Rasputina’s bandleader Melora Creager started out her musical career as a classically trained musician, she was then part of a band called Ultra Vivid Scene who opened for acts such as Belly, Throwing Muses and the Pixies, after that she played as a cellist with Nirvana on their In Utero tour, and then finally she founded Rasputina. Oh Perilous World is album number six for this all-cellos, no guitars, rock band and there are exciting and arresting moments on this album. The problem is, its mostly moments, hardly ever songs, that present themselves as worthwhile and interesting. For instance, a patch of song where Creager’s tone of voice can produce a grin, a portion of cello rocking that turns into mannered chamber music or a really heavy electric cello sound.An example: “Choose Me For A Champion” has a wailing vocal and some vacillating instrumentation. Most of the instruments drop away two thirds through the song, and Creager sing-speaks rapidly, “Consider Thursday October Christian/He’s a great rebel and I am exaggerating only very slightly/He wore nothing but a piece of cloth about his loins”, it’s not the lyrics, its the tone of voice she uses to deliver them in. In contrast to the vocal theatrics earlier on she very suddenly sounds coquettish, it’s such a startling and amusing change of direction that you can’t help but grin.The songs that hold interest are generally the catchiest ones, “In Old Yellowcake” has a great vocal hook and even sounds a little like Laura Veirs two thirds through, “Cage In A Cave” makes good use of Creager’s Regina Spektor-ish Brooklyn vocal theatrics, “Incident In A Medical Clinic” has an excellent melodic line on the chorus. But again, these are more isolated incidents than cohesive brilliance.A lot of thought was put into the lyrics, subjects range from child soldiers in Africa, the sacking of Fallujah, hurricane Katrina, and there seems to be a cohesive story threading everything together, but it is all projected through an eccentric lyrical voice that doesn’t really grab me in any significant way. The album strays into novelty, which certainly isn’t a devaluing of it’s artistic merit as such, but I find it’s a place that I cannot willingly inhabit for long. Oh Perilous World is wilfully eccentric in a sense that I can’t really connect with. 45%Links Rasputina [myspace] [official site]