There are a great many albums pass through the elusive offices of MTUK Ltd for relatively unknown acts, and as much as I love having the opportunity to hear fresh sounds, a large percentile of these bands, while totally competent, are relatively samey. That is precisely what made it so refreshing when this lot turned up at my door, completely uninvited, and I’m sure as hell glad that I didn’t turn them away in the snow like some pesky Jehovah’s Witness looking for new sheep for their flock.
From the offset it is clear that I have on my hands something that is totally out of the ordinary here. This is likely to appeal more to you if you are a fan of goth and industrial music as well as metal; the clue might be hidden in the magnificently macabre revelry of ‘Join The Dance’ which is a subtle celebration of the Whitby Goth Weekend that paints a vivid picture of the northern town welcoming the masses of darkly colourful characters, pirates and gothic Lolita’s. ‘Strange Gothic Romance’ continues this theme of dancing, this time offering a glimpse into how the other half live, with deviant debutantes and pale-faced plutocrats eating, drinking and making merry at the twisted masquerade ball, which drifts with black-swanlike grace through a romantic waltz. This is a simply delightful bit of comic relief sandwiched between the sombreness of its surrounding songs, and really leaves my spirit feeling uplifted.
There is an almost childlike quality to this album, in that I get a general feel of being taken through a twisted and distorted fairy-tale world, taking a glimpse at reality through the wonder-filled eyes of a small girl. The grisly tale of Jack The Ripper is tackled in the most playful of manners, as it comes sneaking in surreptitiously with a sinister, plinky-plonky tippy-toe beat that sounds like old ‘Jack Dandy’ stalking the dirty back alleys of Whitechapel looking for the next lady of the night to eviscerate. With it’s jazzy piano melody, this delectably deadly ditty comes off like part of the repertoire for a sinister Broadway show, which would be sung in a purely theatrical style by The Ripper as he sharpens his killing tools with a demented grin of glee plastered across his face.
There is a nice metallic, industrial stomp to ‘Your Private Hell’ that backs the mysterious yet neurotic vocal lines just nicely. The industrial vibes return near the end of the album with the far more grown-up and politically themed ‘Human’, which makes a point of denouncing all religions, condemning the plain inanity of the many wars fought and the sheer amount of hatred that goes on in the name of religion. As pointed out in the song, if there is a god he surely wouldn’t approve of all this fighting. As the fragile rhythm of ‘Abigail’ creeps in you get a feel for the true broken-spirited nature of this harrowing song of child abuse, which can be a little uncomfortable to listen to due to the sheer clarity of Dean Hathaway’s voice that accentuates each and every last word. I must also mention at this point just how much compassion and emotional depth he puts into his vocal performance on this album, which never enters that territory of being overly whiny or sentimental. As the chorus powerfully comes bursting out from the delicate verse I am reminded of The Mission’s ‘Amelia’, both in lyrical content and the vocal style especially as he fiercely pleads for the girl not to blame herself for what her daddy did.
It is this juxtaposition between the vaudevillian oddities and the sombre yet incredibly catchy songs that really makes this such a delight to listen to, as it doesn’t leave much room to become bored or complacent. On occasions where my attention has been diverted away from the music and onto something else, it is quickly snapped back as soon as the next song grabs my mind. The a-capella semi-spoken intro of ‘The Law Of The Playground’ takes me in by its raconteur-like narrative of another heavy-hearted tale of a solitary boy who takes his own life after years of bullying and torment at school. Once again, an uncomfortably tragic story, yet thoroughly true to life. No doubt if the Daily Mail ever got wind of this song they would be on them like a ton of morally panicked bricks for promoting teen suicide. As the song reaches its chorus, the vocals are finally joined by a plangent succession of steady beats that march with a military stomp like a gang of bullies on the playground warpath.
There isn’t a stinker on this album; it rocks from start to finish! A succession of classy compositions that grow more appealing with each listen. A bonus cover of Bauhaus classic ‘Double Dare’ is a nice way of rounding things off and stays fairly true to the original. I’ll be keeping an eye out for these guys on the live circuit, and for sure, this is an early contender for my top albums of 2009!
www.uninvitedmusic.com
www.myspace.com/uninvitedguestuk
www.maddening-media.de
