German Import | DeathRock. A collection of previously released singles, tapes, demo-tracks, compilation appearances and so on.
At last… here comes the long awaited re-release of the legendary debut album of CINEMA STRANGE! With this first release, CINEMA STRANGE casts us deep into the decrepit heart of the Batcave! Their cacophonous blend of American death-rock and European post-punk has made them underground favourites around the globe! The troupe's self-produced 7” records have found homes from Moscow to Rio de Janeiro. And now, with the large-scale production of their first compact disc, the cult of slathering, starry-eyed, CINEMA STRANGE neophytes is about to explode with fresh fanaticism. So pick yourself out a straight-jacket and a bedpan and get ready to bite your nails to the quick whilst humming along madly to the club hits “Lindsay's Trachea” and “En Hiver”… The Strange are officially unleashed!
A review from Starvox.netCinema Strange is a bit of an anachronism as a band. They are alive and well but at first listen, some may mistake them for the long since departed. They are what the UK reveled in during the “BatCave” era of the 80’s. They are what Sex Gang Children and the Virgin Prunes were, but better. They are deathrock at its finest – and like a rare animal once thought extinct, are being sought after, coveted and praised.
This is their long-awaited first full length CD, self-tiled and released by Sad Eyes - a division of Germany's Trisol which makes sense considering their wildly popular status in that country. (They just got back from a trip to Germany this fall and had a blast). They've put out other works before – two 7” vinyls, an EP, Acrobat Amaranth Automaton, in 1996, and another - Falling, Caterwauling… in early 2000 that's since been discontinued. They've even appeared on some compilations - Goth Oddity, A tribute to David Bowie put out by Cleopatra; Heaven and Hell by Trisol; Ghosts From The Darkside, Vol. 3, disc 2 by Purple Flower in Germany; and Goth's Paradise IV by Orkus also in Germany. Those within the fold of the Strange cant seem to get enough of this band and their releases are highly sought after prizes. Be forewarned – you may get addicted to this stuff if you listen to it.
Breaking it down – the music itself is batcave style complete with post-punk bass lines, throbbing hook lines and angsty vocals that would stir the dead. But unlike their 80’s counterparts, Cinema Strange adds in splendid keyboard programming, usually in minor chords, that gives it a spooky twist. In the lyrics there is this playful moroseness – something the likes of Edward Gorey put to music. The writing is eloquent and morbid …and yet, fun and free-spirited. It's as if the darkest realm on earth let loose its fairies and elves to scamper and play about the industrial wastelands of the city (clad in mohawks and torn fishnets of course).
And our boys are not only spooky, and musically creative, but they're well versed in the gothiest of literature as track 2, "Moundshroud," (which I haven't found the lyrics to yet), is supposedly a tribute to Ray Bradbury's short novel "The Halloween Tree" which has been a favorite of mine since I can remember reading - (my own copy of it worn thin, pages old and yellow.) The droning keyboard here is my favorite element in this song - straight out of the black and white horror films - whining, creeping and mossing about. Another literary example would be the lyrics of "Hebenon Vial" which are "Shakespearean imagery, mostly based around Hamlet." [Murder most foul!] "Nightfalls" is faster, reminiscent punk, much like Bella Morte's "Where Shadows Lie." Here again, the keyboard melody is completely addictive and I find myself unconsciously humming along and twisting to it.
From the morbid sing-songy playfulness of "En Hiver" ("Freezing men don't laugh at murder. Bleeding naked in the bathtub. Open windows tempt the savory, women's heads float just as easily") to the strange experimental/theatrical writing of "Lindsay's Trachea" (which has become a cult icon itself), Cinema Strange is the band I've always hoped there would be lurking out there in the smoky blackened corner of some underground club. They are sharp-witted intelligence wrapped in the mischievous grins of nite imps, innocent boyish eyes peering out at you from razor sharp bits of hair. Their very existence, in smeared makeup and torn fishnets with a sound more Batcave than the Batcave era ever was, is more sincere and true because its on their own terms, not because its a fad. A fiendish uprising is boiling - from the enlivened club scene in Germany to the clubs like Release the Bats in Long Beach, California, those who have seen and heard Cinema Strange are enchanted, bewitched and beyond a cure. This is morbid romance. - Blu
Click Here for a list of the other Trisol / Apocalyptic Visions CDs we distribute.