Imagine the disappointment when I learnt Rose was a lady, when I first spotted this release I thought ex-Eastender and supposed hard man Ross Kemp had gone off the rails and made a snarling hardcore punk record. However my disappoint, was abated when TLOBF’s Rich Thane admitted that Rose Kemp scared him more than a little bit. It was indisputably a reputation worth investigating further.
There is an eerie atmosphere that pervades this, before the music even starts. The artwork portrays a solitary Blackbird with blood dripping from its beak like a reject from Hitchcocks Birds. And Kemps slurring vocals flutter into Dirt Glow, before a cracked cackle brings crashing guitars to enliven the slumber. Nannys World is built around a foreboding single bar and a Jekyll and Hyde high/low vocal which is obliterated when the amps are turned up to bring some equilibrium to the dual personality.
The sound at the start of this record is akin to early, Dry-era PJ Harvey, in the days when pink catsuits were a perfect accompaniment to her raw emotion. With Rose Kemp there is however a nagging feeling that all of the Gothic stylings and tales of lost love are a bit of a fraud. This is emphasised when she thanks her band for making her sound so “heavy.” The monster riffs of the first three tracks are a smokescreen for the whimsical singer-songwriter underbelly that is hidden on tracks like ‘Natures Hymn’ and ‘Flawless’.
The “Lord of Metal” is also thanked amongst the sleeve notes but the suspicion is that he told Rose to “bog off and stop sounding like that bird from Evanescence if you want to worship at my altar.” When Rose threatens to cut your fingers off in the Unholy there is a touch of conviction to the threat but it all dissipates in a Rent-a-ghost wail.
Like the Bride of Chucky, Unholy Majesty has plenty of malicious intent but ultimately the threatening demeanour is eroded to reveal a spongy soft stuffing. Now, where is that Ross Kemp release……………..
40%
mp3:> Rose Kemp: ‘Nanny’s World’
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August 29th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
http://www.rosekemp.com