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rikm
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rikm On "Halo Star", Black Tape for a Blue Girl embrace a dark cabaret style, infusing the album with the sound of smoke-filled bars and opulent lounges. It's a richly textured album, particularly highlighted by the emotionally charged vocals of Audra's Bret Helm and the ethereal stylings of Elysabeth Grant.

Definitely one of Black Tape for a Blue Girl's best releases, and this expanded edition offers a wealth of bonus tracks and rarities to add to your enjoyment of it.

Highly recommended...
Uncle Brains
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Uncle Brains The ultimate version of one of black tape's best albums. A precise balance between ethereal and dark cabaret songs, between melodies and atmospheric passsages. Favorite track: Knock three times.
Scott
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Scott An evolution of their sound is evident here, yet it remains recognizably Black tape.... Surprisingly to me, my favorite track here is one of their folkier songs (I tend to enjoy their classical and electronic the most) but this is a solid album throughout. I especially appreciate Bret's contributions - his voice adds a layer of darkness which works well with these songs. Favorite track: Your love is sweeter than wine.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    This is the original 12-track compact disc in jewel box with 20-page booklet. This is *not* a 2-CD edition. It doesn't contain the bonus tracks. It is the original 2004 CD, with 12-tracks.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Halo Star via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Glow 01:12
2.
Tarnished 03:23
3.
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Your love is sweeter than wine - oh I taste it Your smile is sweeter than wine - don’t I know You should trust in the beat of your heart You should believe in the words that are on your lips Don’t fear to speak them My love, my love, life can be so hard - if you force it Believe in me 'cause i believe in you I believe in the beauty in your eyes, in the power of your words, I believe, I believe in your purity You'll set me free, you'll set the whole world free I believe in the beat of your heart I trust the words I kiss from your lips
5.
i watch him in the moonlight, snow dances across his body i’m not the person you think i am i want him immediately, to experience that passion it all, it all, it all hurts me we’re slumped over, spent, panting ~ on broken dishes my disheveled world to prove my love for you to prove my love for you to prove my love for you to prove my love i see him smile unknowingly, i feel the urge to strike this waiting tears the flesh from my bones we’re slumped over, spent, panting ~ on overturned carts life beyond my grasp to prove my love for you to prove my love for you to prove my love for you to prove my love
6.
Autumn leaves blowing across my floor Windows broken out by the mean kids who live next door And there she is, well not her exactly but the box she likes to sleep in She was so cute in a skinny kinda way; and they say: Knock three times on your coffin if you want my love Twice on the pipe if the answer, answer is no She put with all the taunts all the nasty things they'd say She'd smile and pretend to ignore them but she stored it all away Don't blame me, don't blame me, they drove her 'round the bend She was so cute in a 'why-don't-you-get-out-and-see-the-sun' kinda way; and they say: Knock three times on your coffin if you want my love Twice on the pipe if the answer, answer is no, no, no The world grew dark, insane men ruled, our stomachs kept on grumbling But we had fun, we danced a lot, if you don't count all that stumbling She was so cute in a 'why-don't-you-put-some-meat-on-those-bones' kinda way, kinda way Kinda weighs not much than the mice and skeletons that run across my floor Mice and skeletons that dance across my floor Knock three times on your coffin lid if you want my love Twice on the pipe if the answer, answer is no, no, no Knock three times on your coffin if you want my love Twice on the pipe if the answer, answer is no Knock three times Knock three times
7.
Scarecrow 03:03
8.
Damn swan! 03:12
damn, damn swan thinking of me half submerged in the warm water thinking of you take my innocence away that long neck wrapped around me those soft wings beating against me thrashing me damn majestic bird i want to feel his feathers and beak and clawing webby feet tearing at me i want to know the love of a god. empower me! transform me! a shudder in my loins, the deception’s complete; gaining nothing i lie in the water, his indifferent beak lets me drop... damn majestic bird
9.
i stood at the door of a house you told me was yours. i waited. the rain fell on me. but i was alone, interminably alone. your window was closed. you’ll never know i was here. i thought to walk away. my emptiness stabs right through me. my thoughts plaguing me. deceiving me. and isn’t that just like it always is? and isn’t that just like it always is? my name forgotten, my letter unopened. the emptiness pours out of me. you’ll forget, you’ll forget me, if you haven’t already forgotten. and isn’t that just like it always is? and isn’t that just like it always is? i could have kissed you, could have held you, i could have felt so, so much. i’m frightened to inaction, my dark empty touch. i’m heartless, i’m thoughtless, i turned you away. this city is despair, these walls will all collapse. your door remains unopen. in my mind i wait forever. you upstairs: beautiful and young. i age on your step. my name long forgotten, as i wait. i wait. i’m unable to leave, unable to knock. as i wait. i wait.
10.
they tell her soon the morning will return and she will drift to sleep blackened sleep, dreamless sleep i need you to feel alive i’m on the fourth floor, have i been here all night? hear voices in the hall, they disappear her steps echo down the tiny curved streets where the cold wind reaches the center rooms fighting back the secret i need you to feel alive
11.
Dagger 05:51
if i could look down from the vantage of an enraged god i’d pass judgement on your betrayal, proceed with your punishment scratch that apologetic smile from your beautiful face convert my falling tears to daggers that impale you pierce the flesh i love and drive the life from your body the lovely body i’ve held to mine our last moments filled with pain and unspeakable pleasure our last moments filled with pain and unspeakable pleasure i would lick your wounds and kiss the blood from your eyes our bodies entangled, like lovers, locked! as existence fades from your silver eyes, intimately you hold me in an instant of enlightenment, i’d like to think you see what’s lost the two of us will end, the beauty sentenced to death the two of us will end if i had the will of a god, i’d leave you impaled to die but i don’t have the will of a god, i kneel in the street with my anger spent i betray myself for years on end, breathing so difficult when you’ve chosen to suffocate
12.
Halo star 03:25
halo star ~ there you are ~ dreaming of the pendulum blade don’t rush away. don’t say ‘it’s all ok...’ halo star ~ could have gone far ~ shocked by the pain of your assassination so tell me you’re happy. you’re not. you’re not halo star ~ your wishes i oblige. what can i do but oblige? halo star ~ halo star halo star ~ there you are ~ don’t rush away. it’s not ok... Bret Helm vocals Sam Rosenthal faux piano ­
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about

Our 9th album. This download is a deluxe 30-track version with bonus material. Tracks 1-12 are on the CD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Released in 2004, HALO STAR is a mix of ethereal tracks sung by Elysabeth Grant, and somewhat more accessible darkwave rock tracks featuring vocalist Bret Helm. Included are the fan-pleasers "Knock Three Times," the Pink Floydy "The Gravediggers" and the folk-rock "Your love is sweeter than wine."

GOTHIC PARADISE WROTE: Combinations of creativity and a bit of fun is a great addition to this album. Fans of the great ethereal gothic music are going to love this album’s somber moods and spellbinding music. Sam and his accomplices have managed to pull it off again with great style.

FAC193 WROTE: The ever-prolific project of Projekt head Sam Rosenthal and a cast of thousands, Black Tape For A Blue Girl have long earned their place in the pantheon of American Gothic music. Black Tape has earned it on its own terms, mixing ancient and ethnic musics with contemporary ennui — singlehandedly offering a new definition of what one might consider to be “Gothic.” Halo Star is Black Tape mark 2004, offering familiar faces (Bret Helm and Elysabeth Grant’s stirring vocals, Lisa Feuer’s flute and Sam’s potent electronics) but further exploring and plumbing the depths of their own sound. “Your love is sweeter than wine” is filled with droning, lush folk overtones, while “Tarnished” is deep, tantric psychedelia. Bret Helm could well be mistaken for the son of Peter Murphy on voice alone, and in “Knock three times” the similarities are delightfully uncanny and incite shameless envy from this reviewer. The beautiful spaciousness of Halo Star’s music is almost narcotic and deeply addictive — you’ll be hanging onto every word of Elysabeth Grant’s performance on “Already forgotten” and entranced by Vicki Richards’s violin drone on “Dagger” as it slow dances with the heady sea of ambience that is Sam’s electronic work. As much as I loved The Scavenger Bride, Halo Star is now my favorite of Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s recent work. It is, without a doubt, an instant classic. -Jack Alberson

GRAVE CONCERNS WROTE: While it’s often a departure from the fairly consistent introspective, intimate side Rosenthal and company have explored throughout the last 15 or 20 years, Halo Star showcases an interesting and ultimately successful sonic evolution. It’s an album that’s both more stylistically diverse and more accessible than much of their recent catalog but still retains enough “classic Black Tape” material to please fans of their more ethereal side. Whether you’re a long-time fan or a curious newcomer, you’ll find a solid album that is arguably one of the most interesting offerings the band has released to date.


IF YOU WANT MORE:
IF YOU WANT MORE:
IF YOU WANT MORE:
blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com/album/halo-star-deluxe-disc-2 This is the 2nd disc of the digital-only Deluxe Edition. The tracks from the SCARECROW ep, plus nine live recordings from the 2004 tour.

credits

released August 14, 2004

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Black Tape For A Blue Girl Portland, Oregon

Black Tape For A Blue Girl creates darkwave, ethereal, neoclassical, ambient, goth albums. This page also includes my ambient/electronic music, as well as side-projects. Thanks for listening. Sam

Patrons receive exclusive music: blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com/patron

Formed in 1986
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