Bekijk in het Nederlands  
Home
Agenda
News
   Music
     Bands
     CD Reviews
     Live Reviews
     Interviews
     Labels
     Genres
Articles
Movies
Links
Festival
Bookings & Promotion
About
Crew
Gallery
Guestbook
Forum
Contact
Lottery
Mailinglist
Gothic Radio
Search

Adverts

Gothic Nederland


X-tra-X Underground Fashion



Bands    CD Reviews     Live Reviews    Interviews    Labels    Genres      

All Mine Enemys Whispers


<< Back


The latest album of this long existing band is all about Mary Ann Cotton. The first track opens with a children’s rhyme about Mary Ann Cotton, sung by his daughter Naomi. The lyrics tell a macabre tale of how Britain’s greatest female mass murderer came to her end. The tracks together form a story about the life and death of Mary Ann as well. After opening with the 'What Shall I Sing' the story continues with 'The Burial Club'. This has an even darker and more mysterious sound to it than the opening track. Especially the use of extremely short cello notes adds to the peculiar feel. The sounds are made in such a way that emotions are hidden beneath the tones. Experimentally very well done, according to my own interpretation this track corresponds to the exhumation of the victims of Mary Ann, which is followed by the 'Reinsch Test', which contains experimental saxophone play to convince you that you are in a laboratory, and prove the guilt of Mary Ann. 'The Trial' opens with the rumoury background and hushed whispers that can be heard when a suspect is brought to trial and led to the stand before the judge has entered. A dialogue follows between the judge (cello) and Mary Ann (piano). The subsequent song has two subtitles of which the first speaks to the mind the most 'A Short Drop'; especially if you take into mind she was hung for her deeds. After about 5 minutes she has died and a plea for forgiveness and hiding from hell (a part sung and played by Emily Autumn). The closing track 'Heaven is My Home' suggest that she has died and has gotten God's forgiveness, and reached heaven. The sound of distorted church singing creates a feeling of seeing saints. It finishes with a dark twist, as the soul of Mary Ann reincarnates into the son of Martin Bowes and is set free upon the world once more, as suggested by the subtitle 'The Other Side of Jordan…'.

The inspiration for the album seems to have come from Martin Bowes recent discovery that his great great great aunt was the daughter of the policemen who arrested Mary Ann. She also worked for Mary Ann for some time as a seamstress. A well made experimental album in which the atmosphere is really transferred into music well. When reading the booklet and listening to the music at the same time, the meaning of the mostly instrumental songs become very clear. This is still one of the harder things to manage with instrumental music.



Band: Attrition(int)
Label: Projekt Records
Genre: ambient (ambient / soundscapes / ritual / drones)
Type: cd
Grade: 8.5
Review by: Joost
Website: http://www.attrition.co.uk/

0 replies
Discuss this