Black Tape for a Blue Girl : Rope

TITLE:       Rope
ARTIST:      Black Tape for a Blue Girl
LABEL:       Projekt Records
TOTAL TIME:  43.41

For some reason it only seems fitting that my last projekt review (for awhile) is Black Tape for a Blue Girl's first release, "The Rope." This is my last review due to the fact that I've heard it all, commented where I wanted, and hopefully answered all the questions I've received from posting these reviews, so until projekt releases some more discs, well....

What can logically be expected from a band's first disc? Of course it is going to be more raw than later releases, and of course it will be immature musically compared to what will come. I've never seen the exception to these rules. So it comes as no real surprise that The Rope doesn't excite me as much as "Ashes in the Brittle Air" (my favorite BTfaBG disc), or "A Chaos of Desire." I didn't expect it to, so I won't fault it for not.

Black Tape for a Blue Girl is my second favorite projekt band (I can't get enough of Lycia), and as such was the second of the projekt artists that I became a completist in. I'm impatiently awaiting a new BTfaBG, Lycia, or any projekt release.

If The Rope had been the first BTfaBG recording that I'd gotten my greasy fingers on, well, then I doubt that I'd be such a huge fan. Don't get me wrong. I love this disc, but I came across projekt's line with "From Across This Gray Land No. 3" (a disc I can't plug enough. If you buy no other projekt disc, buy this one), so I didn't buy them sequentially. In fact, I did just the opposite. I worked my way backward through their catalog, until I had it all (at least I think I do. I'd love to learn I was wrong). After "Ashes in the Brittle Air" and "A Chaos of Desire" every other BTfaBG disc has been somewhat of a let down (the jury is still out on "This Lush Garden Within"). A let down, not because of bad music --hell, anything BTfaBG does is better than 96% of the shit released on major labels--but a let down because my expectations were raised too high.

I hope I'm getting across the fact that, even though The Rope isn't my favorite, it is still good. In case I haven't done so, let me take some time to tell you that I love this disc. Also, let me take a little more space to tell you my impressions of The Rope.

First off, "We Return" is the best song on this release. It is a vocally layered song, that impresses the hell out of me. Its a busy, but beautiful piece. This is the last song on The Rope, but it is by no means the first that is worthy of attention. What do I like best about this release? Ah, it would have to be the lyrics. Rather than quoting some, I'll ask that you trust me. Even if you hate the music (impossible!), and can't stand the singing (improbable), you should still be able to read the liner notes and enjoy the poetic lines. If not, there is probably something wrong with you, and I would start to worry.

Big Bonus Time! Tracks 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are instrumental, but words are still given for these songs (track 4 the lyrics don't match the singing). I'm not sure of the purpose of this, but I like it. Perhaps BTfaBG is proposing these lyrics as "suggested reading material" for listening to these songs. Really, I don't mind, as extra lyrics don't bother me nearly as much as no printed lyrics.

Some of the songs on The Rope take a minute or two to really get going, which is probably only annoying to people like me, who think instant potatoes take too long. "Memory, Uncaring Friend" is the first track on The Rope and doesn't suffer from this slow start drawback. It begins delivering immediately. This song actually scared me the first time I heard it. I thought the whole disc was going to be like this, which would have been way too fast for my tastes (even if the lyrics are dark). This song is great and stands out, but I just don't think I could handle a disc of like songs. I never had to fear though as BTfaBG comes through with the expected synthe driven sound that should be patented.

The Rope is not the best BTfaBG disc, but I have to respect it more than I probably normally would, as it is the first. Once you have the other releases, you'll find that you will want to pick this one up too.

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