Artist: Blood Moon Wedding
Title: An American Nightmare
Genre: British Punk / Alternative / Dark Duets / Gothic / Gothic Folk / Murder Ballads
Release Date: 7th April 2023
Label: Mobilisation Recordings
Album Review
BLOOD MOON WEDDING are US/UK Art Punk Noir outfit consisting of Mia Dean, a trained opera singer and one quarter of Oakland based band ANTLER FAMILY, and Steve Lake who used to be in the UK Anarcho Punk / Post Punk band ZOUNDS. After both artists had spent their previous lives either singing on the operatic stages of Italy and Austria or fraternising with the likes of CRASS they met up online during the lockdown in 2020 to start the formation of this album. I’d not heard of either artist before, not until I went to see them play a headline show in London last year to showcase some of the songs that will go onto the album. I’d never heard of ANTLER FAMILY and I don't like CRASS! But that didn’t put me off enjoying the live show. Now the album has crossed my path let’s have a delve into what it has on offer, shall we?
From the get go on ‘Spell’ there is a sneering nasal vibe to it that shimmies and shuffles along in a dream-like haze of a way, I’d say sometimes whiney. Mia’s vocal stepping in and tempering the whine that has a passing resemblance to Mark E Smith. ‘Some Things Are Worth Believing’ offers up something softer, even delicate. Piano parts drop in like the early parts of a downpour before the thicker smears of the male vocal are brushed in a response to the female vocal. Layered and linear and textured this track is with atmosphere.
On ‘Wanted’ the strum of guitar chords and the sustained hum of the bass are an easy backdrop to the discordant melodies of the vocals. Again the vibe is linear, nothing goes off on tangents really. It’s the aural equivalent of a dog walk where the 4-legged beast wanders but stays within eyesight instead of traipsing off into the trees, bushes and undergrowth so you don’t know where the hell it is. In fact the whole album feels like it’s being pulled in one direction musically. ‘Looking For Us’ is bass led, the vocal of Mia is note perfect and clear, Steve Lakes is, erm, wider and spoken sung. The vocal is stretched “toooo give iit aaa mooorre elaaaastic feeeeel”.
I love ‘Murder Ballad’. It grabbed my attention and sucked me in. It’s like LOOP did a collaboration with THE DOORS. Steve Lake’s talks about rustic mine shafts and crumbling tenements as the avenging angel of death descends. The air is sulphurous and the night is poisonous… I love this descriptive matter of fact and ominous poetry, the musical backdrop holding up the words like gnarled clawed hands and shoving them forth like a swarm of bees. Mia leaves a pool hall within the narrative, her vocal flutters like an eerie song of a siren, “Be Bop A Loola Your My Baby”… The narrative flows on to tell us about some low life in cheap sneakers and Levi jacket who wanted money, he was not the avenging angel of death, they were… The end is a cacophony, a choir of voices, angelic, tormented and lamenting.
After this mid album bout of story telling the tone shifts to a PJ HARVEY cum SWANS vibe with ‘Hey Mia Do You Remember’. This has deep spongy bass and sharp guitars on a loop, like light shining in dark waters. The interplay between the different vocal styles works wonders. ‘Wild’ is bassy and galloping. I don’t really like it, I’m tuning out. It’s like a bowl of pasta with too many spices on it. I’m overwhelmed to the point of non-enjoyment. But then there’s the track ‘Blood Moon Wedding PT1’. This I have mixed feelings about. Is it good? Is it bad? Do I like it or not? It's a mixed bag to be frank. Steve’s vocal being perfect and annoying in equal measure. ‘Blood Moon Wedding PT 2’ is much better. Steve’s vocal is louder in the mix, nasally and flat but sounding right. Musically it also spits out a vibe of THE CURE from the early 1990s. Mia’s vocal is slightly in the back on this at certain junctures but never hidden in the mix.
The final track is ‘Pn M2 - 9’. Pn M2 - 9 is apparently a planetary nebula. This is a love ballad where the protagonists sing about being “together forever never to depart”. Stardust drifting in eternal dust of the universe? (Shrugs shoulders). It’s a floaty delicate piece to end the album. Steve Lake’s vocal being more gravel and less nasal and Mia’s pin sharp and clear like dew on, well, a pin. Not a bad album this but there are some bits that don’t really get me going, in my opinion. The first half being more of a pull than the second, and the mix was a bit hit and miss for my ears. As I alluded to, Steve Lake’s vocals could be annoying and pleasing throughout. But these two have the chops and the chemistry to create something in the next album, if there is one, that could keep me peaked for longer.
Tracklist
01. Spell
02. Some Things Are Worth Believing
03. Wanted
04. Looking for Us
05. Murder Ballad
06. Hey Mia Do You Remember?
07. Wild
08. Blood Moon Wedding part 1
09. Blood Moon Wedding part 2
10. Pn M2-9
Line-up
Mia Dean – Vocals, Guitars
Steve Lake – Vocals, Guitars
Tom Dean – Keys, Synths, Bass
Jason Willer – Drums
David Coulter – Musical Saw, Violin, Leslie Piano
Website
https://bloodmoonwedding.bandcamp.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 8
Sound: 7
Total:7.5
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