Search - Hannah Fury :: Through the Gash

The madness ends, the music starts

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 08/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Let's be honest here -- carnivals are creepy, and always have been. If you don't believe me, read some Ray Bradbury or watch "Carnival of Souls."



So it's not exactly surprising that Hannah Fury's second full-length album has a sort of dark, electronic circus feel, like a chanteuse at a carnival's haunted house. But Fury remains the star of "Through the Gash," especially with those beautifully creepy lyrics and gentle warbling voice.



It opens with some stabs of organ, before melting into a quavering keyboard melody. "You want to walk straight down the line/I just sway from side to side/Coming at you like some tattered corpse bride/Coming at you, so stand aside," Fury croons quietly. Somehow a Tim Burton reference seems quite appropriate.



But things really start with "Carnival Justice (The Gloves A Off - Part II)" (and no, there is no part one): a blurring, shifting song that starts the evil-carnival sound: "Step right up and get what you deserve/What a prize!/Yeah, it's her/And if you think you scored your vision must be blurred/Welcome to the Theater of the Absurd..."



From there, Fury quietly segues into her other songs -- slow oscillating ballads, tattered ghostly pop with shifting vocals, organ pop, creepy little synthrockers about someone being devoured, and a pair of music-box tunes. It peaks with the brilliant, slow organ tune about how "Girls that glitter love the dark/We lace it through our bitter, black little hearts."



Basically, "Through the Gash" sounds like a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Feist -- all lovely vocals, electronic music and eerie creep. It's a thoroughly entrancing little album of gothic pop, as quiet, lovely and ominous as a moonlight night.



But "Through the Gash" displays a big change in Fury's musical style -- her previous album was all piano with a dash of keyboard. But now it's all wrapped in a cloak of quavering synth, with some drum machines to keep the beat. The piano is still there, but more sparingly, with organ to take its place. And the edges of the last few songs are decorated with carousel tunes and a music-box melody.



The big flaw? That would be Fury's vocals, which are beautiful, ethereal, rich and sensual... when you can hear them. They sometimes get lost in the mix. But she delivers her haunting, evocative songs wonderfully, whether they're fragile-sounding ballads or slightly evil pop tunes ("They won't regret it, or so they say/Those you have loved have snagged on your thorny veins").



If the cover art doesn't scare you off, "Through the Gash" is a great choice for a darker, eerier kind of singer-songerwriter, with a knack for delicately creepy songs. Step right up!"

A berserker version of Tori Amos

Nobody | 07/03/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I stole that from a blog review, I'm not sure what it means, but I like it. Definitely Ms. Fury sounds like she grew up listening to Amos, but given her age that doesn't seem quite fair, she's been around for quite awhile. I like a lot of that breathy girl voice over dramatic piano and synth stuff, including this. Her voice isn't that strong and gets buried in places, especially on the up-tempo part of "Beware", which also doesn't quite work, by the way. In "Defenistration" it almost vanishes but comes back big over a goth-like organ I like a lot, kind of reminds me of Shakespeare's Sister. "Apple" also could have used much more vocal presence, she seems afraid to just belt it out sometimes. But for the most part the groove works pretty good, and I find it curious I've never run across her name before this. She should be better known, this is really accomplished music, my nitpicking aside. I'll definitely check out some of the back catalog, but in the meantime, maybe "Gash" will break her out of the indie hinterland a bit, it's a solid CD."

Hannah Fury: Through the Gash

boxhead | Inverness | 08/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""I throw your head across the ice / I throw my head through a window / Crash / Like poetry" - Throwing Muses, Delicate Cutters, 1986.



The career of the solo singer / songwriter is fraught with difficulties: if you consider yourself lucky enough to be signed to a major label, it's probable that if your first or second single isn't a success, you'll be dropped, possibly without ownership of the material you've written in the process. Some may be seduced into diluting their craft to satisfy their masters. Others will become disillusioned or attempt a career relaunch with another label. The smart ones don't bother any of this: it's no coincidence that the more interesting artists reach out to the internet for their audience, often setting up their own record company in the process. Hannah Fury has single-mindedly sought her own path straight from her 1998 debut EP, Soul Poison. Subsequent releases have proven the benefit of taking this approach. None more so than her second album, Through the Gash, an album that treats affairs of the heart with the same intensity that others might treat mania. To quote Throwing Muses again: shocking is therapy.



Those listeners who ached for Through the Gash to be a continuation of her first album The Thing That Feels, may be disappointed. I was at first: it does seem to be quite a departure from the days of the Wicked inspired piano ballads and the arresting The Vampire Waltz. Listen some more and the relationship proves more subtle: Through the Gash gets its strength and exposes Hannah's increasing confidence through the more varied use of keyboards. So whilst piano lovers will have to dig deeper to find the percussive melodies that dazzled throughout The Thing That Feels - and they are present - the corresponding pay-off is that her vocals and lyrics have a greater opportunity to impress, especially during the slower songs.



I am in no way trying to pimp Hannah Fury's back catalogue, but to get the best out of this album, you have to listen to her entire body of work. Other artists, particularly Kristin Hersh, repeat words and imagery across their songs as coincidental reflections on their afflictions. With Hannah, the most obvious phrasing revolves around the album title (with its attendant interpretations), together with love, scars, sugar, hearts and, inevitably, Marie Antoinette. Through the Gash becomes unique on two counts: by making oblique references to previously released songs, and by being self-referential, lyrically and musically. One might consider this re-use to be lazy, but that would be wrong. The re-use is so meticulous that it has to be intentional. Such intricate songwriting and execution rewards attentive listening. But it's not just the lyrics which work this way.



One superficial review of this album has dismissed the songs as simple half-spoken vocals passed through various delays, underneath which some simple piano lines are played. None of this is correct: the album is bursting with individually processed multi-tracked vocals - whispered, sung, half-sung, spoken, gasped and screamed. Effects drop out mid-measure, each line a further opportunity for a different realisation. Hannah's approach to the mixing and production of this album is closer to the way that techno artists tweak and cut notes, sounds and push the beats by single digit milliseconds to get the desired results. There are often multiple melodies within each song, either acting to support or break away from the vocals. The piano work an advance on that debut album. Vocal tracks coalesce and separate to build a dynamic that often destroys the distinctions between verse and chorus. The production is extraordinary.



You'll realise by now that I've not mentioned any individual song: it would be unfair to single out songs to identify one or more of the qualities I've explained above. The lyrics are too rich to reach any specific conclusion other that what I wrote in my opening paragraph. The fact is, these songs take time to digest. Listen and judge for yourself.



I've listened to this album dozens of times. Provided you treat it with respect and don't drown in it, you may find it to be the best solo release in recent years. Here's a tip: play it loud. But, there is one more thing: it holds a remarkable secret which I'm only just uncovering. Not that it towers above its peers, that much is clear, but that it's a better album than Hannah may think it to be."