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Black Tape for a Blue Girl — As One Aflame Laid Bare by Desire
(Projekt 86, 1999, CD)

by Carol Hammett, Published 1999-04-01

As One Aflame Laid Bare by Desire Cover art

The band is Black Tape for a Blue Girl. The CD is As One Aflame Laid Bare by Desire. As indicative of their wordy name and title, they have created a wordy surrealistic narrative about a nymphette, “stripped by the imagination of an anonymous unmarried man.” Okay... well, maybe it gets clearer what this CD is about. The album conveys a gothic and sometimes baroque sound. The opening title track sets the mood for this journey into a dark dream world. Sam Rosenthal and Julianna Towns vocalizing the anonymous male and female characters. Throughout the album, the instrumentation is varied and eclectic. Along with guitar, percussion, and electronics, you’ll hear flute, oboe, clarinet, violin, cello, harmonium, and harpsichord. The arrangements are tasteful overall, but melodically the music is lacking in comparison. Though there are a few very nice melodies on the album such as on, “Given” and “The Garden Awaits Us,” they rely mostly on a gothic-style melodic approach. There are atmospheric instrumentals interspersed here and there among the narrative vocal songs. Getting to the end of the CD, one still will have a bit of a time fully understanding the story. However, it’s probably more important that they know what it’s about. It is just like what John said to Paul about a line in Hey Jude, “Leave it... don’t worry; I know what it means.”

Filed under: New releases, Issue 17, 1999 releases

Related artist(s): Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Sam Rosenthal / As Lonely as Dave Bowman, Vicki Richards

More info
http://blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com/album/as-one-aflame-laid-bare-by-desire-deluxe

 

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