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Black Tape for a Blue Girl — The Scavenger Bride
(Projekt 130, 2002, CD)

The Scavenger Bride Cover art

Black Tape for a Blue Girl has a long, illustrious career that I am completely unfamiliar with except for running across the occasional favorable comment or compilation entry. So I came at this with a relatively clean slate, but without any previous comparison to suggest. The lion’s share of activity is taken up by Sam Rosenthal’s electronics with accompaniment of flute, cello, violin, and Elysabeth Grant’s voice. The music combines ambient, gothic, shoegazer, folk, and classical styles into what is obviously a unique and traveled blend. Buoyed by a wealthy contingent of guest musicians, a series of songs cover a concept with tinges of the erotic that combine warm atmospheres with tasteful acoustic instrumentation. The CD tracking provide for plenty of diversity including Michael Laird of Unto Ashes’ dulcimer accompaniment on “Kinski,” a Sonic Youth cover “Shawdow of a Doubt,” and additional male vocals on a few songs. In fact, if I had a gripe, it would be that all the male vocals take time away from Grant’s lovely voice, but the overall dynamic balance over the CD benefits from the diversity. A very classy release and one that will have me headed for their back catalog.

by Mike McLatchey, Published 2002-09-01

I really wanted to like this one. I’d read about Black Tape, and they sounded interesting: female vocals fronting ethereal, classical-inflected music with a kind of Gothic mood, but not the heavy rock Goth of the Cult or that crowd. It’s a concept album as well, based on a story by Franz Kafka, which is also an interesting idea. Unfortunately, the whole thing does little for me. At their best, the group is reminiscent of Dead Can Dance, with Middle Eastern percussion, flute, and strings mixed in with electronic instruments. Founding member Sam Rosenthal writes most of the music, and he has some good ideas, but tends to carry them on rather longer than necessary. Cello, violin, viola, and flute are incorporated into the sound nicely. Singer Elysabeth Grant has a fairly pleasant voice (though I occasionally question her intonation) but she’s drenched in tinny reverb that, instead of adding depth, just emphasizes the less pleasing aspects of her singing. A cover of Sonic Youth’s “Shadow of a Doubt” is another interesting idea gone awry, with overwrought vocals over interlocking piano motifs.

by Jon Davis, Published 2002-09-01

Black Tape for a Blue Girl is the creative outlet for Projekt’s founder, Sam Rosenthal. On The Scavenger Bride, the thirteenth release using the Black Tape name, the project is officially a quintet, consisting of Rosenthal (electronics and ‘false piano’), his wife Lisa Feuer (flute), former Rasputina member Julia Kent (cello), the Indian-influenced Vicki Richards (violin), and the haunting Elysabeth Grant (vocals, viola). In practice, Rosenthal is the focus here. All thirteen tracks were composed by him and only he plays on all thirteen; the other members (as well as several prominent guests) play on some tracks, but not on others. From what I can tell, this is supposed to be concept album based on the fiction of Franz Kafka (especially The Trial) and the art of Marchel Duchamp, although I’m not sure there’s a clear narrative that can be discerned in the poetic, almost symbolist lyrics. Musically, this is much like previous Black Tape albums, especially 1999’s As One Laid Aflame by Desire. Comparisons might also be made to Miranda Sex Garden, This Mortal Coil, Legendary Pink Dots, and several other Projekt artists. A cold gothic ethereality dominates — the near-ambient electronics, the minimalist drones of processed strings, the slow minor-key vocal melodies. Its chill, however, is offset ever so slightly by warmer, hopeful tones from the flute, guitar, piano, and the human voice which keep the atmosphere complex and prevent this from becoming just another exercise in musical melancholia. As goth /darkwave goes, this is as good as it gets — highly recommended.

by Jim Chokey, Published 2002-09-01

Filed under: New releases, Issue 25, 2002 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/the-scavenger-bride-2022-remaster

 

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