Customer Reviews

Frustration Plantation

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I beg to differ, Jade, this is actually the album that got me hooked on Rasputina. I think [Jade] senses a bit of a change, because Melora is now, not the only person writing. She collaborated much more with her band members, so Zoe and John had a lot of say on this album. While the writing style is differnt, I believe it is just as creative as their previous records. Songs such as "Saline the Salt Lake Queen" and the spoken-word "My Captivity By Savages" grow on you and hold a magnificent and polished creativity.

Difference is not a bad thing, and to argue with you, Jade, "Frustration Plantation" is far more well-crafted than "Thanks For the Ether" ever was.

For curiosity's sake I've been reading the reviews of this album - and in many places, I disagree completely. Like others, longtime Rasputina fan! I adore the sounds, the songs, the concepts... everything. Unlike most, I've had the joy of talking to Melora, on the phone and in person (and she's truly as gorgeous, sincere in that special her-way and at the same time mysterious as on the albums/in concert), but that really doesn't affect my thoughts on this album. No, it does, a little - but I'll get to that later.

I got Frustration Plantation before I saw them on their most recent tour, but not too soon before - thus my first "true" listening experience with FP was at the concert. I was standing right up front, leaning on the edge of the stage, and wow - did I ever LISTEN. The recital began with a thundering, jaw-droppingly brilliant and edgy "Saline the Salt Lake Queen" and never fell from that level. They did justice to their entire repertoire, not focusing entirely on FP, but many of the songs were played. I walked out of that concert, after chatting backstage and then trading a few dollars + a cigarette at the merch stand because I didn't have the full price for even a postcard (and the merch guy gave me both postcards cause he thought it was a rather funny and innovative way to overcome my dilemma) knowing that it was one of, if not the, best show I'd been to.

As for the album - after the show, FP was my repeat listen. In my CD-alarm, in my discman on the métro, in my head... Listening to that album gives me the same "oh my this is a Rasputina rectical & I'm up-front & they are amazing" butterfly feeling in my stomach. You MUST listen to FP as loud as possible to truly hear it! (My review title refers to David Bowie's and Kate Bush's similar directions in the liner notes to Ziggy Stardust and The Dreaming, respectively.) This album does tell a story & it all follows quite perfectly if you pay attention...

And November17dee - you're not listening. Picture Melora's four-year-old daughter (yes, that's Hollis Lane) singing this song with a secret meaning only she knows. Then you'll get it.

And as for the cello-amps vs. the more "acoustic" sound of Thanks for the Ether? Musicians evolve, and if they didn't, what would be the point of a continued career? This is where Melora wants to be, and she's there. Zoe Keating (the new co-cellist) is the only one who's ever "gotten as excited about cello amplification" as Melora has, so she's happy with her new match. You really can tell when you listen, too.

So yes, a forever fan of the beloved Rasputina finds the newest album to be the best yet, & eagerly awaits what's to come, as Melora wouldn't let on...

This is one of the most imaginative works of modern music. Most of what is visible today is very commerical and not at all creative. Melora Creager, Zoe Keating and Jonathon TeBeest have created an album that sounds both just like a Rasputina album, yet entirely new and interesting. "Frustration Plantaion" is the perfect evolution of self-dubbed 'Cellocore.' It sounds just like a Rasputina album, yet sounds completely new. The band has accompleshed the near-impossible; They made an album that is at once both hilarious and beautiful. Covers like "If your Kisses can't Hold the Man you Love" as well as new material like "Possum of the Grotto" blend into each other seamlessly, but remain distinct from one another.
The album clocks in at under 45 minutes, leaving listeners desiring more cello-rific tunes, and listening to the album three or four times in a row before they've realized it.
An interesting Sidenote is that while Rasputina has traditionally been associated with Victorian Era New England, "Frustration Plantation" seems to have more of a Mid-1800's Mid-west setting. Just proving that Rasputina is not a gimmic, but a stylistic choice.

...about a flawless album. I've read all the other reviews and I'm really surprised to learn that most people don't like "The Mayor" or "Oh Injury." These are two fantastic songs that are absolutely essential to the album. Interpret "The Mayor" as you will, but Melora has stated that it's about someone very close to her (see the newest issue of Outburn), not about our latest presidential mistake. And I remember reading that someone didn't understand "Oh Injury." It's fairly simple: a husband gets injured on the job and is unable to work, and the family struggles to get by. The "toothpick, pen knife, can opener" part is about how men are more useful when equipped with tools then without. She's right.

Also, Melora has been doing skits on her albums since the very beginning, so why should this be any different? I really do enjoy "When I Count," it gives us a little peak into Melora's crazy mind. Even "Nov 17dee" is excusable because it really shows how much Melora cares for her baby boy.

"My Captivity By Savages" is based on real life Indian captivity stories. There's a whole genre of literature on this subject. It wasn't her trying to be cute or politically incorrect, those events really happened and are documented in history. Personally I think it's a wonderful skit. Melora performs it fantastically, and the sexual attraction that Eliza feels is akin to the sexual tension actually felt by the captives towards their kidnappers (see the story of Olive Oakman for more info).

Maybe one should do a bit more research before concluding that "Melora is just nuts as usual..." As for me, this album has earned a permanent place in my disc changer.

Well I think this cd is great. I haven't been a Rasputina fan very long so maybe it was easier for me to get into Frustration Plantation...seeing as some older Rasputina fans don't think very highly of this new cd. I was suprised to hear complaints about the whole "southern" thing they are doing now. Well the only other Rasputina cd i have is Thanks for the Ether...and listening to that and then listening to Frustration Plantation i don't really hear the whole "southern" change thing people have complained about...or at least as the complete style of the band is concerned. I don't see this change as a problem...i rather enjoy it...i think its great hearing melora's voice with such blues like soul in it. And the cello parts are still great....oh the cello parts. I've seen them twice since releasing Frustration Plantation and both shows were amazing. Its almost hypnotic seeing both of the Rasputina ladies tearing it up on their cellos. Anyways i think this a great cd and i wish more magazines(spin,blender,rolling stone) would bother to review Rasputina albums

Having been a hardcore Rasputina fan for years, I couldn't wait for the release of this album. Despite having unusually high expectations (though, after hearing their previous works, how could you not!), this CD surpassed what I had hoped to find in 'Frustration Plantation'. Rasputina's newest album will not disappoint old fans, and is sure to enrapture any new listener. It has a mix of fast-paced songs such as "Possum of the Grotto", "Momma was an Opium Smoker", and "If your Kisses Can't Hold the Man You Love," as well as its fair share of hauntingly rythmic ballads, like "Girl's School" and "Oh, Injury." One of the best tracks on the CD has to be "The Mayor." This is a magnificantly well-written and beautifully instrumented song, offering up a heavy dose of clever political commentary. Also among my favorites is "Momma was an Opium Smoker," a jarring, quick song that leaves you tapping your feet and wishing for more. For any fan of Rasputina, and for anyone that enjoys off-beat, bizarrely wonderful tunes, this isn't something to be missed. At a scant forty some-odd minutes, it will be sure to leave you pressing the 'replay' button again and again.

New album, new lineup. I guess it's the Rasputina way...

Melora Creager remains at the centre, however, and her stamp is all over this album. The historical flavouring may have changed slightly (we're back in the early 1800s, now), but there's no mistaking this album for anything else.

Musically, _Frustration Plantation_ is a natural extension of the sharper, heavier sound of _Cabin Fever_: lots of distortion on the cellos, stronger vocals, and an increasing debt of inspiration to rock n' roll (with a Rasputina twist, as on _The Lost and Found_'s covers). This is not to say that there aren't a few instrumental, undistorted cello-led passages, but anyone who still prefers Raspy's first album may find _Plantation_ not so much to their taste.

The musical blend is less successful than on the fabulous _Cabin Fever_, with fewer standout tracks and several that are just raucous and/or meandering. 'Doomsday Averted' is fractured and interesting, but probably not the best album-opener, and I found 'Oh Injury' deeply tedious. But 'The Mayor' is up there with the best of Raspy's material, talk-track 'My Captivity by Savages' is as silly as ever, and cover song 'If Your Kisses Can't Hold the Man You Love' is pure genius. Add in fun, fast-paced renditions of a couple of traditional songs ('Wicked Dickie' and 'When I was a Young Girl') and you have another eccentrically great Rasputina package.

The guy doesn't wear a bodice, thank god. This band is really good. Sort of a cello-chamber rock with tongue firmly in cheek throughout the whole album. My favourite song is the laid back "Secret Message" which reminds me of how those ridiculous notes in juniour highschool and highschool were treated as if it were life and death. I love the line "I'm like a mirror baby. I refract light back at you." and how the note "Might contain the secrets of Nostradamus or my addiction to prophesy. I'm not at liberty to say..." And track four is spectacular. It's about how women who have their lover cheating on them, they should stand up, go out, and do the same! "Love is like homecooking, good and wholesome; but all men need some mutton on the outside now and then." It's pretty humourous.
Doomsday Averted is another great song. I have Cabin Fever by them as well. That was a pretty subpar album. They don't use that much of that terrible distorted electric cello (definitly an instrument that did NOT need to have a electric version of itself) as on previous albums. If you like Cellos, if you like chamber rock, if you like girls, if you like guys, if you like music, and if you like food PICK THIS UP!

I'm not quite sure where to even begin with this record. If you're already a Rasputina fan, the cellos and goth aesthetic wont be a surprise to you, but they take it in a different direction with this album, employing old-timey southern imagery. No other band that I can think of uses stringed instruments to rock as well as this band does. The songs are strong, and this cd contains some of my favorite lyrics of theirs. It may not be for everyone, but if you remotely like gothic or hard rock music or you have a decent sense of adventure you should definitely give this a try. A word of caution: unless you're really brave, don't put this on while driving alone at night. I did and was seriously creeped out.

Two women, two cellos, one man. Corsets and Indian Headdresses.

There is no other band like Rasputina.

Frustration Plantation, the fourth album from Melora Creager and various associates, is slightly tinged with influences from the American South. "Doomsday Averted" is a lovely, swampy track that would have made a better album opener had there been more lyrics. Their uniquely dark takes on folk tunes "When I Was a Young Girl" and "Wicked Dickie" further this conclusion.

The cello is a gigantic, growling instrument in Creager's hands, and there is no better example than the massively fuzzed-out "Possum of the Grotto." Her work is augmented by the percussive work of (now former) member Zoe Keating.

However, two things are conspicuously muted in Plantation - Melora's arresting vibrato, and electronic percussion. "Oh, Injury" finds her exploring the lower points of her vocal range with ... interesting results. Compare anything on "The Lost and Found" to Jonathon TeBeest's organic-sounding drumwork on "Saline The Salt Lake Queen."

The album's highlight is the dementedly danceable "Momma Was An Opium-Smoker," followed directly by "Nov. 17dee," which sounds as as if it was written and sung by a 4 year old (which it was). The track more or less goes to show how joyfully odd and slightly disturbing that the minds of children can be - in this case Melora's daughter Hollis Lane. An extended version of the song is on the bonus CD for the curious.

The album also returns to the Rasputina tradition of covering an old standard - this time it's an aggressive "If Your Kisses Can't Hold The Man You Love" (popularized by Sophie Tucker).

The more you deconstruct some of Creager's lyrics, the less sense they make, but the more they make you laugh. God only knows what the point of "When I Count" really is, but this would not be a Rasputina album without it. The spoken word "My Captivity By Savages" is, well, we hope it's not true, but it's still hilarious. "Girls School" switches viewpoints from schoolmaster to student, building to end the album in a minute and a half of lovely cacophony.

Frustration Plantation is a distinct entry into the Rasputina catalog, but perhaps not the best place to start - I still prefer the distorted, slightly gothic musings of "How We Quit the Forest." Still, it's more than worth a spin.