Aural Fixations

BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL
Halo Star
(Projekt)
Halo Star, the latest album from the venerable Gothic music institution black tape for a blue girl, is a very different beast from the ensemble's last record The Scavenger Bride. While that project was a story-heavy masterpiece of contemporary art song, Halo Star returns the band to its Gothic rock roots. Joining regular cast members Elysabeth Grant (vocals), Lisa Feuer (flute), Vicki Richards (violin) and, of course, Sam Rosenthal (songs, electronics, direction) are two stalwarts of the scene, singer/guitarist/bassist Bret Helm of Goth rock traditionalists Audra and percussionist/guitarist Michael Laird of the amazing Gothic/pagan/medieval/folk/whatever group Unto Ashes. Helm's baritone croon, genetically encoded for Gothic rock in the way Jellyfish's Andy Sturmer's voice is for power pop, is the perfect vehicle to deliver percussive ravers like "Dagger" (which features horrifying couplets like "If I had the will of a god/I'd leave you impaled to die") or the wonderfully crafted "Tarnished"—if Goth is ever going to spawn a mainstream hit single, this is it. He's equally adept at Rosenthal's brooding, menacing laments, such as "The Gravediggers" and "Scarecrow." Helm also turns in a deliciously bemused performance on the sardonic "Knock Three Times" (the rest of the stanza: "on your coffin if you want my love"), a catchy tune that manages to both condemn bullies who torment Goths and rib the black lipstick set at the same time. Grant gets her chance to shine on lovely but unsettling torch songs like "Damn Swan!" (which borrows from Greek mythology and W.B. Yeats), "Already Forgotten" and "Indefinable, yet." Her ethereal soprano also gives voice to "Your Love is Sweeter Than Wine," a beautifully dulcet ode to Rosenthal's young son. Though this is more of a singer's album than anything Rosenthal has crafted before, the vocalists would be nowhere without the instrumentation. Richards' droning violin, Helm's lush guitars, Rosenthal's amazingly tasteful synth beds (more like string quartet arrangements than typical electro-pop) and especially Laird's diverse rhythms create organic support for Helm and Grant to soar. Halo Star is a marvel, a mesmerizing journey that manages to move toward the horizon and come back home at the same time. Michael Toland [buy it]