REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- 4 O' CLOCK

 I think this latest release from Emilie Autumn acts as a much better taster than the Liar EP.  It acts as an introduction to her forthcoming book/project, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls and continues to explore the theme of women and madness that she expressed so successfully on Opheliac.  The title track and it's B side, My Fairweather Friend, are haunting and delicate but still maintaining their bittersweet impact.  The tracks from Opheliac, Gothic Lolita and 2 remixes of Swallow, seem to stand out more on this EP than the original album and I'm glad they've finally been given the chance to shine as it's made me appreciate how beautiful and unique they are.  Swallow, in particular, deserves to be a huge hit and Gothic Lolita has an exquisitely dark beauty that more than lives up to its title.  The EP also includes the more industrial influenced instrumental, Organ Grinder from the Saw 3 soundtrack before ending with several excerpts from The Asylum (some of them are spoken word, one is another song).  They are dark and brooding, creating a beguiling but disturbing atmosphere balancing delicate poetry/music with nightmarish imagery to create an evocative tribute to the theme of female madness.

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.