REVIEW. THE UNDERGROUND PERSONALITY TAPES DVD --- ROXY SAINT.

Roxy Saint is an underground film-maker/musician from Los Angeles.  Her debut release is on DVD only (although you can visit her site to download the songs with a special code on the DVD).  It has 10 of her songs linked by these surreal bits in between (which personally I wasn't that keen on).   It's an incredible debut.  Roxy Saint is awesome and I think she could be a big star.

Musically I guess you could say she sounds like a female Marilyn Manson and her songs are insanely catchy rock numbers with a sort of electronic/industrial twist similar to Manson's.  The DVD was a good idea because Roxy is so striking looking and utilises a number of different looks in her performances that the visual element really adds something to the songs.  She's got the raw emotional quality of someone like PJ Harvey (who I think she sometimes looks a bit like) or Brody Dalle (except I think she comes across as more complex than Brody).

Back when Marilyn Manson was pursuing Fiona Apple I had strange dreams of what would happen if he caught her and she bore his seed.   I like to imagine Roxy would be the result as she has Fiona's raw-eyed vulnerability and predilection of rolling around in her underwear and Manson's ambition to be the biggest superstar in the world.  The music videos are all basic performances but the use of striking imagery and good camera work lifts them above the ordinary.  There is a fair bit of nudity and lesbian antics but you never get the feeling Roxy is putting it on for the camera, it all seems to be a genuine expression of her.

Some bits to watch out for:
In HUMANS Roxy wanders the streets of L.A. in a see-through plastic ensemble reminiscent of one of Nicola Bowery's outfits singing Robots never get raped and There's no humans left in this world anymore.
SUPERSTARS plays over a montage of stills but is a change of tempo to the other songs that sounds amazing.
ANOTHER FACE Roxy crawls out of a box looking like a Goth.  Well, so far as anyone dressed in an orange ballgown with black dreads can look Goth.  This is undercut with scenes of her performing at a party where she is the image of PJ Harvey.   Wearing a jacket, she reveals an incredibly thin torso and a black fishnet bra with black masking tape over her nipples.
FIRECRACKER features Roxy dancing around dressed only in bits of plastic but never seeming cheap, only sleazy and believe me, there's a world of difference.
OURS features some sort of all girl orgy in a hot tub involving a certain amount of knife-play.
DARK DUST SEED features a change of image for Roxy as she appears with short blonde hair in a blue Chinese dress smoking a joint while a fire-eater twirls fire in the background.
And I WANNA BE YOUR DOG  is a killer version of Iggy's song that finally nails the myth that a woman couldn't do this song justice.

THANKS TO SHELLY FOR THE ROXY SAINT LIVE PHOTOS.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER 2004.