Primrose

Mors Syphilitica | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 5, 1998)
• Original Release Date: January 5, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Entertainment D
• ASIN: B000008SMK
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #519,914 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Ungrateful Girl

2. Remedy

3. Spinning On Ribbon

4. Distance

5. Skins Of Lovers

6. Roses From The Yard

7. Primrose

8. Jonny Has Gone For A Soldier

9. Orator

10. If Palms Could Hold Sarrow

11. Silently There

12. The Lying

13. This Love Is Ours

14. As We Slept

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If Only Other Goth Artists Could Be This Original, December 2, 1999

By 

Sutaz (Sun Prairie, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Primrose (Audio CD)

Straight to the point, this is the purest example of how beautiful goth music can and should be, free from the stale cliches that is smothering the genre. Lisa's opera-esque voice lulls the ears of the listener like a Greek siren; once heard, there is no escape. The music is wondrously relaxing ranging from goth-rock to opera-folk. It is the type of cd you listen to while painting, reading, or writting; the music effortlessly calms your conscience. My highest recommendation.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, literate rock romantique, August 4, 2002

By 

Scott Sweet "Music Freak" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Primrose (Audio CD)

This is a great album of goth-rock with touches of folk and opera, and a good place to start for those new to the band. (Mors Syph used to be Requiem in White, then The N.C.S.)

Eric Hammer writes all the music, and plays about as many instruments as Prince (or The Artist Formerly...whatever...). The styles range from exultant gothic rock ("Ungrateful Girl," "Skins of Lovers") to guitar/mandolin ballads ("Primrose," "If Palms Could Hold Sorrow") with surprises along the way. Eric uses the guitar for rhythm rather than flash. The lyrics are highly poetic; no goth fetishism, no politics -
just a romantic narrative similar to that of Mephisto Walz' Christianna Leonard. "This Love Ours" is a haunting little gem -a banjo ballad with a "scratchy record" effect and what sounds like a psychadelic pig squeal. "As We Slept" closes the album with some rock muscle.

The jewel in the crown is, as always, Lisa Hammer's operatic voice. Since her vocals are achingly beautiful, could they PLEASE start printing the lyrics in their albums?!?!? The songs often have multiple instrument melodies, so it's a struggle to make out some of the words in nearly every track. Maybe it's just a mixing thing, or maybe it reflects the hyper-reclusive nature of the band.

Swans. Lycia. Faith and the Muse. Ike and Tina Turner. Mors Syphilitica. There's something about married (or once-married) couples and great music.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good stuff., July 27, 2000

By 

"goodmanbrown" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Primrose (Audio CD)

Musically, Mors Syphilitca strikes me as occupying the space between This Ascension and Strange Boutique. All three bands exhibit outstanding songwriting and musicianship, but where Strange Boutique steered away from the "Goth" tag, Mors Syphilitica embrace the genre, and where This Ascension sticks closely to rock, Mors Syphilitca incorporate some of the traditional instrumentation of Dead Can Dance or Pieter Bourke's Eden into their modern sound.

To continue to push on this now-tired comparison, Lisa Hammer's voice, like Dru's (This Ascension) might take a little getting used to. Mind you, it is *very* little getting used to, but nevertheless, the first time I heard the CD, I wasn't thrilled with her voice--she pushes it pretty hard, and it is high in the mix. By the second listen it didn't bother me, and by the third I liked it. It really pulls the melodies to the foreground.

And that, I suppose, is what matters most: the melodies. There are plenty here, and they are all great. This is clearly a talented band, and I hope to hear more from them.