Miranda Sex Garden - Suspiria
I've always been a fan of this album. Miranda Sex Garden started as classically trained singers of Elizabethan madrigals. Their first album in fact was nothing but madrigals, sung traditionally, unaccompanied in three parts. From there they morphed into an art rock band that has variously been described as Darkwave or Gothic Rock - to me those terms don’t describe them all that well. Certainly on Suspiria they still sound like madrigal singers, often with each vocal part an equally important line rather than the usual singer plus back up harmonies - Sunshine and Feed are probably best examples of their use of counterpoint. This madrigal singer aesthetic has been twisted through the lens of influences such as Nick Cave and Einstürzende Neubauten (both of whom have had MSG backing them on tours).
The drums, guitar and viola are on roughly equal footing with synth and samples, but all of these are subservient to the vocals. There are no displays of instrumental virtuosity, rather the instruments and industrial ambience are there to add texture and enhance the overall mood. While it's not a perfect album due to a couple of low points (such as the waltz) its many strengths bring its my score to:
9/10
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