England Made Me

by

Black Box Recorder

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Black Box Recorder is a hidden treasure and their first album, "England Made Me", is by far their best work. A hauntingly shy voice, behind the low tones of a variety of instruments, make up the collection, harvesting and provoking the silly thoughts of morbid children: Life is Unfair, Kill Yourself or Get Over it ("Child Psychology").

Each song on the album, possesses its own charisma, sometimes playing on the ideas of death and decay and other times relishing is mischevious childhood fantasies. "Girl Singing In the Wreckage" is a ballad of a young woman examining her very state of being, acknowledging the sad normality of her existance and at the same time, inventing a sense of mystery about herself. The track "England Made Me", weaves a tale of a disturbing characters who admits to 'sleeping with the enemy before betraying both sides'.

For the poet in all of us, the lyrics are infactuating. For the musician in all of us, the tunes are somber and delightful. One can expect Black Box Recorder to take you from your bedroom in the attic to an enchanted pixie-garden, where the faeries read H.P. Lovecraft, steal cars and smoke cigarettes until dawn.

- Jonathan H.

I was stunned by my first listen to 'England Made Me' The lyrics were some of the most disturbing I had heard and the sparse accompaniment created the appopriately depressing mood. Yes, if you're looking to go cry in your room and contemplate the cruelties of pop-culture and relationships, this is the place to come. Unfortunately, after the first few listens, the novelty wears off. The music itself is not sufficiently intriguing and the songs begin to sound too similar to each other. The singer doesn't stretch her voice enough, and the songs begin to sound underproduced. On the first few listens it didn't matter, just for the sheer uniqueness of their music, but on repeated listens you might find yourself gettting bored. Still, if you're feeling down, and want to go even deeper into depression and know that someone else out there feels like hell, go for it. Its Uniqueness alone earns it three stars.