Aaron Samuel Powell
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Finally; Evanescence meets Muse
I might be the only avid listener of modern rock that has been wondering what would happen if a new band came along that was influenced by Muse, but had an Amy Lee-esque vocalist. If you want this, too, skip the review and just buy the album.
The world of female Goth Rock seemed to lose public favor around the same time that Pop-Punk bands were finally losing their Festival slots to Mumford and Sons clones. The new direction of rock - owned by bands like Muse that had roots in pop melodies, but more complex structures that relied on a better understanding of the Beatles and Queen (rather than the Ramones-Heavy influence of their contemporaries), had been BEGGING for a female fronted, powerhouse to come along. While The Bitter Elegance is not quite a full on progressive spectacle, what they lack in outrageous musical movements, they more than make up for with GREAT songs.
At the front of the Californian Quartet (they sound more London than LA, btw) is a dynamic female vocalist/pianist/violinist who goes simply by Merlot. Judging by the photos, she is tiny in stature - which is ironic because her voice is gargantuan and cuts through the mix of heavy synths and guitar like broken glass. She is that interesting combination of smooth and raspy - think Pat Benetar crossed with Karen Carpenter (I know, weird- but it WORKS). Behind her is a rhythm section that seems to mix automated and real parts, a weird cyberorganic mixture of real drums with loops, electric bass, and sequencer/synth parts. Sometimes it feels like the Smiths, sometimes like Rush, and there is even a little bit of B52's (with a whole lot of the new wave of Rock/EDM - maybe they should coin the phrase RDM?). In the middle of all of this is some pretty impressive guitar playing, with nary a single solo in the entire 37 minutes, the guitar is woven around the drums/bass/synths/vocals like a drunken road map- it points in the direction of the song, but never travels right-down the middle, kind of like the way Johnny Marr and Alex Lifeson used to play at right-angles to their respective singers.
The real star of the album is the songs. !2 tracks and not a single filler among them. If I had to pick a favorite, I could limit it to three - Track one (Light of Sorrow) is a blistering modern synth-rock anthem that very adeptly dispalys the different moods of the band that are to follow. Track four (Paperairplanes) should be a massive hit in a just world. The band's bio describes a sound of Pop without being sugary, and this song exemplifies that description - catchy, but still somewhat rough. Happiness that came from failure and pain is evident and quite relatable and moving. Equally impressive is track 10 (paperhearts). Haunting, beautiful, sad. This is an intospective ballad, but there is something so subtle that is has a uniqueness - I made an Amy Lee comparison before, but while Merlot does share a bit of tonality, Merlot has an ability to underplay her voice, and here she is almost whipering the lyrics, while still hitting every note dead center.
This is an IMPRESSIVE debut. I am hoping for more from this band, soon!
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