Tracks:
- Being your slave
- Come away death
- Tyr’d with all these
- Thy bosome is indeared
- Shadowes
- Shall I compare thee
- I faith I do not love
- Feare no more
- Musicke to heare
- Let the bird of lowdest lay
- It raineth everyday
- When daisies pied
| Italian Import | Thy Violent Vanities is a side-project from two members of the electro medieval act O Quam Tristis : Hugues Dammarie (also known as Franz Torres-Quevedo, member of the french darkwave band Collection d’Arnell Andréa) and Emeric Lenotz. The album is based upon rare poetries from William Shakespeare, above all known nowadays for his famous tragedies but not as much for the numerous sonnets he wrote all along his carreer. The main theme is the vanity of all man’s things, and firstly the sentimental feelings… Deceived loves, love leading to nothingness and emptiness of Mankind are recurrent themes. The album’s title and even the name of the band are taken from sonnets strongly reminding some of the favorite Shakespeare’s worries.The poetries are sung in the original archaic language they were written. Thy Violent Vanities’ music is supported by ancient or traditional instruments: krumhorn, dulcimer, mandola, flutes… mixed to bass and guitars laid down on soft waves of keyboards, minimalistic electronic rhythm patterns and loops. This record is a gloomy one, but not as dark as you might guess. While listening, some resigned serenity feelings are coming to invade the mind in spite of all vanities... The warm and catchy voice of Hugues Dammarie, sometimes doubled/trippled is floating upon Emeric Lenotz’s puked/bowed instruments, giving birth to a kind of really moving personal synth-pop-dark-folk - recalling certain sixties' folk songwriters sometimes, revisited through the eyes of a positive despair.
On six tracks of Come to Dust may be heard additional contributions of members from French band Hide and Seek : P-Y Lebeau (guitar, voice) and Liesbeth Houdjik, performing additional vocals in the manner of famous classical folk female singers as Maggie Reilly, Maddy Prior or Marie Yacoub….
Thy Violent Vanities is sat between some dark mind’s worries evoked by Shakespeare’s lyrics and some more luminous hopes brought by the simple beauty of the melodies created and adorned by two contemporary troubadours.