MP3 The Divine Madness - Secrets

Angelic vocals with epic choruses, cinematic alt/rock/classical instrumentation electronic touches, and a sensual Gothic feel.

23 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Goth, POP: with Electronic Production



Details:
It's too bad it's not still the 80s, because then some smart label like 4AD or Chrysalis would have snapped this band up in a jiffy. As it is, because they are not filled with angst and know how to spell their name and demonstrate no evidence whatsoever of having ever even heard of nu-metal (much less any of the other horrible forms of "music" currently clogging up the biz), they are probably having to work to get noticed. Which is too bad, because they're really, really good.

Essentially a trio fronted by gorgeous (visually and vocally) singer Victoria Mazze (the other two guys, both named Chris, play percussion and synths, which should tell you a lot right there; occasionally they bring in a guest for extra accompaniment), their sound has very little to do with what's currently "hot" and everything to do with what sounds good in the world of pop music. Obvious touchstones would include the likes of Depeche Mode, Pulp, Garbage, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Massive Attack, The Gorillaz, Blondie, Portishead, and the Cure, just for starters, but they certainly don't sound like a pastiche of various bands -- rather, they sound like a trio weaned on high-quality electropop and determined to churn out their own, new version of the same. (And it's a good version, believe me.)

"Secrets" is a throwback to the days when bands like the Cocteau Twins and Lush commanded serious attention, and it's a nice reminder of what can still be done with the pop format when the instruments and gadgets are in the hands of people who know what they're doing. The songs are short and to the point, filled with interesting sounds and insistent (but not frantic) beats and synths, all topped off by amazing vocals from Victoria, who often reminds me of Siouxsie Sioux minus the eccentric vocal tics. (This is especially true of "Crawl," which reminds me of TINDERBOX-era Banshees.)