the scavenger bride, by Black Tape For A Blue Girl

the scavenger bride

by Black Tape For A Blue Girl

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Scott This album contains an entire world to become immersed in. Elysabeth's singing in Bastille Day is phenomenal--it's one of the most affecting songs I have ever heard. Favorite track: bastille day, 1961.

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CD in jewel box with 20-page booklet, inside O-card slipcase

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	1.	the scavenger bride 02:45
	2.	kinski 03:30
	3.	all my lovers 04:02
	4.	shadow of a doubt 02:32
	5.	the doorkeeper 01:17
	6.	floats in the updrafts 01:36
	7.	a livery of bachelors 04:20
	8.	das liselottenbett 02:42
	9.	the lie which refuses to die 02:49
	10.	the scavenger’s daughter 08:04
	11.	like a dog/letter to brod 10:27
	12.	the whipper 01:22
	13.	bastille day, 1961 05:48

about

“Like Dead Can Dance, black tape for a blue girl dramatically flirts with symphonic decay.” The Philadelphia City Paper

Sixteen years after its debut, black tape for a blue girl is one of the most successful and beloved bands within the ethereal gothic genre, while also engaging fans of elegant, artistic music. Their eighth release is a lovingly crafted concept album set in 1913 Prague; guest appearances from members of Unto Ashes, Audra, Judith, Spahn Ranch and a former member of Rasputina enliven the thirteen bewitching tracks. This album is like nothing you’ve heard before, yet these emotionally intense songs are classic black tape for a blue girl.

All Music Guide, Ned Raggett:
In part an extension of Black Tape’s previous album As One Aflame, Laid Bare by Desire, thanks to the continued inspiration of Marcel Duchamp, the excellent and captivating The Scavenger Bride is the first record by Sam Rosenthal and company explicitly conceived and performed as a uniform piece. It’s a concept album, though without the baggage that such a term normally brings, thanks to the varied performances throughout the record tied into the overall Black Tape aesthetic. Noted Czech author Franz Kafka is perhaps the key source for The Scavenger Bride‘s tale of a woman and her past lovers, while everyone from actor Klaus Kinski to Sonic Youth also provides some of the artistic focus for Rosenthal. Indeed, one of the highlights is “Shadow of a Doubt,” one of Sonic Youth ‘s finest early numbers, its breathless, nerve-tingling energy beautifully translated into a combination of piano, drums, viola and vocals, the last two delivered with dramatic panache by new member Elysabeth Grant. The core band of five this time features Rosenthal and returning members Feuer and Richards on flute and violin respectively, rounded out by cellist Julia Kent and Grant – interestingly, long time vocalist Oscar Herrera doesn’t feature once on the record. With the drowned, cascading wash of sound familiar from Black Tape in general achieving a new strength on songs like “The Scavenger’s Daughter” and “Das Liselottenbett,” the band is further assisted by a slew of fellow Projekt artists and similarly minded souls. Michael Laird from Unto Ashes adds dashes of medieval dance turns via percussion and mandolin throughout – check out the entrancing “All My Lovers,” also featuring Audra’s Bret Helm backing Grant on vocals – while Steve Roach, Athan Maroulis from Spahn Ranch, Martin Bowes from Attrition and Christopher David from Judith further add to the album’s serenely mysterious flow. Keep an ear out for Helm’s lead turn on “The Lie Which Refuses to Die,” which uses seemingly mundane imagery in quite a striking fashion.

Alternative Press #168 (July 2002), Mark Burbey:
Kafkaesque disc avoids concept-album pitfalls to emerge as a true work of art. | 9 out of 10 | Listening to The Scavenger Bride by Black Tape for a Blue Girl is like sitting in a cathedral of mindful gloom, feeling at once melancholy and reassured. Sam Rosenthal continues to be inspired by the art of Marcel Duchamp, while author Franz Kafka serves as muse for this concept album set in 1913 Prague. The title track is a cinematic overture, a portent of the artful blending of goth, ambient and chamber music to follow. Rich, timeless vocals by Elysabeth Grant, Bret Helm, and others breathe dark life into the passionate lyrics, but it’s the instrumental passages-with flute by Lisa Feuer, violin by Vicki Richards, cello by Julia Kent and electronics by Rosenthal-that burrow deep with the greatest poignancy. Comparisons with Dead Can Dance have become tiresome and inaccurate, for what Rosenthal is doing here is more original and singular in its ability to touch the listener both emotionally and intellectually.

credits

released April 5, 2002

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about

Black Tape For A Blue Girl Portland, Oregon

Black Tape for a Blue Girl is an American Ethereal band formed in 1986 by Projekt Records' founder Sam Rosenthal. Their music takes on elements of darkwave, ethereal, ambient, goth and neoclassical music. Director David Lynch is one of the band's more well-known fans. ... more

Recommendations

discography

the gesture of history

May 2019
To touch the milky way

Oct 2018
Knock Three Times (2010 live with Nicki Jaine)

Jul 2018
Journey to Aktehi

Oct 2017
Isotope

Aug 2017
Blood on the snow

Jan 2017
These fleeting moments

Aug 2016
Limitless (ep)

Jun 2016
the "Bike Shop" EP

Apr 2016
Across a thousand blades (demos+live)

Oct 2015
Monolith

Apr 2015
Monolith (addendum)

Apr 2015
The Collection (Free!)

Aug 2014
Tenderotics

Feb 2013
Archive 01

Oct 2012
Forbidden Colours

Oct 2012
The Passage

Nov 2011
10 Neurotics

Aug 2009
The Pleasures Everlasting (ep)

Aug 2008
The best of... (deluxe: 2008 + 1991)

Jul 2008
Anthology Archive

Jun 2008
POD

Jun 2007
Halo Star (deluxe - Disc 2)

Nov 2004
Halo Star (deluxe)

Aug 2004
the scavenger bride

Apr 2002
As One Aflame Laid Bare By Desire (Deluxe)

Jun 1999
Kickstarter Holiday EP

Nov 1996
With my Sorrows (2012)

Oct 1996
Remnants of a deeper purity

Jun 1996
the first pain to linger (maxi)

Apr 1996
This lush garden within

Apr 1993
Terrace of Memories

Apr 1992
A chaos of desire

Mar 1991
Ashes in the brittle air

Aug 1989
Mesmerized by the sirens

Oct 1988
The Rope (deluxe)

Aug 1986
The Sleep of Reason (remastered)

Aug 1984
the gesture of history (preview)

Feb 1919

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