Projekt: darkwave - Adrian H And The Wounds: (Self titled) ~~ $7.98 INTRODUCING PRICE

A review from All Music:

Any album -- in this case, Adrian H & the Wounds' second -- made by a crew of horror/goth types who like both their cabaret and their Misfits that includes a cover of Mary Poppins' "Chim Chim Cher-ee" has to have something going for it, if only at least a healthy sense of humor. But from the opening string atmospherics, clearly rasped pronouncements that claim ready descent from both Tom Waits and Dr. John and piano-led drama on "Memory," it's clear that Adrian H and company aren't simply out for either an easy laugh or just simply making a lot of noise. Indeed, it's less frenetic punk rock than barfly lizardry that informs much of this effort, with songs like "Hoist That Rag," with sleazy saxophone taking a key part, helping to set the overall tone. But if it were just that, the nails-on-chalkboard descending guitar lines and slow-burn rhythm chugs of "Dog Solitude" wouldn't be there, either.

Moments like the slow breathing tone pace and jackboot industrial funk beats that introduce "That Hurts" -- and the treated piano break is one of several clear nods throughout to Trent Reznor's way around contrasting elements -- show what else is clearly at work. "Bad Man," which had previously surfaced on Projekt's A Dark Cabaret, Vol. 2 compilation, is as winningly dramatic as before, perhaps the album's most successful narrative song in a Nick Cave vein, while the whistling tones add a little Morricone to it all in turn. As for that Mary Poppins cover? If it's not up to, say, Waits' contribution to Hal Willner's Stay Awake Disney tribute album, it's still a sparkling version that manages the neat trick of both sounding perfect for a Tim Burton remake and sounding like it would be better than anything else about such a putative film project these days. Rating: 4/5 -Neg Raggett

A review from Alternative Musick:

Nick Cave once released an album called Murder Ballads. If you would use this as an album title or genre, then this would definitely describe the present work by the Portlanders, Adrian H. & The Wounds. From the label entitled "alternative / Dark Poetry", it is also exactly what you can find here - the border between music and poetry here is clearly exceeded, because the compositions of the band around Adrian H. are completely what the stories designed. Sparse arrangements with an almost ever-present piano form the bed for the dark stories that are told here.

Adrian H. wants to let you listen to what he is doing. The mood is gloomy through and through, the sonorous voice does the rest to chase shivers down the listener's spine. And it is still quite lively, which you'll hear here. As an example, but "Chim Chim Cher-ee" has been treated somewhat amusingly, and it shows in the implementation. Hoist That Rag is on the other hand you as a song that lives only by his gloom. Musical highlight here is the subtle jazz piano.

Generally, the fascination is not just for the dark Murder'n'Crime ballads, but also all of it still resonates subtly upon closer examination after the first listening. For someone who likes Tim Burton films, this album is love.

A review from Amboss:

It is these moments that compensate you for all the endless work as a writer. A CD comes out of the mailbox from an artist you've never heard of and is therefore not in the processing sequence. When I put in the new disc of the band ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS in the player, I am totally amazed and astounded at once.

ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS are from Portland on the American west coast. The combo is a multi-cultural cast from Germany, Japan, Mexico and Ireland. Similar to what Nick Cave has done in the past, here is the unmistakable voice of the harsh and seemingly mystical center of all creation. Extremely effective, the piano is is the primary rhythm driver, but also the drums and the often used saxophone never fail to impress. The sax especially exudes an almost tangible atmosphere and holds the songs together in an impressive way without disturbing the effect.

You find yourself listening almost constantly just a step away from the deep black abyss, confining the sounds. The song "That Hurts" is one of the simpler pieces, but the rhythms and above all the dark vocals make it almost like a ritual experience. Even the track "Dog Solitude" is not relaxing, because here the much cruder sound captivates from the first until the last second. Cabaret flair is also constantly exuded. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is like a furious tango, which is also excellent and if it could have been in the "Corpse Bride" soundtrack would have brought the world of the dead to dance. Then they move back and forth between different variations of dark music that is not boring at any time. The album is at the end complemented by two remixes of "Crooked Stick" and "Cookies And Cocaine", which are slightly out of place since the guitars reveal a very different face of the songs.

The album is the soundtrack for pitch-black moments in life that need a bit of spice and sarcasm. Everything is dark and dreary, is implemented in an extremely exciting way, and offers a special kind of listening experience.

A review from Blurt:

Gothic rock has been so swept up in the last few years by the Twilight zone of radio-friendly pop (thank you, eyeliner-wearing emo bands and H.I.M.) that the second LP by Adrian H and the Wounds sounds positively innovative. The piano-pounding H draws his inspiration less from old school British goth (though there's definitely a touch of Bauhaus in there) than from the creepier end of Tom Waits (a connection made clear by a cover of Waits' "Hoist That Rag.") Rather than revolve around guitars and dance beats, arrangements exist solely in support of H's shock suspenstories and cigs ‘n' absinthe speak/sing, with a few electronic grooves and sampled sounds floating in the mix.

From the sexual predation of "That Hurts" to the sinister incest of "Bad Man" and the cartwheel into madness of "The Night My Mother Screamed," the Texan-bred/Portland-based H's characters don't shy away from depravity - it's like splatterpunk without the gore. Even a cover of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (from Disney's Mary Poppins) becomes an unsavory seduction tactic in the Wounds' gnarled hands. "Would you like to hear of the things I've seen?" he seethes in the opening cut "Memory," "of the horror and the evil of human beings?" Given his tone, we should politely decline, but we can't turn away from tragedy on display, can we?

A review from Brutal Resonance:

Dear boys and girls. Let me tell you a story. It will carry you away from the present and throw you into the depth of dark and gloomy London nights, somewhere around 18th or 19th centuries. Those days were full of strange, even horrible deeds. People try to forget the bloody past, all the sorrow and atrocity that filled the hearts of the ordinary men and woman. Even a short way back home in the night could become the worst experience ever. Turn around, always stay wide awake; be careful, because the eyes of the ambushing terror are aiming on you. You roll yourself into the long coat, trying to dispose of terrible goosebumps which freeze you into the depth of your miserable heart. Nothing can help you when the creeping death follows your steps trying to hunt you down, seeking to suck the brain out of your bones.

You start to run the slippery pavement, desperately trying to find even the smallest light in the end of the dark lightless street, but nothing is around and nobody will help you. But stop, what is that. Isn't it a crowded pub there in front of you? And yes, finally, the salvage is so close. You run your last breath down and break into that last beckoning hope. Oh dear Lord, you are safe now! All the people around, the warmth of the fireplace and a good pint of a foamy beer. You look around and recognize the scene in the corner of the hall with a band on it. And surely, that is exactly what you need in order to dive into the atmosphere of the creepy chilling foggy night. The expressive voice of Adrian H guides your every new coming sip as it flows into your stomach. Both passion and strength are woven together in that special voice to bring the relaxation to your heart squeezed with horror. Your mind already filled with alcohol start to drift into the theatrical show casted by the total fusion of styles from the wide ballads and to the crazy cabaret driven songs. Piano and sax layers are mixed together to bring the delight into the suffering soul, erasing the borders between music and poetry. But the deeper you dive into the show, you start to realize that the faces around are nothing more than masks which hide the terror nature of surrounding zombie party, where you are nothing more than the main course and final bloody entertainment. Nowhere to run anymore, eat your "Cookies and Cocaine" and just dance to the rhythms of murder while the last thing that you will hear today and for eternity is the sound of the gentle but cruel voice of Adrian H and his devoted Wounds.

A review from darkroom-magazine.it:

8 of 9 | Ai più attenti sostenitori della frangia più teatrale e cabaret-oriented delle derive del post-punk difficilmente sarà sfuggito, nel 2009, il debutto eponimo di questo quintetto di Portland, capitanato dal carismatico Adrian H e degnamente completato dai The Wounds. Ed a chi magari si è subito appassionato alle sorti di questo curioso combo americano, grazie gli ampi meriti di un esordio più che mai sopra le righe, potrà suonare non nuovo questo atteso seguito, essendo già uscito in Europa via Danse Macabre sul finire dello scorso anno. Ora tocca alla Projekt occuparsi di dare lustro a questo gioiellino nel mercato statunitense, ma siamo certi che, vista la visibilità di cui gode l'etichetta di Sam Rosenthal nel Vecchio Continente, in caso di necessità non sarà difficile reperirne anche qui una copia, sebbene rispetto alla stampa firmata Danse Macabre verrebbero a mancare un paio di remix, per la cronaca. Quisquilie a parte, quello che colpisce maggiormente nel songwriting della band è la capacità di narrare storie fumose, losche e torbide facendo perno sul cantato/recitato scuro e profondo del tenebroso crooner Adrian, sfruttando sonorità che partono dal più teatrale cabaret post-punk per esplorare soluzioni diverse ma sempre a tinte ombrose, capaci di proiettare l'ascoltatore in qualche malfamato locale notturno ricavato da inospitali scantinati, fra personaggi poco raccomandabili e donne di cui non ti fideresti mai, in un suggestivo bianco e nero che odora di tabacco, di fumo, di superalcolici e di profumi eccessivi, con posacenere stracolmi, bicchieri vuoti, carte da gioco, soldi che passano di mano in mano, prostitute al riparo dagli orrori della strada ed un pianista ragionevolmente preoccupato dal fatto che qualcuno possa aver scordato il celeberrimo detto circa il non sparare sulla sua categoria... Dal palco male illuminato e traballante di questo postaccio ai margini della società, dove si nascondono i peggiori infami, reietti e farabutti, i cinque di Portland intonano canzoni che non potrebbero risultare più adatte a cotanta cornice noir, in un macabro cabaret di umane miserie che si lascia andare al groove dell'istrionica versione di "Hoist That Rag (di Tom Waits), alla passionalità in tre quarti di "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (cover di uno dei più celebri brani tratti da "Mary Poppins"), ai crudeli meccanismi delle minacciose, ipnotiche, penetranti e letali di "That Hurts" e "Dog Solitude", alla melodiosa danzabilità del refrain di "What She Wants" (con la dolce voce di Darcy McMullen). Perfettamente in grado di adattare al proprio teatrale contesto noir (irrobustito e reso più scuro rispetto al debutto, ma anche più ritmato e ricco di dettagli, ben esaltati dalla corposa produzione) i più miserevoli sentimenti di mestizia ("Memory" e l'eccellente cover di "Border Patrol" di Bain Wolfkind, a dire dell'eclettismo che anima l'album), così come di un istrionismo tale da non poter lasciare indifferenti ("Bad Man" e le sue finezze, fra l'onnipresente - e sempre impeccabile - piano ed il sax), il gruppo di navigati musicanti ed uomini di mondo porta avanti la propria messinscena dell'esistenza, con la consapevolezza di chi ne ha visto le più tristi e riprovevoli miserie e non riesce più a stupirsi di niente, né a provare un briciolo di rimorso per nulla, salvo quei rari momenti di umanità che l'altro sesso, nei suoi frangenti di fragile sensualità, riesce sempre a risvegliare... Adrian H e le sue sudice storie di malaffare, al pari del poliedrico Voltaire e dei suoi deliri horror-latino-rockabilly, non potevano non far parte di un roster come quello della Projekt, autentico faro quando si vogliono scoprire realtà capaci di una forte personalità artistica a tutto tondo. A parte gli affascinanti accostamenti delle note ufficiali, da Tom Waits ai Bauhaus, da Nick Cave ai Love And Rockets (e magari anche un tocco di Leonard Cohen, perché no?), se avete capito bene cosa aspettarvi ed è roba che vi fa drizzare le antenne, non perdeteli per alcuna ragione, perché sanno bene come si seduce un pubblico. - Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi

A review from Ondarock:

Adrian H e i suoi "feriti" sono fra le scoperte più "nuove" della Projekt, continuativamente attiva nel reclutamento di nuovi talenti da affiancare a nomi ormai divenuti storici. Fra i pallini più recenti del boss Sam Rosenthal vi è senz'alcun dubbio il dark-cabaret - definizione coniata in sostanza dalla label stessa che va a definire quella scena di artisti in grado di interpretare nella maniera più oscura e sinistra le intuizioni di artisti come Dresden Dolls e Voltaire. A dimostrarlo, oltre alla propensione della casa discografica verso la pubblicizzazione del genere, anche le recenti prove musicali dello stesso Rosenthal, quali l'ultimo album dei suoi Black Tape For A Blue Girl, "10 Neurotics" - che aveva segnato una svolta radicale e indigesta ai fan di lunga data del progetto - e il side-project Revue Noir.

Ed è proprio nel filone dark-cabaret che s'inseriscono appieno Adrian H & The Wounds. Band, si diceva, sostanzialmente "nuova", con all'attivo un solo album prima di quest'omonimo. "Adrian H", risalente al 2009, macchiatasi in particolare di un sound dalla notevole "durezza", in grado di fondere assieme i lati più cattivi e orrorifici di Suicide e Bauhaus interpretati all'insegna di un matrice "teatrale". L'inusuale e curiosa formazione (tutti i membri si presentano con i soli nomi d'arte) - con il leader alla voce accompagnato da Broken Heart, dalle tastiere di Special K, dal basso di Shiggy e dal sassofono mascherato di The Raptor - aveva contribuito ulteriormente a suscitare un certo interesse attorno alla band.

A distanza di tre anni arriva il secondo parto del quintetto e le novità, in questo nuovo lavoro, non mancano né si fanno attendere: pur non abbandonando minimamente i canoni "hard" del suo predecessore, il nuovo album ne ammorbidisce e leviga gran parte delle spigolosità, riuscendo ad assomigliare quasi di più al Nick Cave di "Murder Ballads" che ad Alan Vega e soci. Ne è prova tangibile la spiazzante apertura di "Memory", sonata agrodolce al pianoforte su cui il vocalist recita una tragedia con un apparente filo di ironia, elemento del tutto assente nelle oscure profondità del primo album. Altrettanto sorprendenti sono i cabaret filodrammatici di "Dog Solitude", "What She Wants" e "The Night My Mother Screamed", in cui la potenza emotiva surclassa l'horror vacui negli intenti compositivi in una vittoria della componente scenica su quella musicale (come già avvenuto in più occasioni ai Dresden Dolls). Ma i Wounds "duri e puri" non sono certo scomparsi, e a dimostrarlo ci pensano le torture di "Dog Solitude" e gli spruzzi di sangue di "Nasty", assieme alla sinistra rivisitazione della filastrocca popolare "Chim-Chim-Cher-Ee". E se in "Bad Man" e nella cover in salsa funky di "Hoist That Rag" di Tom Waits il leader torna al "vecchio" ruolo di cantastorie à-la-Voltaire, "That Hurts" e la conclusiva "Border Patrols" sono invece frizzanti pastiche di pece nera ed elettronica, in ravvicinata memoria dei Nine Inch Nails, ad ampliare ulteriormente lo spettro d'azione del gruppo nonché a completare la tavolozza delle influenze.

Trasfigurandosi da temibili interpreti di drammi omicidi a cantastorie per notti insonni, Adrian H & The Wounds riescono a catalizzare la tensione emotiva, vero aspetto principe dei loro brani, in maniera molto più diretta e originale rispetto al passato. È l'ennesima scommessa vinta dalla Projekt, e a questo punto è possibile affermarlo con una certa sicurezza. Rating: 7/8

A review from reflectionsofdarkness.com:

ADRIAN H. AND THE WOUNDS are your post-Goth storytellers. ADRIAN H. emerged from Texas and soon moved to northwest of USA, namely Portland in Oregon, to realise his vision together with THE WOUNDS. The immediate reference of their dark, brooding music with lyrics of great narrative power and poetic bent draw to mind references such as NICK CAVE, LEONARD COHEN, TOM WAITS, LOU REED, but they are eclectic enough to keep on with this referencing further on and it would be better and more exact just to say that they've blended and absorbed all and out came their own superb style, or rather a fusion of them. After a self-titled debut their sophomore full-length is here to depict "Dog Solitude".

Let me get the criticism out of the table here on the onset of the review - even if the sound is meant to be dirty and rugged, I would have liked for it to be clearer at times. That's the only thing that swept a full rating out.

The songs as stories in a film noir style are told in a smoky joint, they are populated by characters at the edge of society, broken and yet more whole than its shining citizens. You might get to think of NICK CAVE's "Murder Ballads" but these men and women are not shown as sinners but all rounded human beings condemned to life as it is without the need for redemption. More 'real" if you like, observed by your modern day and more mature Bukowski who chucked away the excess bullshit and got to the point. "Memory" is a brilliant introductory track, not only because it gives you a flavour of what is to come, but ADRIAN H. unveils it so in his passionate, expressive voice in a way that creates a rapport with the listener. You're not just listening to an album, but you're transported to their live show, which in turn is a theatrical show as well.

"That Hurts" is one that is a good representative of the film noir feel together with a great eclectic fusion of styles. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" will justifiably take you back to Mary Poppins, you'll hear a clever twist (both musically and lyrically) on that tune for sure! "What She Wants" is your dark ballad, with a slightly sleepy atmosphere, as if in a backwater Southern town. "The Night My Mother Screamed" is the highlight of the album for me, one that commands returns to it many times over, the cleaner sound of the piano layered with atmosphere, and the intensity in the narrative make it stand out immediately. Another commendable element is the sax in many songs, not given on a 'show off" point, but subtly underlining their dark velvety underground nature.

A review from Rockerilla:

La Projekt ristampa a distanza di un anno il secondo lavoro di Adrian H And The Wounds, che per l'occasione perde il titolo che aveva nell'edizione su Danse Macabre dell'anno scorso (Dog Solitude), ma acquista un bel digipak e soprattutto una migliore foto di copertina. La prima canzone in scaletta, Memory, mette subito in chiaro l'amore di Adrian per il glam di Bowie orchestrato dai Wounds con una sensibilità gotica del tutto personale. La hit That Hurts chiarisce il motivo del successo di Adrian H And The Wounds nelle discoteche dark, con la sua miscela di sonorità 80s e feromoni ebm. Formula che si ripete con alcune variazioni anche su Dog Solitude, irrobustita da una cavalcata elettrica post-punk. -Roberto Mandolini

A review from Side-Line Magazine:

Last year Adrian H And The Wounds released their 2nd album “Dog Solitude” on Danse Macabre. This album has now been re-released by Projekt, but without the 2 last songs, which were remixes. So far so good, but things start to get a bit more complicated when realizing that this album was simply entitled “Adrian H And The Wounds”… which also was the title of their debut-CD featuring a totally different tracklist. It’s a bit weird, but this way I got the opportunity to rediscover the album. The CD opens with piano and Adrian H. singing in a rather narrative way. We immediately perceive a gothic flavor hanging over the music. The dark-gothic sound comes down on “That Hurts” featuring a kind of anguishing, nihilistic atmosphere.

The album becomes really surprising and interesting with the remarkable interpretation of “Chim Chim Cher-ee” evoking some good-old souvenirs from the Mary Poppins-movie and the legendary song featured in it. The cover version is a kind of cabaret song with some grave male vocals and a saxophone joining in. This is the absolute highlight from the CD and I think this cover version is a real challenge.

The rest of the album moves in between a mix of gothic-cabaret and glam-rock influences. I have to admit that some albums sometimes need a rest before you can start listening again. I got different impressions and much more positive vibes discovering the same album one year later.

Projekt definitely is a good label to increase the popularity of this band.

A review from Sonic Seducer:

With great attention to detail, Adrian H and the Wounds walk in the footsteps of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Bauhaus, or bands on the iconic American labels Audra and Lycia. In a word, this is about MUSIC. Heart wrenching emotions squeezed out of "real" instruments. Acoustic music, melancholic and full of atmosphere. Somewhere between gothic, blues and jazz. Adrian is the dominant musical element with his smoky voice and impressive, completely free piano phrasing which casts a spell on the listener. Adrian H & Wounds are quintessentially American. At times, you think of deserted dusty highways, run-down bars, barren landscapes, and the simple, harsh life of small towns. Music of timeless beauty, hence the industrial remixes included at the end are somewhat disturbing. -Uwe Marx

A review from Sounds Behind the Corner:

L’eleganza del bohemien colto (lo è quasi sempre in fondo, nel nostro immaginario che vaga tra soffitte e scalinate parigine del primo novecento…) è la chiave di volta di Adrian H, un musicista che dai bassifondi delle taverne americane arriva carico di storie da raccontare cantandole con la sua voce roca di chi sopravvive da molti secoli alla decadenza, evitandola con una buona dose di fumo, alcool e qualche buona donna da amare.

Che immagine affascinante! Il cuore di un uomo del sud (Texas) che porta la sua esperienza cresciuta al sole tra forti contrasti umani e sociali, culturali, andando verso il nord (gotico) dell’Oregon, terra di solitudini e riflessioni; il cocktail che ne risulta ha il sapore di tequila e oceano, forte ma addolcito, estremo ma cullato dal rumore della risacca, del suono di navi che entrano in porto da nebbie fitte al mattino e fari che le fendono, occhi umani che guardano oltre le capacità terrene, propaggini e timori nel nulla per attirare dal nulla altre anime vaganti tra onde spesso forti.

La musica di Adrian H And The Wounds è sostanzialmente un folk americano, la versione gotica di un Bob Dylan disilluso dagli uomini: “Memory” apre il sipario…”, e proprio in questo brano la voce è quella di un crooner spietato tra tappeti di incanti sonori, pianoforte, archi ma soprattutto il sax, sempre re di solitudine e dolore interiore. Tra jazz e blues: “Hoist That Rag” collega l’underground a questi generi, il richiamo a Nick Cave è forte, l’underground così espresso è totalmente ‘made in USA’, quasi Bauhaus nella title-track avvicinando l’Europa ma solo per corteggiarne i figli oscuri.

Non manca un cuore ‘steam’: il cabaret grottesco dei toni vocali, del suono da taverna, non può che arrivare sotto lo chapiteau sdrucito di un circo dei primi del ‘900 con “Chim Chim Cher-ee” ed Adrian si trasforma in uno spazzacamino che cerca sulle strade della vita, nei sogni della gente la sua nuova Mary Poppins, ora non più sorridente con il suo ombrellino di pizzo ma fatale come le signore della belle epoque ma la magia della musica, anche noir, continua tra i solchi, nello spartito di questo brano.

Incanti felpati per “What She Wants”, un brano stupendo, quasi un capitolo a se nel cuore dell’album: tutte le precedenti (e successive…) tensioni sono stemperate da astrattismi eterei; è uno sguardo in alto, verso il cielo ed Adrian nel farlo incontra i suoi cieli aperti texani e le nubi della north-east coast in un brano, il cielo è lo stesso ma le nuvole mutano, come il suono…

Nel finale “Cookies And Cocaine” nel remix di Crackolate Chip, è un jazz silente, ora davvero jazz, noir e senza cantato, solo uno spoken in alcuni tratti del brano, una session d’atmosfera surreale, distorsioni di chitarra surreali, “Cookies And Cocaine” un incubo ma erotico, pensate a David Lynch, tra nuvole, taverne, maledizioni.

Adrian H And The Wound chiudono così il loro album ed un drappo nero chiude il palcoscenico: arrivederci a tutti voi, arrivederci su altri palchi o ancora una volta su quello gotico di Projekt, la musica tinge la vita… -Nicola Tenani

A review from Ver Sacrum:

Esce il secondo capitolo di Adrian H And The Wounds, artista lanciato dalla Projekt di Sam Rosenthal e incasellato dalla casa discografica nel genere dark-cabaret. Si tratta indubbiamente di uno dei nomi più originali ascoltati di recente. Adrian H sembra la versione gotica di Tom Waits, un incrocio fra quest’ultimo e i Bauhaus in acido. Nel nuovo omonimo disco vengono smussate le asperità dell’esordio e il sound si fa in alcuni momenti più morbido ricordando un personaggio maledetto come Nick Cave e le sue “Murder Ballads”. Apre “Memory”, una ballata struggente al pianoforte contrappuntata dagli archi e dal sassofono con l’inconfondibile voce roca e poetica di Adrian H. “That Hurts” si muove in territori spigolosi e oscuri di elettronica mentre un sassofono disperato introduce la cover di Tom Waits “Hoist That Rug”, interpretata da Adrian intensamente e con personalità. “Dog Solitude” è trascinante e angosciante e ricorda gli incubi gotici dei migliori Bauhaus. Con la filastrocca popolare “Chim Chim Cher-ee” siamo invece in territori dark-cabaret così come in “What She Wants”, un pezzo crepuscolare dominato dal pianoforte. In “Bad Man” torna il fantasma di Tom Waits mentre la conclusiva “Border Patrol” ci conduce sommessamente alla fine di quest’incubo psicotico in modo teatrale con un jazz cupo e drogato. Un album caldamente consigliato a tutti gli amanti delle atmosfere fumose e alcoliche. La Projekt ha quindi visto bene nel puntare su Adrian H, un artista vero che impreziosisce il catalogo dell’etichetta americana ponendosi al fianco di nomi come Black Tape For A Blue Girl e Revue Noir. -Caesar

A review from Wicked Channel:

When listening to this cd you can tell Tom Waits, Skinny Puppy’s Too Dark Park and Nick Cave are big influences. Adrian H is not so much a singer as he is a storyteller. Songs like "That Hurts" with the female background vocals and moans, can almost come across as spoken word pieces put to music. When the Wounds with Adrian do a Tom Waits cover ("Hoist that Rag", from the very underrated political Tom Waits cd Real Gone, which for the record the original had Les Claypool on bass as well) it comes across as almost an equal to the original. You feel as though, as it is a cover it comes across as something Adrian makes his own and puts his own touch on it, and just really nails it. Tom Waits would be proud. They do "Chim Chim Cher-ee" also that comes across as a spoken word acid trip. With the background saxophone in this song, it just seems like a Clockwork Orange-esque trip.

This almost feels like in an odd way a Dr Seuss narrated cd. Each song is another trip into fairy tale land with Adrian H who seems like a Goth narrator, more than a singer. And for a cd like this it works, and comes across as so fun and odd that you feel compelled to listen more to it. "What She Wants" is such a headphone track, you have to have this on the iPod and listen to it with all the lights out, to get the full feeling of what this song offers. This song in some odd way is so addictive and catchy, that you will find yourself sinking into the sounds and the story without even realizing you are.

As much as I got into the singer and the songs, it was the lyrics that really stood out. Adrian is quite the poet, and his songs are so well written, that you really feel this is what Murder Ballads would have sounded like if Tom Waits did the cd instead of Nick Cave. Songs like "The Night my Mother Screamed" show that the back-up band The Wounds are just as talented as Adrian. The instruments seem to compliment Adrian’s vocals, and the saxophone really brings the songs to an all new level. "Dog Solitude" show that sometime they think outside of the Tom Waits box and venture into Ogre country. This cd for 2012’s music scene probably has no place, and that is why I love this cd so much. It does not sound like anything I have heard in a very long time. This cd is a must for fans who are into the above mentioned bands, and want to hear something that is more than bubble gum and fake actors who think they are musicians. Great cd and good band, I am dying to hear more from them in the future. Rating: 8.5/10 -JamesD

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(Self titled) ~~ $7.98 INTRODUCING PRICE

2012 | Projekt | PRO00269

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