Projekt: darkwave - black tape for a blue girl: remnants of a deeper purity

The original single-cd edition. Jewel Box with large format 16-page booklet in tuck-box.

Deeply mesmerizing and melancholy passages, wrapped in the emotions of betrayal and salvation, searching for the deeper fragments of a truer reality -- somewhere between sadness and hope. Overlayed intense vocals mix with rich cello and violin arrangements, creating the consummate modern day chamber orchestra whose maestro is our own inner soul.

"The ethereal, romantic sounds of Remnants is their richest work so far: tapestries of melancholic, often neo-classical music manifest themselves amidst waves of Rosenthal's lush keyboards, haunting strings and the vocals of Oscar & Lucian." - huh magazine

Read an in-depth fan review at epinions.com
...from the album bio:
This album picks up musically where songs like "We watched our sad-eyedangel fall" left off: long droning deep tones overlayed by intense vocals from Oscar and Lucian as well as rich cello and violin arrangements from Vicki and Mera. The results are deeply mesmerizing and melancholy passages that draw from influences as diverse as turn-of-the-century minimalism, Indian classical music and occult dirge-rock. The finished 77-minute album is Black tape's masterpiece; exquisite and stunning. Wrapped up in the emotions of betrayal and salvation, searching for the deeper fragments of a truer reality -- somewhere between sadness and hope -- Sam's words and harmonies weave a soft, opaque veil over a world where feeling is foremost. With this release, Black tape for a blue girl draws together all the diversities of their past ten years, becoming the consummate modern day chamber orchestra whose maestro is our own inner soul.

"Remnants of a deeper purity is an album of rebirth -- the internalanalysis and exploration that paves the way for a major upheaval. arealignment of balances. searching through the fragments of a past. paringexperiences down to their essence. revealing the deeper core. the shatteredfilaments of truth and experience that will yet re-entwine to form a newhighwire of ecstatic life. the album is the contemplation of betrayal (byothers and of the self), the realization of a subterranean thread linkingthe past to current desire, the revelation of deep personal fears andinsecurities...and the attempt to reintegrate all of this into anindividual who can re-experience life and the beauty of existence. the lingering thought is 'redefine pure faith' so that we may yet re-emerge,renewed..." - sam rosenthal

A review from allmusic.com:

For the first time since the earliest recordings, Sam Rosenthal assembles and employs a set combination of musicians throughout a Black Tape for a Blue Girl album, with Oscar Herrera and Lucian Casselman returning on vocals and other instruments, along with longtime associate Vicki Richards on violin and Mera Roberts on cello. The end result succeeds like no other Black Tape release before it, the logical extension of Rosenthal's musical and lyrical foci into a lengthy, commanding, and beautiful experience. Using the two string players throughout with his electronics in a carefully blended effort, punching up the general orchestral heft of his music to new heights, Rosenthal's work this time hits a consistently rich vein; the connections to rock music have never been so tenuous, and to progressive and electronic efforts so strong. Two of Herrera's performances deserve special notice: "With My Sorrows," ending with a captivating quick take on an old Spanish poem, and "For You Will Burn Your Wings Upon the Sun," a nearly 30-minute piece with Herrera's brief vocal section providing the central punch of the track. But Casselman steals the show with the final track, "I Have No More Answers" -- a simply perfect mix of the strings, vast-sounding electronic atmospherics, and piano with Casselman's lovely voice singing an especially touching Rosenthal lyric, it is Black Tape's finest song yet. - Ned Raggett

A review from Ink 19:

Honestly, over the years I've had mixed feelings bout this ethereal/gothic project. Some songs I'd really like, some songs I'd just completely hate. Seeing them live at the '96 Projekt festival finally did it for me, though. Watching them perform made me understand a little bit more where they were coming from, therefore letting me appreciate their music much more. And now their new album. I'm not quite sure if it's because of the experience I had in Chigago at the festival that I like this so much or simply because it is such a good album. Either way, I completely adore this. Sam Rosenthal's electronics generate warm, thickly texured layers of atmospheres that carry unbelievable amounts of emotion, as do Oscar Herrera and Lucian Casselman's vocals, Mera Roberts' cello, and Vicki Richards' violin. All of it blends perfectly into a sumptuous tapestry that portrays a wide range of emotion, but generally stays close to the melancholy. The scope of this album is also very impressive. It flows beautifully - all 77 minutes of it. My favorite track is "For You Will Burn Your WIngs Upon The Sun," which also happens to be the longest, clocking in at a little over 26 minutes. Nowhere does it become tedious. This is Sam's most ambitious project yet and, in my opinion, his most successful one. Absolutely beautiful, bleeding emotion wonderfully portrayed.

A review from Lollipop Magazine:

Dusk. A slow hush falls over my roon as the sun sinks down into the outlines of the buildings. White smoke drifts gently up from my slightly stained fingers, as I gaze out into the quiet vermillions and crimsons that streak the sky. Soon, the rush will start again, but for now, it is just myself and the new CD from Black Tape for A Blue Girl. Even with Lucian Casselman's soaring soprano voice, Remnants For A Deeper Purity is hardly to be considered "Ethereal Goth." The music is far too grounded to be slighted in that matter. I step closer to the window and look out at the approaching night. Inhaling softly, I take in the seductive violin of Vicki Richards and the deep silky tenor of Oscar Herrera. They sing about loss, about loneliness, about "a thosand tear stained memories." my hand reaches out, strokes the windowpane. Somewhere out there, a disapointed spirit wait for a firm embrace, a half-smile, a secong glance. Bold percussions enters, makes the mind wander to fields of barley, of cloud scratching mountains. Brass like an ocean's tide wash in and out, causing me to sway gently, like a strand of wind. The night grows colder, a piano signals the coming of tender pain, a heart's abandonment. Black Tape For A Blue Girl settles me down for another night's exploration.
- Angela Dauthi

A review from Magnet Magazine:

The enigmatic and talented Black Tape For A Blue Girl is beyond gothic and ethereal music, combining aesthetic voice, keyboards and string instruments with poetic lyrics, dreamy atmospheres and, on this album, a strong modern neo-classical direction. Romanticism has always fueled the work of keyboardist/lyricist/group leader Sam Rosenthal, and Remnants exhibits his continued tradition of agonizing soul searching and introspective catharsis. Suffice to say that each track offers its own emotional power and musical intrigue. Opening track "Redefine Pure Faith" features somber bell tones, lush drifting synths, Oscar Herrara's operatic and dramatic vocals, and lyrics about longing for a relationship that has died. (Herrera sings, "If only I could live again within your mystery.") On "Wings Tattered, Fallen," a strong funeral tone presides as Lucian Casselman weaves a siren spell with her ethereal vocals while gothic keyboards accompany her. The album's best work, "For You Will Burn Your Wings Upon The Sun," is a powerful, predominately instrumental, 26-minute epic in which Rosenthal meshes his dark, dense electronics with the powerful string work of cellist Mera Roberts and violinist Vicki Richards, creating a freefall of melancholic sound. Black tape for a blue girl easily surpasses the requisite somber atmosphere of the gothic genre because the emotion is genuine and true. These songs are Remnants of universal feelings that accompany the experience of bonding with another human being and its aftermath - perhaps this is why the group has attained a strong cult following.

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remnants of a deeper purity

1996 | Projekt | PRO00068

CD

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