UPDATES/LINKS. EMILIE AUTUMN.

  Emilie has released another EP, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun/Bohemian Rhapsody (featuring cover versions of those songs, some remixes, a couple of live songs and an extra hidden track).

Emilie also published her long-awaited book The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls and in 2012 she released an album, Fight Like A Girl that was based on this book. She is planning a musical based on the book as well.

She has also been touring worldwide (it's worth doing a search on YouTube as there are loads of clips on her live performances).

Official Emilie Autumn website
EA on Facebook
EA on Twitter

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- OPHELIAC

As I was finishing off PussyRock 2, Emilie Autumn released the amazing Opheliac EP, I decided to wait and review it in the next issue figuring it would be easy enough to review the EP and maybe even the forthcoming album.  Now admittedly PussyRock 3 has been delayed but still, in less than 2 years, Emilie Autumn has managed to release --- 3 album length EPs, 2 double albums, 1 compilation album and a reissued album.  There are bands who don't do that much in a ten year career.  I make no apologies for reviewing them all here as I think that although EA is an amazing artist, some of her work is better than others so I thought maybe this would act as a guide to help people decide which of her releases to seek out especially as I think she's one of those artists that once you hear her stuff you invariably want to track down more of it.
(NOTE:  Check under the tag Emilie Autumn for reviews of Enchant, Laced/Unlaced, A Bit O' This & That, Liar/Dead is the New Alive EP and 4 O' Clock)

OPHELIAC --- EMILIE AUTUMN

Emilie Autumn is a classically trained violinist who has worked with the likes of Billy Corgan and Courtney Love.  She describes her music as "Victoriandustrial" but even that almost doesn't do her justice.  She manages to weave together disparate influences like baroque chamber music and gothic industrial beats to create dazzling songs that manage to sound absolutely unique and otherworldly but still stand up as accessible pop songs.  (In that sense, I would compare her to someone like Kate Bush or even Prince).

She originally released Opheliac as an EP, although the term EP doesn't quite do it justice as it still featured extras such as a personal handwritten note and a link to an Internet download/podcast.  She then released Opheliac, the album, which is her masterpiece.  It is one of those records that takes you into somebody's world, the good and bad, and it was stunning in its scope and excecution.  Several of the songs go for a harsher, more rockier feel than those on her previous album, Enchant and she has produced some absolutely storming anthems like Misery Loves Company and Dead is the New Alive.  She's managed to reinvent the violin in the same way that Rasputina have pioneered the genre of cello rock.  But she always manages to balance the gothic industrial beats with a deftness of touch and there are also more brooding, contemplative numbers like The Art of Suicide and Gothic Lolita.  It's an album that washes over you and is something you can truly get lost in, always returning to find a new gem --- if you overlook something, it is only because the album has so much to offer.

The second CD contains a photo gallery of live/studio shots and some video clips - a live performance from US TV and a guide to being a Victorian lady showing EA putting on her makeup and getting dressed before ending up in the bath singing Gloomy Sunday!  EA has an incredible image and she's a charismatic performer.  Her live performances are more akin to theatrical productions as she usually sings over a backing track with The Bloody Crumpets (a loose ensemble of models/designers/musicians) posing around her and doing everything from tea parties to en pointe ballet dancing.  It's the kind of visual feast where every moment brings another taste of eye candy and she's now working on a DVD of her live performances which I'm really looking forward to.  The songs on the 2nd CD showcase a more traditional/classical side alongside a couple of instrumentals and some poems set to music.  The more traditional sounding songs like Marry Me are modernised with clever lyrics that highlight Emilie's quick wit.  One of my personal favourites is Thank God I'm Pretty whose sarcastic black humour is allowed to shine against a sophisticated cabaret-type backing.  It reminds me a bit of The Dresden Dolls and in the same way, an alternative band with a unique and theatrical edge like them have been able to break through to the mainstream so I hope Emilie's beautiful music will find a wider audience.
http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008
NOTE:  EA has since released another version of Opheliac with more bonus features.

LYRICS. EMILIE AUTUMN --- GOTHIC LOLITA

How old are you?
I'm older than you'll ever be
I've been dead for a thousand years
But lived only two or three
I don't mind telling you
My life was ended by your hand
The kind of murder where nobody dies
But I don't suppose you'll understand

Call off the search
We've found her

If I am Lolita
Then you are a criminal
And you should be killed
By an army of little girls
The law won't arrest you
The world won't detest you
You never did anything
Any man wouldn't do
I am Gothic Lolita
And you are a criminal
I'm not even legal
I'm just a dead little girl
And ruffles and lace
And candy sweet faces
Directed your furtive hand
I perfectly understand
So it's my fault
No, Gothic Lolita

Thank you kind sirs
You've made me what I am today
A bundle of broken nerves
A mouthful of words I'm still afraid to say
I don't mind telling you
Now that I'm old enough to love
I couldn't begin to even if
My pretty life depended on it
And funny thing it does

I am your sugar
I am your cream
I am your anti-American dream
I am your sugar
I am your cream
I am your anti-American dream
I am your sugar
I am your cream
I am your anti-American dream
I am your sugar
I am your cream
I am your worst nightmare
Now scream

LYRICS BY EMILIE AUTUMN.
PHOTO OF EMILIE AUTUMN FROM HER MYSPACE.

LYRICS. EMILIE AUTUMN --- OPHELIAC

I'm your Opheliac
I've been so disillusioned
I know you'd take me back
But still I feign confusion
I couldn't be your friend
My world was too unstable
You might have seen the end
But you were never able
To keep me breathing
As the water rises up again
Before I slip away

You know the games I play
And the words I say
When I want my own way
You know the lies I tell
When you've gone through hell
And I say I can't stay
You know how hard it can be
To keep believing in me
When everything and everyone
Becomes my enemy and when
There's nothing more you can do
I'm gonna blame it on you
It's not the way I want to be
I only hope that in the end you will see
It's the Opheliac in me

I'm your Opheliac
My stockings prove my virtue
I'm open to attack
But I don't want to hurt you
Whether I sink or swim
That's no concern of yours now
How could you possibly think
You had the power to know how
To keep me breathing
As the water rose up again
Before I slip away

Intelligent girls are more depressed
Because they know
What the world is really like
Don't think for a beat it makes it better
When you sit her down and tell her
Everything is gonna be alright
She knows in society she is either
A devil or an angel with no inbetween
She speaks in the third person
So she can forget that she's me

Doubt thou the stars are fire
Doubt thou the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar
But never doubt
Doubt thou the stars are fire
Doubt thou the sun doth move
Doubt truth to be a liar
But never doubt
I love

LYRICS BY EMILIE AUTUMN.
PHOTO OF EMILIE AUTUMN FROM HER MYSPACE.

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- LIAR/DEAD IS THE NEW ALIVE EP

I've never been particularly keen on remix albums/E.P.s.   I don't think I've ever heard a remix that has genuinely improved on a song --- yes, some of them are interesting but to me, it just seems like cleverness for its own sake.  Emilie Autumn released this album length EP as a follow-up to Opheliac and I think it proves my argument as well as verging on overkill.  You get the album versions of Liar and Dead is the New Alive off the Opheliac album (both good songs and live favourites) --- you then get 4 remixes of Liar and 2 of Dead is the New Alive done by various stars of the Gothic music scene such as Angelspit and Dope Stars Inc. that involve varying degrees of shouting and clattering about and really only succeed in killing off any residual affection I ever had for these particular tracks.

However if you're an EA fan it's still worth looking out for this CD as it includes 4 new tracks, the best of which is Mad Girl which has more of a classical/folk influence.  Best Safety Lies In Fear starts off promisingly but peters out without making the impact it could have done.  There's also an instrumental track off Laced/Unlaced and a brilliant cover version of Thank God I'm Pretty by Spiritual Front where the sardonic male vocals and world-weary piano accompaniment bring out the sarcastic black humour in the lyrics and really add a new dimension to the song.

I think it would have been better to have had remixes of a wider variety of tracks or release a shorter CD at a lower price.  I think Trisol really missed an opportunity to create an EP that would have acted as a taster for the album drawing in new fans whilst still offering something extra for old fans.  (EA gives such visually stunning theatrical live performances that some live concert clips would have been a definite advantage).

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.

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.

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- A BIT O' THIS & THAT.

At the same time as the Enchant re-release, Trisol also released this compilation album of rarities/previously unreleased tracks (some of which were live).  It was also a limited edition and included a small hardcover book that featured reproductions of EA's handwritten notes.  It featured a couple of remixes of tracks from Enchant plsu early songs that are no longer available and several instrumentals and an assortment of cover versions.  The cover versions include tracks by The Smiths and The Beatles as well as songs from Cabaret and Upstairs, Downstairs --- sadly, her version of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (from the Monty Python film Life of Brian) is an instrumental only track.  It ends with Miss Lucy Had Some Leeches, a strange and unnerving original composition about the treatment of women who were considered mad in Victorian times.  (There were actually a couple of bonus hidden tracks after that but I won't spoil the surprise by saying what they were).  Although it is an eclectic selection of songs, personally I would have liked a couple of songs in the Gothic/Industrial style of Opheliac to truly demonstrate the range EA is capable of (or some video clips of her recent live performances).  The songs on the album showcase a more melodic style influenced more by cabaret/theatre and classical music that highlights EA's delicious sense of humour and talent for the extraordinary.  As it is, this album is like a cabinet of curiousities containing many oddities of varying degrees of beauty and strangeness.

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- LACED/UNLACED.

Trisol also released a double album of EA's violin solos called Laced/Unlaced (it was released in 2 slightly different formats --- one as a standard CD and the other including a small hardcover book that featured some gorgeous photos of Emilie and extracts of violin scores).  The Laced CD features Emilie playing classical compositions by the likes of Bach as well as her original songs that are more traditional in feel.  It's actually a re-release of her debut classical album, On A Day (now out of print) but does include an extra 40 minutes of live performances from her classical period.  The Unlaced CD features more original compositions by EA that showcase more of her Gothic/Industrial influences.  To be honest, although I'm not that much of a fan of instrumentals or classical music I preferred the Laced disc to the Unlaced one.  On Unlaced she goes in for the frantic shredding and intense playing usually associated with guitar players like Yngwie Malmsteen.  It's interesting to hear that technique used on violin music.  It would probably sound really good as a solo as part of a song on an album/as a live performance but when it's sustained across a whole album, it starts to feel a bit repetitive and strained.

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- ENCHANT (REISSUE)

Emilie Autumn's new record label Trisol also re-released her 2003 album Enchant (which I originally reviewed in PussyRock 2) as a limited edition with different packaging.  It's undoubtedly a beautiful album, a stunning blend of Celtic/folk/classical influences that was somewhat softer and more melodic than the Victoriandustrial sound she pioneered on Opheliac.  It was evocatively christened fairytale rock and the album really deserved a wider audience.  However, the reissue is somewhat flawed.  It still has the same track listing as the original yet was being sold for a far higher price than the normal price for single CD (around £20 in the UK).  The different packaging basically amounts to a small hardcover book featuring a facsimile of her original notes/lyrics for Enchant (sadly mostly illegible) and a fairytale she wrote herself.  Personally I think better value for money would have been a fold-out poster or bonus tracks/video footage on the CD.

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN MAY 2008.

REVIEW. EMILIE AUTUMN --- ENCHANT (ORIGINAL VERSION)

Emilie Autumn is a classically trained violinist who has worked with Courtney Love and Billy Corgan among others.  As well as her music career, she also markets her own line of beauty products and has her own fashion label, the WillowTech House selling clothes and accessories like fairy wings.  Indeed her personal style could best be described as "punk fairy" as she combines bright pink hair with corsets and big boots to produce a visually stunning image.  Her music which she describes as fantasy rock is every bit as stunning too.

This album showcases a variety of styles that include a wide range of influences from classical chamber music to Celtic folk to danceable pop and indie rock.  It's a tribute to Emilie's talent that she manages to blend all these diverse elements together to create a dazzling tapestry of beautiful songs.  The fairytale/fantasy element works well without ever seeming whimsical or silly.  I know Emilie has said on her Live Journal that she disliked her music being described as ethereal and whilst I respect her wishes, I think it's an apt adjective.  I think ethereal in the original sense of fairies as queens and warriors, something so otherworldly as to be breathtaking.  Emilie's music is tremendously catchy and rewards repeated listening with finding new parts to love.  In some ways, she reminds me of Kate Bush (or even Tori Amos), female artists who were able to produce perfect pop songs whilst remaining innovative and combining a wide range of influences.

Unfortunately classical music does still tend to get a bad press but Emilie has managed to use these influences without compromising them or sounding anything less than modern.  This mix of modern and timeless fairytale is echoed with the CD itself.  You can download the entire album in full from Emilie's website but then artwork is a visual puzzle to be solved to win a prize of fairy goodies.  I really recommend you check out Emilie.  I think she has a great future ahead of her.  Enchant came out in 2003 on her own label, Traitor Records and Emilie is currently working on the follow up, Opheliac, which I can't wait to hear.  Apparently it will be somewhat darker in them with songs like Gothic Lolita and The Art of Suicide.

http://www.emilieautumn.com/

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.

NOTE:  This review refers to the original edition of Enchant.  It has since been reissued.