Customer Reviews

10 Neurotics

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Black Tape for a Blue Girl has been around for oeuvre two decades and this album truly represents a break with much of their musical legacy. For one thing there are new musicians working within the project including Brian Viglione (of the Dresden Dolls), Athan Maroulis (from Spahn Ranch), Laurie Reade (from Attrition) alongside Nicki Jaine who has stayed with the project, and of course the composer/founder of BTFBG, Sam Rosenthal.

What 10 Neurotics invokes are scenes and dynamics of intimate human relationships within the spectrum of what is generally viewed as the "fetish lifestyle". However this is not an album dedicated to singing about whips and chains, but looking into the emotion and power aspects of human relationships through experiences that are embodied in each track. The new BTFBG succeeds in making a darkly deviant cabaret-esque album evoking and exploring all of these factors, and is definitely worth a look by fans of Black Tape as well as listeners who may not have enjoyed the ethereal wave that has dominated their sound for so many years.

I discovered Black Tape For a Blue Girl 15 years ago while searching for dark, textured, evocative music. I've collected just about all of its albums. I love Sam Rosenthal ~~ the creative force behind Black Tape ~~ for his musical genius and the beautiful emotional expression within his lyrics.

As for the latest release, 10 Neurotics, I can't stop listening to it. Definitely, this is the darkest of Sam's work, and ~~ as mentioned above ~~ a departure from what Black Tape usually produces. I particularly like the infusion of dark cabaret in the tracks.

As much as I love 10 Neurotics, I must warn that it's not for everyone because of the very dark lyrics that highlight S/D, fetish, and similar sexual relationships. This is DEFINITELY NOT my thing, but, yet, there is an elegance and beauty to the words and themes. Underneath the reviews is one entitled "YUCK!" ~ the writer was offended by the album cover art. If you're offended, too, the music are probably not for you.

I'm no reviewer of music, but I know what I like. If you're exploring, hop over to YouTube where you can view the videos of "Marmalade Cat" and "The Pleasure and the Pain," both beautiful, both giving you what you need to know to explore Black Tape's newest release.