Browsing Tag

Dark Cabaret

Jessamine Barham melodised marionette melancholy in her compelling vignette, Puppet Girl

Every time the dark indie folk singer-songwriter Jessamine Barham turns her creativity to the composition of a new baroquely imaginative piano score, complete immersion in her archaic vignettes is non-optional.

In her seminal avant-garde single, Puppet Girl, the San Diego-hailing artist melodied marionette melancholy by inviting you into a world of powerlessness, subjugation, and betrayal.

Taking the single at face value, you will enjoy a jaunty Evelyn Evelyn-esque cabaret tune; look a little deeper at what is written between the lines, and you will lock into an exposition on the limitations life can find a way of imposing on us. No matter how free we think we are, we all come with strings attached, making Puppet Girl a resonantly dark reflection of reality.

Puppet Girl is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

In an act of divine imagination Jessamine Barham advocated for carnival performers in her anachronistic single, Freak Show

In an act of complete ingenuity driven by compassion and divine imagination, Jessamine Barham advocated for the rights of performers in carnivals in her aptly carnivalesque single, Freak Show.

While AHS Freak Show gave a view into the exploitation of performers when it aired on our screens in 2014, it didn’t even come close to cutting to the bone as sharply as the lacerating lyrical volition in Freak Show.

Sure, the waltzy, anachronistic cabaret instrumentals cushion the blow and add a jaunty air of playfulness to the release, but there is no escaping the revelation that everyone who has ever attended a show that parades deformity and disability participated in a sick and twisted session of voyeurism. If you love Amanda Palmer, you’re going to fall head over heels for Freak Show.

Roll up to the Freak Show by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go down the rabbit hole with Observe the 93rd’s histrionic alt-rock anthem, Mad as a Hatter

Observe the 93rd created the ultimate contender for the histrionic alt-rock anthem of the year with their latest single, Mad as a Matter. If you could imagine what it would sound like if Highly Suspect veered into the spooky symphonic cabaret arena, you’ll get an idea of what you are in for when you hit play, but bank on getting more than you bargained for with this maniacally exhilarant hit.

With whirling dervish-esque symphonic keys contorting into gyrating progressions and the industrial rock descent into deeper obscurity, Mad as a Hatter takes a common trope and stretches it out on a tightrope of experimental innovation. The syncopated pseudo-trap hit will be hit with fans of Tallah, Wage War, Stolen Babies, Fable Cry, Poppy, and Schoolyard Heroes.

Mad as a Hatter is as un-archetypal as tracks get, which makes it all the more impressive that Observe the 93rd effortlessly implanted earwormy choruses. So far in their career, they’ve been voted Best Alternative Rock Band and Best Male Vocalist at the Central Pennsylvania Music Awards in 2021. And they’ve supported Three Days Grace, Stone Temple Pilots, Seether, Puddle of Mudd, Drowning Pool, Saliva, Joyous Wolf, From Ashes to New, and P.O.D.

Stream the official music video for Mad as a Hatter on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Fairweather Friend pained an illusion of entropy with the descending melodies in their dark cabaret score, Zoetrope

With their distinctive brand of despondent dark cabaret, the up-and-coming histrionically enthralling artist, The Fairweather Friend, left us arrested with their latest single, Zoetrope.

The bitter-sweet neo-classic crescendos bring a touch of archaic elegance to the single as the Westworld-Esque honkytonk piano keys diatonically hammer home the sinking sensations portrayed by the lyrics, which allude to the dizzying disposition of entropy. Zoetrope easily up there with one of the most resonant singles I’ve heard this year, beating Amanda Palmer’s cover of Surface Pressure by a cinematic mile.

We can’t wait to hear what else is in the pipeline from the criminally underrated artist and their inhibited compulsion to extend solidarity to anyone out there who knows just how much the touch of ennui stings.

Zoetrope was officially released on November 23rd. It is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rock n roll’s suavest literary savants, Dead Writers, reached the pinnacle of decadence in their Dostoyevsky-inspired debut music video, Lisa

Dead writers pulled out all the suave stops for their rock n roll cabaret single and debut music video, Lisa, inspired by Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground.

The second single from their debut EP is a slight departure from the gothy Manics-Esque gravitas we heard from their previous release, Among Spirits. Nevertheless, the same zealous dedication to their savantic sonic interpretation of classic literature lives and breathes through the decadent tale of resilience which follows the tale of a young woman trapped in a life of prostitution.

With themes of isolation, self-resilience, and salvation in the turn-of-the-century set music video, it is clear that modernism hasn’t abstracted us from those character arcs. Pulling parallels and finding resonance within this tinged with demure darkness Avant-Garde riff-caressed feat of rock n roll that will leave you arrested by the unparalleled artistry is all too easy.

Lisa is definitive proof that Romance isn’t dead. It crescendos throughout the tenderly nostalgic balance between sadness and admiration of feminine power. I’ve often maintained that no man wrote women better than Richey Edwards; Paul Shine may have just set the bar a little higher with Lisa. It amorously rivals the lyrical salvation that will perpetually reside in Little Baby Nothing.

“Inspired by Dostoyevsky’s novel Notes From The Underground, the song tells the story of isolation, self-reliance and the eventual salvation of Lisa, a young woman trapped in a life of prostitution. Lisa is able to detach herself from the danger and despair of her environment and the challenging presence of a bitter client, thus reshaping the original narrative and becoming the heroine of her own tale.

Lisa represents unwavering strength of character. She dreams of freedom but is brave enough to wait for the right moment to escape and knows how to navigate the circumstances. She is the ultimate quiet strategist.”Dead Writers

The official music video premiered on December 9th. Lust over it on YouTube.

Stream & purchase the single via Bandcamp. 

Follow Dead Writers on Instagram and Facebook. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast