Apart from the coming and going of trends and hypes, pop music also remains an excellent medium for expressing deeper and more gloomy soul stirrings. The trio The Gilded Palace Of Sin from Manchester picks up the thread with their debut album that runs back to John Cale and Leonard Cohen via Nick Cave and Tindersticks. Folk and blues sound through, gritty and ominous performed with, in addition to
… guitars, unusual instruments such as theremin and glockenspiel. However, it is mainly singer Pete Phythian who dominates with his powerful voice, which emanates an almost aggressive emotionality. 'I had a dream the other night, it didn't come true,' he sings in Bones Of The Saints. Disillusionment, frustration and pessimism seem to be the driving force behind the sounds of this trio. Again this produces intriguing and timeless music. (MR)more