Lucretia's Daggers is one of the best bands you've probably never
heard of and this release absolutely kicks; there's not a stinker on it.
Here's the track by track breakdown.
Scapegoat - A bludgeoning track that's rife with melody. Lucretia
Machina sings with grit and passion while Darrell Brown and Futurist
Tarquinus prove quite adept with crunching rhythms and stinging leads.
Gets the album off to a strong start.
Drawn and Quartered - We get more wrenching lyrical content but that
doesn't keep this tune from being a kickass rocker. Stephanie LaMassa's
keyboards straddle the line between techno and industrial and
complement the punishing riffs beautifully.
Lost Lovers - Once again we get great heavy rock combined with
memorable hooks. Machina has a gift for shifting from seductive to gritty
as the song requires and the whole band performs as a crack unit.
Fallen Moon - This one comes off as hard-rocking cabaret music and
anyone who invokes the Goddess in a catchy song is cool in this Wiccan
Lemur's book. Even if you're not a Pagan, you'll find a lot to dig here.
End of Oil - Martial riffs propel this environmental song and it's a
good one. In a contemporary sonic landscape of nu-metal cock rock
lyrical dreck, a song like this is a welcome relief.
The Sickness - Not, thankfully, a cover of Disturbed. No, this one
sounds more like a rebirth of The Tubeway Army. It's a really cool track
so the band's shift in gears isn't the least bit jarring and Stephanie
LaMassa gets to really cut loose with delightful results.
Eb & Flo - Another memorable, rocking track. The chorus from this
one is virtually guaranteed to get stuck in your head.
The Horrors of Retail - A surreal track about, surprisingly, the horrors
of retail. As a former Phar-Mor employee, this song articulated my
descent into the utter hatred of our customers perfectly. Past and present
wage slaves will love it. Just don't ask me about the creepy motherfucker
who asked me if Tylenol came in a suppository.
Souler Coaster - Chugging, driving monster with especially good work
from Machina; her soaring background vocals are just fucking gorgeous.
Sucker/Savior - A really sweet mesh of synth-pop and heavy rock; it's a
combination that sounds like it has no business working, but it does, and
does beautifully. Extra points for unbridled lyrical vitriol.
Dust - Lucretia's Daggers shifts gears once again for a drop-dead
gorgeous baroque pop song. Machina kinda sounds like she's channelling
Andy Partridge on this one.
Sacrifice - They save the heaviest beast for the finale. It's crunching
and ominous adorned with lilting synths and again, they make an
unusual juxtaposition work really well.
Check out the band at www.myspace.com/lucretiasdaggers -- you can
listen to a few tracks from the album there and then feel free to give in to
your better judgment and buy the cd.