, make a huge fuss about having a classically trained singer or set about trying to present the next poster girl. This simply concentrates on the music and is an excellent exercise in making it enjoyable, memorable and pretty much perfect.