Trans Vocals And Lack Thereof, pt. 2
Jun. 4th, 2023 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
utilitymonstergirl(A continuation from here.)
I really value the strategic use of ugliness in art - it is underexplored, says a lot about the culture that deemed it so, and can serve as stark proof that artistic skill can look like anything. My current favorite maestros of ugliness are Black Dresses, the semi-defunct band of Ada Rook and Devi McCallion. They're clearly well-aware of how to make conventionally-pleasant hooks and melodies and vocals, and so the many times they don't are intentional and striking. Even in their harshest songs, there's a level of care lavished on structure and composition that makes them fascinating case studies of pop songcraft from people who will likely never chart on Billboard.
Admittedly, I had a bit of a learning curve to appreciate them, and there's still some work of theirs that I just can't quite get into yet. The first step for me was hearing Rook's screams on the title track of Backxwash's I Lie Here Buried With My Rings And My Dresses, where they worked beautifully in a context of metal-tinged horrorcore. (And circling back to it now, they strike me as very iconically Rook Screams.) One of their first songs that really clicked with me was Cartoon Network - it's about as close as they've come to conventional pop music, but still full of dissonant synths, spoken-word interludes, and screaming on the bridge. (The brilliant video was also my introduction to Jonni Phillips, who may be discussed here later.) I dug into more of their work, and once I heard the fist-pumping chorus of Damage Suppressor, I was hooked.
Relative to Patricia Taxxon, they use fairly little distortion on their voices. They sometimes play with recording fidelity, whether through peaking screams or bitcrushed drowning, but different singing styles provide most of the variation. Devi's vocal-fry understatement and desperate yelps mix well with Rook's whispers, sonorous melodies, and harsh screams. Although the balance of styles is surely carefully planned, it gives their work a raw, intimate style to match their lyrical themes of trauma, insecurity, and hard-won hope.
If this article has piqued your interest in them, I recommend Peaceful as Hell as a relatively accessible album, and both of them have whole constellations of solo projects and other collaborations ranging from melancholy bedroom pop to jagged screamo manifestos on trauma.
I really value the strategic use of ugliness in art - it is underexplored, says a lot about the culture that deemed it so, and can serve as stark proof that artistic skill can look like anything. My current favorite maestros of ugliness are Black Dresses, the semi-defunct band of Ada Rook and Devi McCallion. They're clearly well-aware of how to make conventionally-pleasant hooks and melodies and vocals, and so the many times they don't are intentional and striking. Even in their harshest songs, there's a level of care lavished on structure and composition that makes them fascinating case studies of pop songcraft from people who will likely never chart on Billboard.
Admittedly, I had a bit of a learning curve to appreciate them, and there's still some work of theirs that I just can't quite get into yet. The first step for me was hearing Rook's screams on the title track of Backxwash's I Lie Here Buried With My Rings And My Dresses, where they worked beautifully in a context of metal-tinged horrorcore. (And circling back to it now, they strike me as very iconically Rook Screams.) One of their first songs that really clicked with me was Cartoon Network - it's about as close as they've come to conventional pop music, but still full of dissonant synths, spoken-word interludes, and screaming on the bridge. (The brilliant video was also my introduction to Jonni Phillips, who may be discussed here later.) I dug into more of their work, and once I heard the fist-pumping chorus of Damage Suppressor, I was hooked.
Relative to Patricia Taxxon, they use fairly little distortion on their voices. They sometimes play with recording fidelity, whether through peaking screams or bitcrushed drowning, but different singing styles provide most of the variation. Devi's vocal-fry understatement and desperate yelps mix well with Rook's whispers, sonorous melodies, and harsh screams. Although the balance of styles is surely carefully planned, it gives their work a raw, intimate style to match their lyrical themes of trauma, insecurity, and hard-won hope.
If this article has piqued your interest in them, I recommend Peaceful as Hell as a relatively accessible album, and both of them have whole constellations of solo projects and other collaborations ranging from melancholy bedroom pop to jagged screamo manifestos on trauma.
