Black Tape for a Blue Girl : Mesmerized by the Sirens

ARTIST:     Black Tape for a Blue Girl
TITLE:      Mesmerized by the Sirens
LABEL:      projekt (PRO25)
TRACK TIME: 59:01

Yum yum yum. Okay, Mesmerized by the Sirens isn't perfection, hell, it doesn't even come as close as Ashes in the Brittle Air, but this is Black Tape for a Blue Girl! You can't go wrong, believe me, I own all four BTfaBG's releases, and I wouldn't part with any of them. I won't kid you and say I like every song on Mesmerized by the Sirens, but the few that I don't like are still good songs, I just don't care for them. Does that make sense? I hope so.

Mesmerized by the Sirens starts off with a bizarre little song called "jamias pars." At first I thought I was going to get a predictable dose of feminine vocals, but I don't know exactly what Sue Kenny-Smith is singing, but it sure isn't the lyrics included with the disc, at least she's not singing these lyrics in English. This is a happy tune and perfect for this disc.

Then comes "a teardrop left behind." This is also the title of the Hyperium release (a teardrop left behind Hyp26) that has 14 songs featuring all the vocalist from the first four discs. Sad to say, I don't like this song. Listen, I couldn't sing my way out of hell, but Oscar Herrera's voice on this one is...I don't know, it's just not beautiful. It's not Oscar though, as he rips on other songs, such as "the sawdust scatter."

I find myself wanting to comment of every song! The next two tracks are my personal favorites (especially "dark skinned and inviting"). "Lie broken, bleeding" is the other song, but what can I say, except that it's one of the better on the disc? Lyrics are included for track 5, "hairline sunlight," but none are sung on the song. This is fine with me though, as I gave up expecting the linear notes and the songs to match almost right away.

If you haven't figured it out by now, Mesmerized by the Sirens comes with printed lyrics! Cheap thrill for me, I know, but oh well, let me have a few, will you?

I'll resist the temptation to discuss every cut here. "Scream, my shallow" is the last I'll talk about, then you can go buy this disc and decide for yourself. "Scream, my shallow" also appears on the Beneath the Icy Flow (PRO14) projekt sampler, but I'm unsure of whether or not it's the same version(I sold my Beneath the Icy Flow, those damn Eco-paks). This was the song that convinced me that I had to complete my BTfaBG catalog, and surprisingly, this isn't even one of the best songs on the disc. Oh, it's cool, but there are many that are better.

One of the factors that prevented me from buying into projekt full force is that my mother likes this music. I know, it's childish, but I still feel awkward when every time I visit my parents house, my mother raids my disc collection. This is just not right. The only way this music could be better is if I could figure out a way to feel like I've somehow gotten away with something sneaky when I play it.

send for a free catalog of gothic-ambient music
projekt. box 1591. garden grove, ca 92642-1591

argent@iastate.edu