Search - Violet Indiana :: Roulette

Good, but in small doses.

Adam Carroll | 10/23/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie and vocalist Siobhan de Mare have teamed up to create Roulette, an album that, for the caliber of the people who made it, doesn't really impress me that much.Guthrie's trademark swirling, dreamy guitar work is here in full force, while de Mare's vocals are passionate and immediate. When the combination of the two works, it really works well, as on the loungey opening track, "Air Kissing," with its brushed drums and simple guitar, and "Busted," a track that really evokes memories of Cocteau Twins, complete with the trademark wall of shimmering guitar sound and multitracked vocals.However, as the album progresses, it really doesn't live up to those opening tracks. De Mare performs these songs well for the most part (aside from one moment on "Angel" where she's horribly out of tune, but I think that's deliberate), but as the disc goes on, her lyrics become very clichéd, and her voice actually becomes a bit tiring to listen to. Guthrie, meanwhile, starts to sound pretty similar as well - his production doesn't vary much from track to track, and song 7, "Poison Gorgeous," sounds much the same as "Busted." Before the CD ends, it just sounds like the duo have run out of ideas. On the plus side, though, Roulette includes a bonus video of a song previously released on their Choke EP, "Purr La Perla." Both the video and song are excellent, and they make a worthwhile inclusion.In the end, there's nothing really _bad_ about this CD. It's just not all that innovative, and gets very repetitive when sitting through all the tracks. Listen to just a few selections at once to get the most enjoyment out of this one."

An elegantly crafted, melodic debut

Erica Anderson | Minneapolis, MN | 06/03/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was quite interested in hearing what Mono's Siobhan De Mare and Cocteau Twins' Rubin Guthrie's new project Violet Indiana was like. Was it going to be a blatant [take on] of Mono or Cocteau Twins? Well, it turned out that "Roulette" sounded like neither. Violet Indiana is an entity of its own. I'll admit I wasn't sure what to make of "Roulette" while listening to the first track "Air Kissing". Luckily I had nothing to worry when "Air Kissing" segued into "Busted", the second track of the album. In the grand tradition of trip hop music, the music is light and airy with the delicate vocals of Siobhan De Mare. The music itself isn't really innovating to be honest but I enjoyed the duo's debut album."

Dreamy & ethereal

time-traveller | Miami, FL | 07/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Siobhan de Mare(Mono) and Robin Guthrie(Cocteau Twins) combine their efforts in this new project, Violet Indiana, and the result is sensational! Though I am a big Elizabeth Frasier fan, it is comforting to be able to "understand" what the lyrics are!From the get-go, the CD sounds more like the more mellow side of Portishead with "Air Kissing". After that, you've got two songs ("Busted" & "Sundance") which are produced blandly and lack the necesary hooks. Things really mellow out after the third track but that's good because it seems the more downtempo the song is, the better it sounds! Unfortunately, by the time you reach halfway the CD, it all becomes a drone because every song is produced identical. So...my advise: listen to the songs individually (and not the whole CD) and you'll really like this collection."