Bourbon Princess - Dark Of Days
by
Paul Barile
August 2005
I don’t get it. I feel really bad, but I just don’t get it. I love
bourbon. Bourbon Princess? Not so much.
The music on Dark of Days is kind of angry, dark music played
well (sort of), but not comfortably. I am not even sure if I can make
sense of what I am hearing.
The band is led by Monique Ortiz who sings and plays bass. Her voice is
clearly held back by affectations she seems to think necessary to keep
"the edge" in the music. It doesn't even sound natural.
The backing instrumentation is relatively adept, but boring to the point
of distraction. The only thing that breaks these songs up –
differentiate them – is the second of time between the tracks.
The lyrics are esoteric to say the least. The problem is they don't say
much and they don't seem to have audience. They aren't as "goth" as the
instrumentation would lead you to believe they would be. Nor are they as
accessible as one would hope. It is at this point where the listener
just kind of tunes out and begins making a shopping list in his or her
head.
The shame of Dark of Days is with an arranger – and a songwriter
– and a singer – and producer, they might have made an album that wasn't
so obnoxiously boring and unlistenable. Things being as they are, avoid
this thing. It will just give you a headache – like cheap bourbon does.
www.bourbonprincess.com
