I enjoyed these Brit Goth rocker’s ‘Beehive’ EP which they released last September and was pleased to get handed their new album to cover recently too. This has 13 brand new tracks on it forming the debut full length release with no crossover tracks from the album, which makes it all nice and fresh. Put together by Ed Banshee after the demise of popular and long running clan Screaming Banshee Aircrew this lot have been going from strength to strength and working hard on the live scene too, something I feel a bit bad about not having caught them yet. On the strength of this I want to remedy that situation as soon as possible as this is a bit of a stonker to say the least.
The Goth word might not be one that the band embrace fully and indeed the cover art and everything about the package which primarily is in white distances itself from what one might expect aesthetically from a sackcloth and ashes Goth band but the proof is on the listening and the jury is very much in on this. The good thing however is that this is one of those tricky albums to pick favourite tracks from as all of this is good but after the little intro setting piece ‘Lazarus Rising’ I would certainly rank the next two tracks very high up my list. ‘Amen’ is full of fluttering guitars, tomb like undead vocals and a classic hooky built up chorus which explodes into a screaming guitar flurry. Perhaps it is due to the title of the track but along with the melody and the backing female vocals this is incredibly reminiscent of Christian Death at their prime. Not a bad thing at all as this is an excellent scripture to the damned (with no happy end) and is the sort of track I would have worn a needle out on playing on 12” vinyl back in the day. ‘Underset’ limbers in and weaves its spell with tenuous compelling guitar-work but again it is the melody of the chorus which deliriously gets its talons in and grabs you hook line and sinker. It manages to sound somewhat upbeat and maudlin at the same time which is quite a good trick but it also allows guitarist Anouska Haze to really shine with her vocal parts bringing them to the fore as the song progresses. The solo spot she gets literally made me melt, gorgeous! Mind you she can be equally sharp and biting as on the choppy post punk etched ‘Hatchet’ proves, a clinical jagged short, shredding attack of a number.
There is plenty on this to stomp around to and others to take you back on a bit of a retro trip and it has varied songs which all have their own personality about them making them far from one-dimensional. There is however times when it is impossible to not mention the ghost of Bauhaus seeping in here as with the dubby beats on ‘Big Bang Medicine’ and the count like Pete Murphyesque vocal tones occasionally seeping in along with the bat-cave flittering guitar sounds. However when a song is as good as this and the aforementioned have dissolved into their gone away white ether, combined with erratic behaviour we need a successor so you won’t hear any real complaining as I happily sit up and take my medicine along with the song! The full chug of ‘Stop’ sounds like an out of control truck on road to destruction and the manic feel of this is bolstered by lots of whacked out sonic whooshes and pulses flying out all over the shop. ‘Obsession’ also plays that trick with things echoing and pulsing away over a beat that I thought at first was going to have the song going into Donna Summer’s ‘I feel Love.’ Way off there luckily as the guitars skeletal, spiny assault cuts in.
The pacing on the album is quite well done too I have noticed on continuous plays how a fast pounder is often followed by a slower number allowing you to get your breath back before the next heady assault which is kind of needed as the twisty sinuous ‘Skin’ slithers around. As for the slow burning of the last number, the title track it may not end things on a fast note but it really is another classic sounding song and a perfect way to wrap this corpse up.
Well it is rather obvious that I like this one really and it is pretty much due to the fact that all the music that I really love like this is done by artists who are surviving very much from, or coming back from, the dead. It is great to find a band that have the vigour and passion of lovers of old and are injecting a fresh slant on things with great new songs. I think Partly Faithful have a very dark future in front of them!
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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