If Peter Gabriel joined A Perfect Circle, the resulting sound would probably resemble Das Gift. Not quite goth, not quite metal, this one-man project is monikered as "Das Gift" in the same fashion that Nine Inch Nails is really just Trent Reznor. Listening to this layered, remarkably realized vision, you wouldn't suspect it to be the brainchild of just one person. Adrian James is a multi-instrumentalist and former violinist for Evanescence (who knew they had a violin player?), and Das Gift's conception represents years of hard work without a band with which to collaborate. The end result is an album that sounds more like a symphony in several movements than a collection of individual songs. Sonically, the record is also a gorgeous thing to behold. The production values are top notch and it's a great disc for headphones.
The trap of darker genres of music, be they goth, progressive metal or even grindcore, is that their predilection for melodrama renders them inaccessible to folks who don't participate in the genre's trappings. Das Gift, by contrast, sneaks up on you and ingratiates itself in an almost Toad the Wet Sprocket fashion. It's downright earnest (perhaps this comes from the years James spent with acoustic-based Christian rock band Narrow Road). And aside from several lyrical passages sung in German, there's a surprising lack of pretense. Perhaps the key is James's voice; there are no histrionics, no howling, no barbaric yawps, just a resigned and regretful rasp. You get the feeling that he's not singing in German to be scary; he just likes German and it can convey for him what English can't.
James has assembled a band to perform his tunes, and they played a well-received show at Vino's recently. There are only a few more gigs on their calendar at myspace.com/dasgiftband this year, but hopefully their brand of thoughtful dark melancholy will become a more frequent fixture in the area. - Colter McCorkindale