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HEART ATTACK MUSIC
by Jim Provenzano
Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php? sec=music&article=488
June 5 2008
CA
Diamanda Galas, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (Caroline Records)
To say that one needs to be in the right mood for Diamanda Galas'
music might be an understatement. Fortunately for her (and her
enthusiastic publicist) but unfortunately for me, there did come a
recent day when I felt truly miserable. And that was the perfect day
to listen to Galas' latest CD, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty.
In seven songs (mostly) recorded at a 2006 concert in New York City's
Knitting Factory, Galas sings and self-accompanies on piano. While
some of her trademark screeches and ululations pervade, this is more
of a blues album, with covers of songs that twist the music into new
and macabre styling.
At Galas' live shows, the fact that the piano is a percussion
instrument becomes clear. Chords become jagged rocks for her siren-like
vocals to perch upon before flying off or sinking down to the depths.
The songs' themes focus on lost love, and loss through death, which
should come as no surprise. Galas' nearly dozen-plus previous albums
have delved into the horrors of the AIDS plague and the genocide
of Armenians.
In Guilty, we have a more intimate performance, with a variety of songs
by other composers that take on one-on-one loss. The most familiar to
me is the spiritual "O Death." Fans of the Brother, Where Art Thou
soundtrack may know it. While that version has a sweetness like old
whiskey, Galas' rendition seems to come directly from a horrifying
lunch date with the Grim Reaper himself.
Most people don't understand or appreciate Diamanda Galas as a singer
and artist. That's fine. Go buy your Mariah Carey CDs, a sound that
I consider a different sort of horror. Listening to Galas' latest,
I found my misery acknowledged, vocalized and exorcized.
by Jim Provenzano
Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php? sec=music&article=488
June 5 2008
CA
Diamanda Galas, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty (Caroline Records)
To say that one needs to be in the right mood for Diamanda Galas'
music might be an understatement. Fortunately for her (and her
enthusiastic publicist) but unfortunately for me, there did come a
recent day when I felt truly miserable. And that was the perfect day
to listen to Galas' latest CD, Guilty, Guilty, Guilty.
In seven songs (mostly) recorded at a 2006 concert in New York City's
Knitting Factory, Galas sings and self-accompanies on piano. While
some of her trademark screeches and ululations pervade, this is more
of a blues album, with covers of songs that twist the music into new
and macabre styling.
At Galas' live shows, the fact that the piano is a percussion
instrument becomes clear. Chords become jagged rocks for her siren-like
vocals to perch upon before flying off or sinking down to the depths.
The songs' themes focus on lost love, and loss through death, which
should come as no surprise. Galas' nearly dozen-plus previous albums
have delved into the horrors of the AIDS plague and the genocide
of Armenians.
In Guilty, we have a more intimate performance, with a variety of songs
by other composers that take on one-on-one loss. The most familiar to
me is the spiritual "O Death." Fans of the Brother, Where Art Thou
soundtrack may know it. While that version has a sweetness like old
whiskey, Galas' rendition seems to come directly from a horrifying
lunch date with the Grim Reaper himself.
Most people don't understand or appreciate Diamanda Galas as a singer
and artist. That's fine. Go buy your Mariah Carey CDs, a sound that
I consider a different sort of horror. Listening to Galas' latest,
I found my misery acknowledged, vocalized and exorcized.