"Thanks For the Ether"
The sounds of birds chirping fills the room. A swirling, ominous wind sound overtakes it. Suddenly, it's all interrupted by a violent, minor-key string concerto. It's not a movie; it's the beginning of Rasputina's first CD, "Thanks For the Ether." This first song, "My Little Shirtwaist Fire," is a bleak retelling of the Triange Shirtwaist Fire of 1911, from the perspecive of a woman trapped inside ("Such a sweet face/ Trapped in a staircase/ By the smell of her own burning hair"). From there, it gets even darker. This album imagitively covers lots of territory. Everything from murderous babies, an actress' fall from stardom (a la "Sunset Boulevard"), Kate Moss falling apart, the quirks of film producer Howard Hughes, the effects of illegal drugs, and one of my personal favorites, an eloquent comparison of the colonial pilgrims to the Donner party. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
Rasputina consists of: Julia Kent on cello, Carpello Parva on cello, and Melora Creager on vocals and (you guessed it), cello. Yes, Rasputina is an all-cello band. The instant problem that comes with having three cellos is the potential for muddiness in the lower range. But Rasputina cleverly dodges that with consistently well-written arrangements, all penned by Melora. They are beautifully melodic, while still rhythmically exciting.
Covering topics as morbid as these could quickly become depressing, but Melora writes with a quirky sense of irony that makes them amusing and fun. It is very difficult to categorize Rasputina. They all play cello, but they're definitely not classical; they do rock out, but it's not rock & roll; many of their songs could place them in the novelty category, but they sometimes tackle heavy subjects; and because they are not completely a goth band, only half of the goth populace accepts them. So what are they? Well, I would definitely call them an alternative band, but not the common usage of the word. They are truly alternative. In concert, they wear 18th century attire, and most of their song topics are historical in nature (Melora has stated that she has a huge fascination with the past). This is as "different" as you can get.
"Thanks For the Ether" has lots of standout tracks: "E Leon Rauis," a song about a photo found in Melora's attic, the sad lament of "Any Old Actress," and the mysterious "Rusty the Skatemaker." Also included are lovely new treatments of Melanie's "Brand New Key," and the old torch-song "Why Don't You Do Right." However, on occasion, Rasputina can try too hard to be cute, as in the case of "Five Fleas," and "Nozzle;" two tracks of spoken "poetry" with accompaniment. They are quite cryptic, and can grate on the nerves after hearing only a few times. But they are only about a minute each, and they could never bring down all the high points of this great, goth-classical release from Rasputina. They'll go very far, I'm sure.
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-1997 Michael Schmid-