Customer Reviews

Cabin Fever

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although my Catholic soul trembles at the sin I might or might not be committing by encouraging these poor demented girls, my honesty (decadent as it might be at its source) compels me to state: Rasputina's Cabin Fever is the most fun I've had since my sister and I discovered a glass case filled with dying bees in our grandmother's attic.

Melora Creager's lyrics consist of the finest poetry to be found in contemporary pop muzik-no tedious ambiguities or oblique verse for this gal: she takes aim with words and hits the bulls-eye every time. From the opening "Gingerbread Coffin," which describes some dreadful ceremony in which a fetish from childhood is resurrected into gothic twilight, to the closing, "A Quitter," an ode to suicide that will evoke guilt from the most spotless soul, Melora stitches together genuinely surreal tales (Leonora Carrington-wise) from the jumble she has discovered in some Victorian attic of the mind (aside from the spoken word "PJ + Vincent + Matthew + Bjork," which is quite simply an exhilarating fall-to-the-floor laugh-cap).

Musically, each track opens like a surprise package, filled with cellos organic and distorted, and delightful little (again) demented touches, like the sharpening of knives heard throughout "Rats," the unsettling drum thumps and jingling thingies that punctuate "Cross Walk," leaving the listener with the unsettling sense that these Rasputina girls are up to something nasty in the wood shed. I am not sure that I would want to meet them on some dark street, but when it comes to songs that reflect an individual vision owing sfa to anyone or anything else, I would crawl into their attic anytime.

I love Rasuptina's first album "Thanks For the Ether" with it's virgin purity from electronic mixings and what not, but I must admit that when I heard "Cabin Fever!" I was astounded at how well the managed to combine in electronic beats and distortions on a few of there songs (not all of them! Some still ring proud with that virgin purity of only using cellos and vocals!). But, I must admit this cd is radically different from "Thanks For The Ether". Here's a track by track following. I'll keep this short and frank.

1- Gingerbread Coffin: I love this song. It's got brilliant music and combines with the cellos a music box which adds enormously to the song. I'm not sure if it's about a magic doll or voodoo, but either is fine with me! Voodoo! How delightful!

2- Thimble Island: The man hunting song! Grah! This song is very catchy and very folky and tons of fun.

3- State Fair: Another song about boys, this one isn't about going out to get hitched to some brigadoon island though. It's got a lot of electronic mixing and sounds almost like electric guitars (I'm going to say exactly, because I they don't).

4- Sweet Water Kill: A very cool song, with cool drums, sound effects and very lulling cellos. The words are great and almost make one think of an irish tradishional song (the words, not the arrangement).

5- Remnants of Percy Bass: This is actually one of my favorite songs on the album. It's a slower and more depressing song, but it's got some absolutely exquisit moments when the cellos and vocals come together in a very pleasing and surprising way. Very haunting.

6- Rats: Love this song. This song has the coolest distortions (like electric guitars again). The humor of this song is almost sickening, it's brilliant. Who else but Rasputina would sing of starving people renaming rats as fish so that they could eat them?

7- Clipped: This is a sad song that brilliantly talks about the world disabling you and starting again by comparing it with clipping birds wings so that they can't fly. The best part is when it changes from "They clipped my wings" to "I clipped my wings", changing the idea of the song saying that sometimes we have to do the hard thing and let go of what we have and try things anew.

8- PJ+Mathew & Vincent+Bjork: This is by far the most entertaining track on the cd. Impersonating the two couples on a double date that goes nowhere. I'm not sure why it's here, it doesn't add or take anything from the album. "Whatever Bjork."

9- My Orphanage: This in another sad song about not really belonging and the only place you have as home you hate. Quite sad.

10- Crosswalk: This is a good song with hard mixing on it that works icredibly well. Very cool words and catchy- super catchy- chorus.

11- Hunter's Kiss: I think that this is my favorite song on the album. It reminds me of a disturbing old horror film with a very cracky filter laid on it to make it sound like it's bad quality. It's especially when it picks up with the cellos and the drums. Very cool creepy song.

12- Our Lies: This song is made up of a troop of lies, and by look of the credits they were ones sent to them by a lot of people on the internet. Very funny and witty.

13- AntiqueHighHeelRedDollShoes: This is a brilliant song of vanity and jealousy claiming repeatedly "Daintier, smarter, better dressed!" In spite. It's very hip actually, I could see this song on the radio oddly enough.

14- Cooped: Wow... This song I must say has no purpose being on the at all, but as it's not even a minute long I don't count it. It seems to me to be people watching a um... odd Yoko Ono performance. In the end I can't help but agree when they wisper to each other "They really have balls to expose themselves like that!"

15- A Quitter: This is the saddest song on the cd. It's about trying so hard in the world and never succeeding, and giving up. It's brilliantly done really, this melody is sad and pretty and the music in the background is mostly one cello playing one simple part. If you let the song continue playing after it's done to about 5:30 a hidden track plays. A lullabye Melora wrote for her baby, who I believe is talking baby gibberish along with them.

This actually is a really golden record! I'm much more impressed than I thought I would be. I'm very excited for Rasputina to continue on in this fashion in their later releases.

Cabin Fever! is an aural funhouse. Throbbing and inviting, it stands on the fringe of the largely stale carnival that is much of today's music. Sonically more varied than previous Rasputina releases, CF! holds a surprise around every bend. The unmistakable amber voice of the cello is still queen, and it swims in a stereo realm so intriguing that the lyrics are easily overlooked--until Creager's gorgeous voice, at once lusty and innocent, draws the listener into the mysteries and magic of her stories. Gritty, mechanical rhythms dissolve into gorgeous string figurations, supporting poetry that embraces the nonsensical, the literal and the profound in a web of rich vocal harmonies. Sometimes poppy, sometimes danceable, sometimes punk, CF! is quintessential Rasputina--a marriage of the electronic and organic that mirrors the beauty, humour and horror of life. It teases, seduces, deceives, inspires, nourishes, and heals. Do not miss it.

I personally loved this album. I have just recently (within the last year) become a Rasputina fan but I was already dying for their new album. I agree that, yes there were some fillers in this album. Still, I think that others on the album make up for this. 'Gingerbread Coffin', 'Thimble Island' and 'Hunter's Kiss' are amazing. The harder edged songs such as 'AntiqueHighHeelRedDollShoes', 'State Fair' and 'Rats' are also great. My favorite song on the album, however, would have to be 'Crosswalk'. I don't know why but I find both the lyrics and tune extremely haunting. It may not be as strong as 'How We Quit the Forest' and 'Thanks for the Ether', but 'Cabin Fever!' is still amazing. Its Rasputina, how could it not be?

I thought "Cabin Fever!" was going to be a giant musical frog leap into new terrain, as it had been quite some time between albums & Rasputina had made that kind of leap before ("Thanks for the Ether" and "How We Quit the Forest" are decidedly very different). Instead, "Cabin Fever!" is more of the same, the same being the kooky, polished, sometimes grungy sounds on "How We Quit the Forest." Which is not to say that "Cabin Fever!" isn't enjoyable--it most certainly is. It's just not much of a stylistic leap.

"Sweet Water Kill," "Hunter's Kiss," & "Thimble Island" are gorgeous, and "Our Lies," a song pieced together from fan lyric submissions, is a neat little number and a reminder that Raspy loves their fans.

"Cabin Fever!" is a lot more fun than "How We Quit the Forest," although some of the "fun" numbers (like, oh, "State Fair," which is kind of a tossed off stale cracker, and "PJ + Vincent & Matthew + Bjork," which is funny for awhile but sort of unnecessary) fall flat.

Still, if you like Rasputina, it's absolutely faboo. I wouldn't recommend it as a 1st Rasputina album, though (try "How We Quit the Forest.")

OK, i understand the reviewer who posted the 3-star review. it's easy to compare this to previous albums; it's what most of us do with artists we really admire. but i'm looking at the song list, one by one, and as i do so i realize that yes, although there are 2 "fillers" of questionable interest (tracks 8 & 14), on the whole i'm delighted with the album!

it maintains that quaint, old-fashioned backcountry kind of vernacular that Melora writes so well, and her 1900-esque sensibilities. there are pretty, mournful tracks (Sweetwater Kill, Percy Bass, My Orphanage, A Quitter), but also rocking, distorted pieces (Hunter's Kiss, AntiqueHighHellRedDollShoes). "Clipped" is about the only song here i consider weak, and i love love love "Gingerbread Coffin." it's a perfect opening track for a slightly sinister album like this. i'm simply tickled that i bought it - i don't even mind that i paid full price. and make sure you let track 15 play out longer - don't miss the pretty little hidden song at the end.

I've only just recently been able to purchase any CD by this group, and was knocked off my feet! Rasputina combines amazing cello, drumming, and electronic manipulations to create a sound unlike any before.

1) Gingerbread Coffin-Has some intersting lyrics, and really shows off the cello about a two-and-a-half mintues into the song. Great sound effects too.

2) Thimble Island-The singing is really well done on this track, and the cello breaks through the funky water sound effects. Thimble is a bit more "Pop" than the other songs on this album. (Though there isn't anything wrong with that!)

3) State Fair-A little difficult to listen to the first time, but it grows on you. The cellos have been manipulated to sound more like guitars on this track, and the lyrics, while strange, are oddly funny.

4) Sweet Water Kill (The Ocean Song)-A slight contrast from the "hardcore" State Fair. Sweet Water is more "soft" (?) The singing in this song is some of the best on the album.

5) Remnants of Percy Bass-Not a favorite. It takes a few listens to really enjoy. However, the cello in this is quite skillful, and the lyrics, though strange really paint a picture. Remnants picks up about two-and-a-half minutes in.

6) Rats-BY far the most bizzare, but enjoyable song on the album. Another rock style song, Rats tells about how "the Bolivians were starving so...they had rats as big as ponies there, so they asked the Pope, to declare them fish." (Pardon if I made a mistake) Strange, fast-paced, and extremly catchy, this song screams Rasputina.

7) Clipped-A BIG change from Rats, Clipped is slow and sad, yet very powerful. It tells of adjusting to a new situation, and that though it may be difficult, one can still overcome any situation. "I will learn to walk todaaaaaay."

8) PJ+Vincent & Matthew+Bjork- This piece is all speech, though some wonderful cello can be heard in the background. One must listen a few times before one can catch all the little jokes, but the horrific celebrity double-date is...beyond description. Bjork is done exceptionaly.

9) My Orphanage- Another song with a catchy tune, and deppresing lyrics. Done very well, especialy 1:45 into the song.

10) Crosswalk- The opening is astounding, screaming cello with a hint of electronic manip. It sets the mood for this extremely dark song. The lyrics in this one are exceptional, and I often find my self humming the chorus thoughout the day. "Why-ee-i-eei is my bleeding heart beating? Why-ee-i-ee-e am I feeling no pain? Why-ee-i-ee-i do I cry when I say Good? Bye-ee-i-ee-i when I'm calling your name?"

11) Hunter's Kiss-By far my favorite on the album. It has a sctratchy, old-time record sound in the background. It proves to be another of Rasp.'s "darker" songs. The lyrics are AMAZING, and tell a dark, frightening story, all praired with breath-taking music.

12) Our Lies- Going back to the "lighter" songs, Lies is more humerous than the previous songs (I am reminded of the line "I went for a ride in a carousel. I was on a yellow horse. Right behind the swan. In the swan, a man & a woman, they were doin' it.")

13) AntiqueHighHeeledRedDollShoes-Very Brit. Pop. With fast funny lyrics, and cellos that are completely disguised by electroninc manip., another triumph!

14) Cooped-You have to find this out out yourself, it's far too difficult to describe. Though it is similar to Track 8.

15) A Quitter-THe album ends on a soft, sad song about not going through with things in life, and giving up. The exact oppisote of the earlier track "Clipped"

Yes...indeed. I have heard that this is not Rasp.'s best album, but I must really disagree. Buy this!

I have about 5 times now and I want more. They are the freshest breath of swamp air in a disgusting music era pumping out nothing but literal {stuff}. Artsy, yes, gothy, yes, victorian, yes, classical, yes. Heavy metal hard rocking chellos and angelic singing matter of factly about diseases, drug addicted celebrities, vampires, dark rituals with dolls, and government secrets. They mix current time with the 1800s so beautifully, it's really indescribable. State fair, Gingerbread Coffin, and AntiqueHighHellRedDollShoes are my faves off this album but I love the entire thing more each time I listen to it. I think I'm on the 400th time now.

This group just keeps getting better. I was so stunned when I saw this CD, because I hadn't been keeping up with the band. Well, let me tell ya, the Ladies Cello Society has laid out another dose of genius tracks. I like how Mellora finaly got a little personal on this album but still kept with the sad or funny history songs. She's also doing all the production work and side instruments herself. She's brilliant. And speaking of, I like the line up on this album. Let's hope her tallented co-stars stick around for another go. This album sounds sounds as if this mix of artists has chemistry.

I won't put a This and This song are great blurb 'cause I like them all. If you know Rasputina, you love them. If you are considering a first time purchase, do it! Garaunteed, if you don't want it, one of your friends will think it's awsome.

In the 16th century, an undistinguished renaissance church was constructed smack dab in the center of the masjid of Cordoba, the largest and (many would argue) most beautiful Islamic prayer-hall of its time. Upon witnessing the result, Emperor Charles V of Spain reportedly proclaimed "You have destroyed something unique in the world with something that can be found anywhere."

With every repeated listening to Rasputina's third full-length outing, Charles' words keep thundering into my cranium. Certainly it is an artist's prerogative to change and develop, and decrying change in and of itself is the mark of a very narrow-visioned fan. But equally narrow-visioned would be an uncritical acceptance of any such change and, to my tastes, this album does not signify a change for the better. 'Ether' was a creation unique in the world with its allusions to early 20th century sweatshop catastrophes and heartfelt odes to yellowing photographs, all put forward with the most elegantly simple yet unconventional instrumentation deployed in the most varied and complex ways ('Trust All-Stars' both rocks AND alternates between 3/4 and 4/4 time!). Come the second album, that instrumentation was buried and compositional variety largely disappeared beneath slicker production values and composing more in keeping with the niche-market of Rasputina's then-sponsor, Marilyn Manson. (And this is not simply a matter of raw cello=unique, processed cello=same-old-same-old, as the creative trajectories of both Apocalyptica and Bonfire Madigan have aptly demonstrated.) Now, with 'Cabin Fever,' the seething ghostly presences and ambiences in the lyrics have become ever fainter as well. After many hearings, this last album persists in sounding like something that can indeed be found anywhere.

Which is not to say 'Cabin Fever' is a poor album in and of itself. Although sounding more like much else by many others, 'Cabin Fever' stands well above that which can be found elsewhere in both the intelligence of its lyrical content and the remnant idiosyncracies of its sound. (Were I ranking this album in light of anything other than Rasputina's own demonstrated capacity, it would warrant four stars.) None the less, to my mind 'Cabin Fever' continues a long march backwards, from out of the forest and onto an already over-traveled thoroughfare, inducing a very cabin-feverishy sense of re-encountering that which is already entirely too familiar. It is my fervent hope that, with coming albums, Rasputina will take leave of their cabin and, if not return to the forest of 'Ether', then perhaps strike out for a jagged fjord, the molten slope of a volcano, or some other landscape we have yet to even imagine. I, for one, will welcome them dragging me along for the journey.