The Deadfly Ensemble — An Instructional Guide For Aspiring Arsonists
That they now function more as a band than a mere Lucas-and-friends entity is evident throughout the record, the compositions being generally more fleshed-out and sounding fuller than was the case before, to arrive at what can best be described as folk-rock cabaret music with strong 80s sensibilities. Imagine Current 93 at its most gentle and cuddly meeting up on stage with The Head on the Door-era Cure to entertain guests in a bierstube somewhere in Weimar Germany, the whole thing is topped with the habitual operatic banshee wails of mister Lanthier.
Built upon a fairly conservative foundation of bass, drum and guitar (anything from acoustic to reverb-wrenched) and spiced up at times with complementary touches of cello or synth, the songs for the most part remain safely entrenched on the ear-pleasing side of the fence. Thankfully, they also exhibit a touch of dark humour that is a welcome balance to the otherwise over-the-top sensitiveness which some of them seem invested with at first listen and serves to instil them with a healthy dose of second-degree humour when they run the risk of being crushed by the weight of their own sonic artsiness.
You won’t read me writing that the album hits bull’s-eye at every turn but compositional qualities are there to be found a-plenty and the songs showcase a welcome diversity while still coalescing into a most pleasant ensemble. And while it might fall miles away from the comfort zone of those of us more accustomed to the darker side of the Moog and Lucas Lanthier’s vocals are even more of an acquired taste than Tony Wakeford’s – if that was possible -, the present manual turns out to be a rewarding listen nonetheless.
This one should appeal primarily to 35+ women who love cats, early 19th century English gothic literature, write a diary and once looked like Emily the Strange. But if your record collection contains anything by Siouxsie and the Banshees or The Southern Death Cult and you’re on the look-out for something more delicate to let off some steam, there’s a good chance that you might find here something to sink your ears into.