REVIEW: Rasputina, How We Quit the Forest (Columbia)
- Chelsea Spear
With apologies to a writer for my previous publication (I have to apologise, he'd better be reading this), Rasputina is a band that would like to defy categorization. Their debut, Thanks for the Ether, was the sleeper hit of 1996, blending pop songcraft, impassioned vocals, chamber arrangements, and lyrics that were by turn poignant, raging, and bitingly funny, through the musical kaleidescope of a band comprised of three cellists. Unfortunately, the media focused more on the band's onstage garb of corsetry and occasional songs about vampires, and erroneously pigeonholed the three lovelies as "goth". The band staunchly rejected the label, even as they hit the road with the Cranes and allowed their most artistically unfortunate patron, Marilyn Manson, to shit on -- I mean, remix -- their biggest hit, "Transylvanian Concubine".
Listening to the first few tracks on Rasputina's latest release, How We Quit the Forest, may make some fear that the band has succumbed to the worst stereotypes of this bat-brained subgenre. "Leech Wife", with its distorted vocals, morbid subject matter, and slicing arrangement, echoes all the worst tendencies of Manson without his ridiculous, pro-Satan rhetoric and pompous importance. Other songs, like "Old Headboard" and "Dwarf Star", at least alleviate these tendencies with lyricist Melora Creager's trademark sense of humour, and the spoken-word piece "Christian Soldiers" tempers its grotesque description of an excorcism with the beautiful instrumental that backs it up.
However, the entire album thankfully does not continue in tribute to Manson. The band is at its best when they blend the organic musical mesh of their cellos with gossamer, synthetic techno beats straight from Madonna's Ray of Light. By far the most effective tracks include "The New Zero", a club-ready track whose lyrical subject matter deals with a hotel made entirely of ice in Sweden; "Signs of the Zodiac", a morbid little number whose ebbing melody works to spooky effect with a restrained vocal and deadly-sounding rhythmic undertow; and the fanciful "MayFly", which percolates along to a staticky Casio beat and "Greensleeves"-influenced tune. Even some of the louder, crunchier tunes, such as "Things I'm Gonna Do" and the John Lennon- influenced "Trenchmouth", work well because of the contrast between the arena-ready crescendos and goosebump-inducing instrumental interludes.
In the end, How We Quit the Forest could well be the Return of the Giant Slits for this musical underground's epoch. Like the Slits, Rasputina got an unexpected amount of mileage out of an album coming from such a tight musical focus, but for all the solid artistic limbs they go out on, they also encounter some hollow branches that can't support their musical vision. However, there's some truly fascinating musical ideas, and I'm curious to follow the band onto their third album to see how they continue their musical journey.
