No, no, no! This is NO slapstick! This is the hell of a brave-hearted metal album – so read on and don’t let yourself fool by the ssssslightly irritating cover artwork… but be forewarned!
Back with their second long playing album, The Stolen Babies chase their listeners with the help of a task force of especially naughty earwigs into a labyrinth of meandering melodies and styles, the only exit being a rollercoaster ride through the cellar vaults of the Adams Family on evil psychotropic drugs. If you fear horror metal turning into bizarre chanson, better shut your ears…! If you can’t stand subtle lullabies and accordion sounds, stay away from “Naught”!
But if you enjoy a face-to-face encounter with the legal representatives from the freak show department of your own sub consciousness, and if you like music to be play-, beauti- & wonderful, fascinating, irritating & seducing at once, then you should definitely give this Los-Angeles-based quartet a chance when it knocks at the back door of the brain connected with your ears and eyes. In that case you might better redd your backstage / living room since the four musicians have quite a big instrumentation to perform their dark music cabaret which feeds from cold technical metal and electronica as well as from vaudeville coffeehouse music. Dominique Lenore Persi’s vocal range and intensity covers almost everything, if it’s only gloomy and weird enough, and the accordion-playing front lady is supported by a truly tight and highly creative band which obviously shares a vision of avantgarde metal that doesn’t need to burn out itself in simple aggression just for the sake of “sounding extreme”.
Unlike with other music, this one is really almost impossible to describe authentically. Can you imagine Bee & Flower getting drunk on whiskey with Tim Burton and then composing a soundtrack for the “Mr.Gum” novels? A creative clash of Akphaezia and Katzenjammer in a theatre from the late 19th century? If you can, you might get close to what The Stolen Babies present in their 13 surprise-peppered-compositions. Glancing at the cover artwork of The Stolen Babies’ second full length opus you might ask what’s going on with this band and whether it wants to keep metal fans away from its music. But as we know from Monty Python, the most absurd appearance might hide brave and truly enriching ideas and deeds. In comparison with their already strong debut album “There Be Squabbels Ahead” The Stolen Babies still follow their very own way absolutely consequently, but this time they take the time for exploring some of those almost forgotten dusty side roads in which they find nostalgic inspirations for their fresh music.
The band plays a dangerous game by ridiculing the main concepts and common senses of the metal world on the surface of their appearance. Nevertheless they would be hopelessly misunderstood if they were reduced on a sarcastic cartoon version of horror / gothic metal. Indeed artists like the Stolen Babies are much needed to re-focus on certain qualities helping us to cope with the absurdities of everyday life and to encourage yourself and others to stand strong for your ideas and go your own way. It should be needless to point out that this is attitude-wise 100% metal as it is 100% avant-garde. All else is – as always – a matter of taste. Yes, yes, yes!
-Thor Joakimsson
VITALS:
Release: 2012
Label: No Comment Records
Avantgenre: Bizarre Vaudeville Avantgarde Metal
Duration: 41:51
Origin: L.A.
Official site: http://www.stolenbabiestheband.com
Review online since: 29.01.2013 / 20:35:56
TRACKLIST:
01 – Never Come Back
02 – Splatter
03 – Second Sleep
04 – Behind The Days
05 – Mousefood
06 – Don’t Know
07 – I Woke Up
08 – Swimming Hole
09 – Dried Moat
10 – Prankster
11 – Birthday Song
12 – Civil Disguise
13 – Grubbery (burnt To A Crisp)
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