The Murder of My Sweet - Divanity
CD Info
2010
Frontiers Records Europe
12 Tracks
English Lyrics
The female fronted music scene is a relatively broad minded one. There is, of course, the Gothic perspective, primarily delivered by Scandinavian bands like those of Morton Veland and others but also favored by a broadening wave of international groups. However, there is also the doom and gloom sound coming from an almost equally numerous group of musicians. And, of course, there are other topics, fantasy, historical, political and natural to name a few. Murder, however, has largely been left to the rappers, who seem to glorify in that and related topics. So, being somewhat less than enamored by the rap direction, I was a little hesitant when I saw a band with the term "Murder" in their name. And, since the back cover of the CD depicts a lovely brunette surrounded by the rest of the band exhibiting alternatives for bringing about her demise, I was seriously worried. But, not to fear, it’s all a literary device, and the music’s done by a Swedish group so there is little concern for a "rap" oriented direction. The name, it is explained, was derived from a 1944 movie entitled "Murder, My Sweet" whose story line in some way paralleled the development of the band. Although I don’t think anyone was killed during the later activity.
So what is Murder of My Sweet, and how does Divanity sound. The band is a relatively recent development, this is pretty much their first release, but it has some solid backing and is comprised of some strong musical talents. The title is derived form a combination of the words; diva, divine and vanity. And the purpose of the work, it is suggested, is to create something of a distorted film noir listening experience, one that takes the listener through some thought provoking, and, hopefully, interesting ideas. Those ideas run the gambit of topics from the loss of identity required for the growth of a relationship to the need to consider the darkness as a part of life. And, the final track Death of a Movie Star goes even further, it is the epic of the work, what the band calls its "Bohemian Rhapsody". A little more on that one shortly.Murder, for short, is largely the creation of drummer, songwriter, producer Daniel Flores. His first, and maybe his most successful move, was to lure the long legged Scandanavian singer Angelica Rylin into the fold, hopefully without a gun or a knife. Rylin provided the look and the sound that Flores wanted, and she is also an accomplished song writer. The rest of the band is equally accomplished; it’s a bit of an all star cast from Northern Europe. The sound is a lush, melodic metal tone, delivering background for the fine vocals of Rylin. But even those vocals are meshed into the overall package. The keyboards are integral to most numbers; the guitars provide a number of directions from fill to searing solos. The drums are integrated into a tight rhythm package that serves to drive the numbers through the multiple directions that define each individual song. The music is haunting, it goes in strange directions, but the hooks keep you looking closely at the melodies and the lyrics. And those lyrics are worth listening to. It’s pretty much the total package.
Murder is not typical gothic. There is not the hard metal we often hear in this music, no death vocals, no doom and gloom. There is not a chilling message, no one foot in the grave and where do we go from here. But, we do listen, we do get cold chills at times, we do have that feeling that destiny has our number and we better keep one eye open. The work starts out that way, No Evil begins with a dark interlude, straight from a 40s film track. The vocals begin:
Shhh
Was there a sound out there
You see someone who stares
A sound not recognized is getting closer
Afraid of all the threats
Observed by rats and webs
Easily scared, nobody cares for a weeper.
The song takes off, with strong guitar riffs over the distorted keyboard sounds. It’s a river of sound, but with that dark film noir underside. The vocals don’t lead, they blend, each component doing its part.
The second track, Follow the Rain, continues the pattern of distortion, here in the guitars, which are carried over the symphonic drive of the keys. It’s a harder sound, but a more lush direction. There are choral components over the strong symphonic base. But the hooks are apparent as well, Murder can catch you in a lot of ways, each song seems to have a catch to it.
The first single release is Bleed Me Dry. It probably got the honor for a couple reasons. It’s easy to remember, it provides one of the best melodies, and the lyrics are pure catchy. If this doesn’t get to you you’re probably catatonic:
I’m complicated
I’m not like you
You can not force me into your shoes
You try to act so perfect
But I see the truth in your eyes
Why are you here to bleed me dry.
Rylin shows her versatility here, she sings hard, she pleads, she shouts, she begs. She sounds like my ex wife in fact. But without the malice, at least not all of it. You can appreciate the beauty of the Murder motif in this selection; it’s pure pop metal.
Kiss of Death provides the ballad. It begins with a dark intro, our entry into the dark underside of society. In fact, it sounds like the intro to the Matrix. But, the vocals take us into a sultry ballad, over a subdued symphonic. The guitars provide guidance; the background music in general supports the vocals, something that doesn’t happen on most numbers. There’s choral work here as well, it works directly with the keys. And again, there is the hook, seems like each song has one. But I especially like the Matrix sound that is brought back several times during the presentation.
And finally, we have to mention the anthem. The final selection is the aforementioned Death of a Movie Star. It begins with a gothic bell, much like a gothic sound from the Norwegians. A child chorus moves us forward to the dark, haunting vocals. We are introduced to the main character, she is described, she is defined. But, this is music to make Freddy Mercury proud. It twists and turns, it takes hard rights then hard lefts. And it is impossible to ignore, we are taken along for a long, dark ride through the wonder of film land. Rylin sings:
The voice in the night
They hymn of what’s been done
Behind the scenery a shot is heard
It’s strange how no one knows
She simply disappeared
And somewhere in the dark
A spotless crime
Her body never found.
There are even a couple parts of the song you’d swear were performed by Queen. The song carries on for some 7 and half minutes with more twists and turns than a David Lynch film, and almost as much violence. A GREAT song.
It’s not often you read reviews of a release that are near universal in their praise. But you get it here. I don’t think I’ve read a negative yet. This is a major release. You’ll enjoy the music, you’ll enjoy the tales. And you sure won’t be disappointed by the visuals of the leggy Swede doing the story telling. Not a bad debut.
9 / 10
