OK, so my plan to get this blog back to some sort of proper schedule seems to have failed epically. In good news, I still have a lovely long list of bands to write about so there's still hope. For now though, I intend to squee over Emilie Autumn's just-released new album. Hurray hurray.
Where do I start? Well, Fight Like A Girl is a great mix of styles blending the best bits of previous albums, faery-inspired Enchant and the more industrial Opheliac. It's important also to note that this is very much a concept album, regarding The Asylum, previously covered in her semi-autobiographical novel The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. It's dark (Take The Pill), slightly sick (Girls! Girls! Girls!) and sometimes downright creepy (Scavenger). Opening with the call to arms of title track Fight Like A Girl, the album descends into the depths of hell that is The Asylum, touching on the sinister goings-on of the resurrection men as it does (Scavenger again). All that darkness aside, the album finally ends on something of a lighter note, with the march of One Foot In Front Of The Other and in amongst the heavy beats there are softer, if rather sad moments, with the beautiful Gaslight. All in all, the album has shaped up to be, potentially, Autumn's best yet. It certainly lends itself to the theatrical style of her live shows and who knows, maybe she'll manage to fulfil her plan to write a musical.
Stand out tracks include the typically EA-style (if I'm going down, you're coming with me) If I Burn, the haunting Gaslight, the carnival atmosphere of Girls! Girls! Girls! and the creepily slow drone of Scavenger. And now I'm going to shut up, because I have a horrible urge to squee and gush about every single track. Go look it up HERE where you can also listen to samples of tracks.
Showing posts with label Emilie Autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emilie Autumn. Show all posts
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Review: Emilie Autumn at Nottingham Rock City, 10/3/12
"Tell me no stories and I'll tell you no lies..."
(Please note that the beginning of this review was written earlier today while I was killing time waiting for the train. Hence any random asides. Feel free to ignore bracketed stupid comments. Anyone not wanting to know setlists should look away NOW.)
I attempted to draft this last night, but my pen died so here goes attempt 2:
Sitting in the sun outside Nottingham Castle (which looks nothing like the one in Robin Hood, by the way), the intensity of last night's show seems a long way off. However, given that my legs ache like hell and I'm still rather gig high, now seems as good a time as any to try to capture the emotion.
This show marks the first time I've ever really queued for a gig, which should be a good indication of how much I love Emilie Autumn. After queuing for two and a half hours for doors, then another hour and a half waiting inside, I was beginning to get fed up. I'm not a patient person at the best of times and combined with my fear of crowds, my patience almost snapped after a teasing false start. The situation was remedied ten minutes later with the most dramatic entrance I think I've ever seen. Against the electronic tones of "Best Safety Lies In Fear" the Bloody Crumpets took to the stage. The Bloody Crumpets being Captain Maggots, the Blessed Contessa and the Naughty Veronica. Emilie Autumn's... fellow cast? We'll get onto that. Last to grace the stage - Queen of Rats, star of the show, Emilie Autumn. As "Best Safety..." segued neatly into Four O'Clock, the show got well and truly under way.
(and now at Nottingham Station)
I'm tempted to to a run down of the whole show, track by track because it rather needs it to capture just how theatrical it was. However, that isn't how reviews are supposed to work, so let's just pick out the important bits. The set was heavy on new, as-yet-unreleased tracks from upcoming album Fight Like A Girl. Normally this irritates me, but the point of this tour is as a sort of album preview, so we'll let that slide. Besides, they were pretty great tracks. "Girls, Girls, Girls" has a wonderful dark carnival vibe, while Gas Light harks beack to EA's Enchant album. My personal favourite of the new tracks though has to be Time For Tea. Sounds lovely, yes? Dainty, yes? Think again.
What's different about Emilie Autumn's shows (at least compared to what I've personally seen before) is this: this is music as theatre. It's not just a group of people on stage playing music.
(and I think I just saw someone who was at the gig. Going by the attire, anyways)
Where was I? Ah, music as theatre.
(aaaand change platforms)
Music as theatre. Probably most noticeable on "Girls, Girls, Girls", which involved EA playing the role of guide in a tour of The Asylum, with the Bloody Crumpets as inmates.
(getting sidetracked by station stuff. Will resume once on train)
(ohmygod, I just saw a train leave the station exactly on time)
Ahem. It's now more than 3 hours since I got off the train and it's proving a little difficult to pick up my thread. Right, music as theatre it is. Well, we sort of covered that. Then there's the fact that not the entire show is songs. Each Crumpet got their own little segment. Captain Maggots introduced everyone (eventually. She rather struggled with Contessa). The Contessa lead the audience in a (supposedly) mystical chant involving something to do with fingers and toes which lead into the opening of God Help Me (wonderful track). Veronica, who has a background in burlesque if I remember rightly, performed a gorgeous feather fan dance to EA's instrumental track "Dominant" and then proceeded to 'corrupt' a pair of fans in the fan favourite Rat Game. (Look it up). Finally, Captain Maggots got a second shot at the limelight with some fantastic fire-hula-hoop-dancing-thing. There was fire. And hula.
This review has turned into a non-review and is in severe danger of degenerating into random babble, so let's bring it to a close. Closing the main set with new track One Foot In Front Of The Other (actual title? Maybe not.), the ladies left the stage to applause and shouts for more. So of course there was the inevitable encore, which consisted of two piano led tracks - the beautiful Mad Girl and then Thank God I'm Pretty which turned into an audience sing-along. Finally, the Crumpets rejoined EA on stage to perform a sort of farewell dance and when they finally left again the house lights came up to Monty Python's classic "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" which resulted in another audience sing-along and a lot of very happy fans. The only fault I can find is that the music was almost entirely played from a backing track, but given that it's very electronic based, I can just about forgive that. Besides, the theatrics more than made up for it and EA's voice is pretty much perfect live.
That'll do, yes? Here follows a just about correct setlist - some bits (in the middle especially) might be in the wrong order, but it'll do.
Oh, did I mention there was tea, biscuits and cake flying around? What other reason do you need to go to a show?
(Please note that the beginning of this review was written earlier today while I was killing time waiting for the train. Hence any random asides. Feel free to ignore bracketed stupid comments. Anyone not wanting to know setlists should look away NOW.)
I attempted to draft this last night, but my pen died so here goes attempt 2:
Sitting in the sun outside Nottingham Castle (which looks nothing like the one in Robin Hood, by the way), the intensity of last night's show seems a long way off. However, given that my legs ache like hell and I'm still rather gig high, now seems as good a time as any to try to capture the emotion.
This show marks the first time I've ever really queued for a gig, which should be a good indication of how much I love Emilie Autumn. After queuing for two and a half hours for doors, then another hour and a half waiting inside, I was beginning to get fed up. I'm not a patient person at the best of times and combined with my fear of crowds, my patience almost snapped after a teasing false start. The situation was remedied ten minutes later with the most dramatic entrance I think I've ever seen. Against the electronic tones of "Best Safety Lies In Fear" the Bloody Crumpets took to the stage. The Bloody Crumpets being Captain Maggots, the Blessed Contessa and the Naughty Veronica. Emilie Autumn's... fellow cast? We'll get onto that. Last to grace the stage - Queen of Rats, star of the show, Emilie Autumn. As "Best Safety..." segued neatly into Four O'Clock, the show got well and truly under way.
(and now at Nottingham Station)
I'm tempted to to a run down of the whole show, track by track because it rather needs it to capture just how theatrical it was. However, that isn't how reviews are supposed to work, so let's just pick out the important bits. The set was heavy on new, as-yet-unreleased tracks from upcoming album Fight Like A Girl. Normally this irritates me, but the point of this tour is as a sort of album preview, so we'll let that slide. Besides, they were pretty great tracks. "Girls, Girls, Girls" has a wonderful dark carnival vibe, while Gas Light harks beack to EA's Enchant album. My personal favourite of the new tracks though has to be Time For Tea. Sounds lovely, yes? Dainty, yes? Think again.
What's different about Emilie Autumn's shows (at least compared to what I've personally seen before) is this: this is music as theatre. It's not just a group of people on stage playing music.
(and I think I just saw someone who was at the gig. Going by the attire, anyways)
Where was I? Ah, music as theatre.
(aaaand change platforms)
Music as theatre. Probably most noticeable on "Girls, Girls, Girls", which involved EA playing the role of guide in a tour of The Asylum, with the Bloody Crumpets as inmates.
(getting sidetracked by station stuff. Will resume once on train)
(ohmygod, I just saw a train leave the station exactly on time)
Ahem. It's now more than 3 hours since I got off the train and it's proving a little difficult to pick up my thread. Right, music as theatre it is. Well, we sort of covered that. Then there's the fact that not the entire show is songs. Each Crumpet got their own little segment. Captain Maggots introduced everyone (eventually. She rather struggled with Contessa). The Contessa lead the audience in a (supposedly) mystical chant involving something to do with fingers and toes which lead into the opening of God Help Me (wonderful track). Veronica, who has a background in burlesque if I remember rightly, performed a gorgeous feather fan dance to EA's instrumental track "Dominant" and then proceeded to 'corrupt' a pair of fans in the fan favourite Rat Game. (Look it up). Finally, Captain Maggots got a second shot at the limelight with some fantastic fire-hula-hoop-dancing-thing. There was fire. And hula.
This review has turned into a non-review and is in severe danger of degenerating into random babble, so let's bring it to a close. Closing the main set with new track One Foot In Front Of The Other (actual title? Maybe not.), the ladies left the stage to applause and shouts for more. So of course there was the inevitable encore, which consisted of two piano led tracks - the beautiful Mad Girl and then Thank God I'm Pretty which turned into an audience sing-along. Finally, the Crumpets rejoined EA on stage to perform a sort of farewell dance and when they finally left again the house lights came up to Monty Python's classic "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" which resulted in another audience sing-along and a lot of very happy fans. The only fault I can find is that the music was almost entirely played from a backing track, but given that it's very electronic based, I can just about forgive that. Besides, the theatrics more than made up for it and EA's voice is pretty much perfect live.
That'll do, yes? Here follows a just about correct setlist - some bits (in the middle especially) might be in the wrong order, but it'll do.
- Best Safety Lies in Fear (instrumental/sampled)
- Four O'Clock
- Dr Stockhill (spoken word) <- I'm informed this is the title, but might be wrong
- Fight Like A Girl
- Time For Tea
- How To Break A Heart (poem)
- The Art Of Suicide
- Liar
- Take The Pill
- God Help Me
- Dominant (instrumental)
- Girls, Girls, Girls
- Rat game
- We Want Them Young
- Gas Light
- One Foot in Front of the Other
- Encore: Mad Girl
- Encore: Thank God I'm Pretty
Oh, did I mention there was tea, biscuits and cake flying around? What other reason do you need to go to a show?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Band of the Week: Emilie Autumn
Finally! Finally, I have got round to making a post about the woman who is quite probably my favourite musician EVER. And all it took was the fact that I'm seeing her live this coming Saturday. One second, flailing is required.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Ahem. Moving on. So, an introduction to the world of Emilie Autumn. There is much in the way of classical influences, electronic violin and romantic literature references. Oh, and tea. There is always tea. The music is self-styled "Victoriandustrial". Take this to mean electronic-based with a lot of classical influence as just mentioned. Do not expect to find any actual industrial, although she does come fairly close. To be fair, a lot of Ms Autumn's music is closer in style to darkwave or ethereal wave than to industrial (for which read: not close, but closer than industrial) and on the Enchant album, the style swings all over the place from jazz to tango to various rock elements. So, instead of tangling myself up in knots trying to define exactly what Emilie Autumn does, let's just have some samples, shall we?
From Enchant, check out How Strange, Chambermaid, Second Hand Faith, Castle Down and What If.
From A Bit o' This & That, check out By The Sword and the cover of Monty Python's legendary Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.
From the Liar/Dead Is The New Alive EP, check out Mad Girl.
From Laced/Unlaced, check out Unlaced, Manic Depression and Face The Wall. (not such a fan of the classical half of the album. Classical's not my thing.)
From the 4 O'Clock EP, check out Organ Grinder.
From the Girls Just Want To Have Fun/Bohemian Rhapsody EP, check out Gentlemen Aren't Nice.
And from the last album Opheliac, check out Shalott, Dead Is The New Alive, I Know Where You Sleep and Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches.
Think that'll do, yes? Oh, one last thing...
Not quite one last thing, cos I just remembered this.
Atrocious quality, but it's Emilie Autumn. Emilie fucking Autumn in a fucking bath. Singing. *fangirling*
Seriously done now.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Ahem. Moving on. So, an introduction to the world of Emilie Autumn. There is much in the way of classical influences, electronic violin and romantic literature references. Oh, and tea. There is always tea. The music is self-styled "Victoriandustrial". Take this to mean electronic-based with a lot of classical influence as just mentioned. Do not expect to find any actual industrial, although she does come fairly close. To be fair, a lot of Ms Autumn's music is closer in style to darkwave or ethereal wave than to industrial (for which read: not close, but closer than industrial) and on the Enchant album, the style swings all over the place from jazz to tango to various rock elements. So, instead of tangling myself up in knots trying to define exactly what Emilie Autumn does, let's just have some samples, shall we?
From Enchant, check out How Strange, Chambermaid, Second Hand Faith, Castle Down and What If.
From A Bit o' This & That, check out By The Sword and the cover of Monty Python's legendary Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.
From the Liar/Dead Is The New Alive EP, check out Mad Girl.
From Laced/Unlaced, check out Unlaced, Manic Depression and Face The Wall. (not such a fan of the classical half of the album. Classical's not my thing.)
From the 4 O'Clock EP, check out Organ Grinder.
From the Girls Just Want To Have Fun/Bohemian Rhapsody EP, check out Gentlemen Aren't Nice.
And from the last album Opheliac, check out Shalott, Dead Is The New Alive, I Know Where You Sleep and Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches.
Think that'll do, yes? Oh, one last thing...
Not quite one last thing, cos I just remembered this.
Atrocious quality, but it's Emilie Autumn. Emilie fucking Autumn in a fucking bath. Singing. *fangirling*
Seriously done now.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Band Of The Week: super-mega-awesome feature... promise
Well, I didn't really feel like doing a proper Band Of The Week blog this week. So, instead, here's a few bands/artists I think everyone should check out.
Aamir al-Loki: Wonderfully odd self-described goth-pop. I'd put it closer to electronic rock, but goth-pop will do. Make sure to check out her new album Kill Your Demons. (Yes, I know I already wrote about her last week, but I'm just emphasising the point.)
Ahab: Funeral doom metal. I've never listened to doom metal in my life, but I'm pretty much in love with Ahab. Brilliantly atmospheric, plus their work's based on Moby Dick and whatnot. Someone on last.fm called it "whalecore". Made me smile.
The Damned Things: Pretty much straight up rock, with some melodic metal influences. Fall Out Boy + Anthrax + Every Time I Die evidently = a brilliant combination.
The Left Rights: Brainchild of Jimmy Urine and Steve, Righ? from Mindless Self Indulgence. Bizarre, crude, not all that imaginative, but good fun. Warning: may offend. No, seriously, may offend. I've seen the comments on some of their stuff.
Me And The Mountain: English, female-fronted rock. And if you dare compare them to Paramore I'm likely to kill you. Just because it's a female fronted rock band doesn't make it like Paramore. Besides, Me And The Mountain are shitloads better than Paramore. The debut EP Ruthless is due out at the beginning of February - should be on the iTunes store.
Get Scared: Post-hardcore type stuff. Or possibly rock with post-hardcore influences. Who needs this whole Black Veil Brides hype when you can have Get Scared and they're so much better?
The Blackout: More post-hardcore. Better live than on disc, so if you get the chance to see one of their gigs, take it. Although I warn you, it may mangle your knees. Check out their new track too - free download at the mo.
Last but not least, the wonderful Emilie Autumn, love of my life. Well, my musical life and she's a gorgeous woman too. Hey, a girl can dream. Ahem. Self-labelled "victoriandustrial", look out for the epic electric violin solos against industrial beats. On top of all that scrumminess is her voice. Eargasm, much. Seriously, go check her out. Hmm... maybe next week's band of the week can be for EA. Seeing as she's my favourite musician and all that and I don't babble about her enough. Mmm.
Anyways, go check them out, tell me what you think and pass it on.
Aamir al-Loki: Wonderfully odd self-described goth-pop. I'd put it closer to electronic rock, but goth-pop will do. Make sure to check out her new album Kill Your Demons. (Yes, I know I already wrote about her last week, but I'm just emphasising the point.)
Ahab: Funeral doom metal. I've never listened to doom metal in my life, but I'm pretty much in love with Ahab. Brilliantly atmospheric, plus their work's based on Moby Dick and whatnot. Someone on last.fm called it "whalecore". Made me smile.
The Damned Things: Pretty much straight up rock, with some melodic metal influences. Fall Out Boy + Anthrax + Every Time I Die evidently = a brilliant combination.
The Left Rights: Brainchild of Jimmy Urine and Steve, Righ? from Mindless Self Indulgence. Bizarre, crude, not all that imaginative, but good fun. Warning: may offend. No, seriously, may offend. I've seen the comments on some of their stuff.
Me And The Mountain: English, female-fronted rock. And if you dare compare them to Paramore I'm likely to kill you. Just because it's a female fronted rock band doesn't make it like Paramore. Besides, Me And The Mountain are shitloads better than Paramore. The debut EP Ruthless is due out at the beginning of February - should be on the iTunes store.
Get Scared: Post-hardcore type stuff. Or possibly rock with post-hardcore influences. Who needs this whole Black Veil Brides hype when you can have Get Scared and they're so much better?
The Blackout: More post-hardcore. Better live than on disc, so if you get the chance to see one of their gigs, take it. Although I warn you, it may mangle your knees. Check out their new track too - free download at the mo.
Last but not least, the wonderful Emilie Autumn, love of my life. Well, my musical life and she's a gorgeous woman too. Hey, a girl can dream. Ahem. Self-labelled "victoriandustrial", look out for the epic electric violin solos against industrial beats. On top of all that scrumminess is her voice. Eargasm, much. Seriously, go check her out. Hmm... maybe next week's band of the week can be for EA. Seeing as she's my favourite musician and all that and I don't babble about her enough. Mmm.
Anyways, go check them out, tell me what you think and pass it on.
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