Exit To Eden is apparently the name of an Anne Rice pen name scripted Anne Rampling novel about BDSM, one that has like the film adaptation slipped me by. Perhaps that is where this group took their name from especially considering they are in a nutshell a Gothic rock band. There is not as much of this sort of music knocking around at the moment as far as I am concerned although there is a healthy resurgence from the old bands live as well as the new (night)breed. Not that much actually seems to get to us, certainly not from a country such as Austria where this lot dwell.
This is the real deal though, right down to singer RadoMir’s big hat and goggles. It is illustrated admirably in opening number ‘Sarah’. This is a classic sounding number and you could easily replace the subject matter’s name to say ‘Alice’ or ‘Marianne’ and get the idea of Sisters etched Eldritch vocals along with a classic Fields sounding guitar chug. I thought the album was going to be painting by numbers using just the colour black after hearing this, perhaps the best number on the album but the band surprised by going down other paths and taking on other ideas with the following seven numbers. Rhyming anarchy with ecstasy is a no brainer and mixing it with fluttering guitars and an upbeat rhythm is bound to work on catchy number ‘Broken D.’ As for the chorus of ‘Holy Book Of Love’ the likes of The Bolshoi and Balaam And The Angel would be proud of it, very catchy and designed to have a crowd swaying around when played live.
There is a real air of nostalgia about these songs naturally with a good modern production and this is an album I have been really enjoying. Each of the numbers has its own personality and it is nowhere near as derivative as I thought it was going to be on listening to that opener. Mind you, as I said that is probably the favourite, although there is nothing in the way of filler on this and the more than accessible 40 minute running time has made me want to give this repeated listens. The one thing that does surprise is that they resisted any urge to do a cover song but with own compositions like ‘Pretty Jack’ I guess there was no need for ‘Lagartija Nick’ or any of his pals to pop along to the party. The last maudlin number ‘Remember’ does end the album on a bit of a downer and is my least favourite but I guess Goths will be Goths!
http://www.exittoeden.at
http://www.myspace.com/wwwexittoedenat
