Ten albums over twenty-three years, in addition to five EPs that generally contain at least some new material, is a lot of effort for one band, especially when you take into consideration a lot of that work falls on Sam Rosenthal who is also the head of Projekt Records (the premier label for all things ethereal and darkwave in addition to goth rock, dark cabaret, ambient, and neo-classical). Though Rosenthal's fingerprints are all over this album, he certainly wasn't alone as this alone may be the most star-studded for the band yet with a lineup including Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls), Laurie Read (Attrition), Athan Maroulis (Spahn Ranch), and one of my absolute favorite musicians in the form of the beautiful Nicki Jaine. The album also features great guest appearances by Lucas Lanthier (Cinema Strange), Black Tape alums Elysabeth Grant, Lisa Feuer, and Michael Laird, and the bandmate of Rosenthal and Jaine's other band Revue Noir, Gregor Kitzis who you may also know as the violinist for Voltaire. This is just a great album up and down and I think the new lineup in addition to the appearances by old band members has really helped rejuvenate the Black Tape project. I suspect the real muse here has been Nicki Jaine who ever since joining up with Rosenthal for the aforementioned Revue Noir has seemed to really light a creative spark under Rosenthal who hadn't released a new Black Tape album since 2004's Halo which was good but not nearly as strong as 10 Neurotics, perhaps relying more on old Black Tape sounds rather than pushing the envelope and continuing to grow like is so evident on this album. It also doesn't hurt that the songs featuring Jaine as the main vocalist pretty much feel like they could be straight from Jaine's discography (which if you haven't checked out then you are missing out on of the most talented musicians I have ever heard) but enhanced by Rosenthal's own music and production skills. I think Rosenthal's strength in this album is really recognizing the strengths of the musicians he's working with, collaborating, and adjusting the style to fit theirs while retaining his own trademark sound. I'd say one of the better examples of this would be the track The Pleasure In The Pain which features former Spahn Ranch member Athan Maroulis on vocals. The track really borders on the industrial sound that everyone is familiar with for Maroulis but the acoustic nature of the song leaves it in Rosenthal's realm. One of my favorite tracks on the album is The Perfect Pervert which reminds me a lot of two of my favorite films: The Image and Maitresse (both about the fetish world and S&M relationships) not just because of the S&M content but also about the relationship between the fetish world and the day to day world that inevitably sneaks in. In fact the whole album plays like a foreign film to me with a great mix of intelligent ideas, old world and new world sounds coming together and just stunning imagery next to funny little moments. There's a great variety of sounds on this album with the more Nicki Jaine-esque tracks, the classic Black Tape songs, and then other sounds that touch more on the dark caberet of Brian Viglione or just nice singer/song-writer tracks like Love Song. The production on this album is tight which really with Rosenthal with help from Steve Roach, no one should be surprised. The album also comes with a wonderful booklet full of beautiful pictures of naked women alongside pictures of the band member's, lyrics, etc. Great work by all those involved in the album who are clearly all master's of their craft, and a special hats off again to Nicki Jaine for how much I adore hearing her say "fuck". Favorite Tracks: Sailor Boy, Inch Worm, The Perfect Pervert, Love Song, Rotten Zurich Cafe, The Pleasure In The Pain, and Curious, Yet Ashamed
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Album a Day: Black Tape For a Blue Girl - 10 Neurotics
Ten albums over twenty-three years, in addition to five EPs that generally contain at least some new material, is a lot of effort for one band, especially when you take into consideration a lot of that work falls on Sam Rosenthal who is also the head of Projekt Records (the premier label for all things ethereal and darkwave in addition to goth rock, dark cabaret, ambient, and neo-classical). Though Rosenthal's fingerprints are all over this album, he certainly wasn't alone as this alone may be the most star-studded for the band yet with a lineup including Brian Viglione (The Dresden Dolls), Laurie Read (Attrition), Athan Maroulis (Spahn Ranch), and one of my absolute favorite musicians in the form of the beautiful Nicki Jaine. The album also features great guest appearances by Lucas Lanthier (Cinema Strange), Black Tape alums Elysabeth Grant, Lisa Feuer, and Michael Laird, and the bandmate of Rosenthal and Jaine's other band Revue Noir, Gregor Kitzis who you may also know as the violinist for Voltaire. This is just a great album up and down and I think the new lineup in addition to the appearances by old band members has really helped rejuvenate the Black Tape project. I suspect the real muse here has been Nicki Jaine who ever since joining up with Rosenthal for the aforementioned Revue Noir has seemed to really light a creative spark under Rosenthal who hadn't released a new Black Tape album since 2004's Halo which was good but not nearly as strong as 10 Neurotics, perhaps relying more on old Black Tape sounds rather than pushing the envelope and continuing to grow like is so evident on this album. It also doesn't hurt that the songs featuring Jaine as the main vocalist pretty much feel like they could be straight from Jaine's discography (which if you haven't checked out then you are missing out on of the most talented musicians I have ever heard) but enhanced by Rosenthal's own music and production skills. I think Rosenthal's strength in this album is really recognizing the strengths of the musicians he's working with, collaborating, and adjusting the style to fit theirs while retaining his own trademark sound. I'd say one of the better examples of this would be the track The Pleasure In The Pain which features former Spahn Ranch member Athan Maroulis on vocals. The track really borders on the industrial sound that everyone is familiar with for Maroulis but the acoustic nature of the song leaves it in Rosenthal's realm. One of my favorite tracks on the album is The Perfect Pervert which reminds me a lot of two of my favorite films: The Image and Maitresse (both about the fetish world and S&M relationships) not just because of the S&M content but also about the relationship between the fetish world and the day to day world that inevitably sneaks in. In fact the whole album plays like a foreign film to me with a great mix of intelligent ideas, old world and new world sounds coming together and just stunning imagery next to funny little moments. There's a great variety of sounds on this album with the more Nicki Jaine-esque tracks, the classic Black Tape songs, and then other sounds that touch more on the dark caberet of Brian Viglione or just nice singer/song-writer tracks like Love Song. The production on this album is tight which really with Rosenthal with help from Steve Roach, no one should be surprised. The album also comes with a wonderful booklet full of beautiful pictures of naked women alongside pictures of the band member's, lyrics, etc. Great work by all those involved in the album who are clearly all master's of their craft, and a special hats off again to Nicki Jaine for how much I adore hearing her say "fuck". Favorite Tracks: Sailor Boy, Inch Worm, The Perfect Pervert, Love Song, Rotten Zurich Cafe, The Pleasure In The Pain, and Curious, Yet Ashamed
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