Customer Reviews

The Three Calamities

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read the reviews of this album on this site and bought it expecting not to like it all that much. Oh, how I hate it when a beloved artist releases a mediocre or inferior album. Well, I fell in love with The Three Calamities instantly. I'm not even sure why the others on this site who liked it said it requires several listens.

This album is not as noisy or frenetic as Serpentine Gallery or even Bread and Jam for Francis. It is more ethereal and hypnotic. Dreamlike, surreal, and gorgeous. The songs are more richly textured than those on their previous albums. Yet, occasionally there are echoes back to Serpentine Gallery. There is no doubt that the songs on this album came from the same font of musical genius. Ultimately, I think this is their best work yet. The songs leave a more lasting impact. They have more resonance; the haunting sounds leave their essence behind long after the cd has finished playing.

I bought this cd a week ago and haven't been able to pry it out of my cd player since. I bought several other cds at the same time, and I just can't seem to give the others much of a chance yet because that would mean I can't listen to this one!

The Three Calamities is an awe-some album. If you haven't yet heard it, I envy you. And if you are a Switchblade Symphony fan and are dissuaded from buying this album because of the negative reviews on this site, then I pity you.

Getting straight to the point, I'm quite appalled by all of these negative reviews, which were completely uncalled for! I bought 'Serpentine Gallery' before 'The Three Calamities' and though I do consider 'Serpentine Gallery' to be a classic album when it comes to electronic goth music, in my own humbled opinion I find 'The Three Calamities' to be much better in comparison and was really taken aback when I noticed the less than stelar reviews here! What I don't understand is the reason for everyone's incessant griping! So-called fans of Switchblade Symphony seem to be complaining about them altering their style but they make it sound so drastic when the difference is in fact hardly audible! Tina's quirky high-pitched voice hasn't changed a bit and the lyrics are just as devious and as twisted as they've ever been! Instead of having Susan's synthesizers and loops provide a dancebeat backdrop, however, they tone it down a little with trip-hop instead of electronica, which compliments the more prominent piano instrument as they trade-in the harsh guitars for a more subtle approach. And while 'Serpentine Gallery' contains some rememerable hits like "Dollhouse" and "Gutter Glitter", 'The Three Calamities' is an overall better album (although many will beg to differ, I'm sure) and I find myself helplessly attached to irresistible tunes like "Into The Sky" and "Copycat".

As a late-bloomer to the musical joy that was Switchblade Symphony, I was saddened to learn that "The Three Calamities" was to be their last studio release. You don't have to be a member (or even fan of) gothic subculture to appreciate the songs on this album. Tina Root and Susan Wallace brought something extraordinary to a predominantly fashion-oriented musical genre: they gave it substance & credibility. If you want something calming, yet thought-provoking, this CD is for you. If you want great music to fall asleep by, this CD is for you. If you want something positively eerie to accompany your walks in the woods at night by the light of a full moon... then this CD is for you. That's what makes "The Three Calamities" (and the music of Switchblade Symphony, in general) so appealing: it may help set a tone, but it doesn't dominate the listener's state of mind.
If you were a fan since "Serpentine Gallery", then you'll hear songs that showcase more sophisticated melodies and experienced lyrical wisdom. And if you're discovering Switchblade Symphony for the first time, tunes like 'Invisible', 'Naked Birthday', and 'Into The Sky' will inspire you to search out their earlier works. Overall, "The Three Calamities" is a grand finale to an all-too-short but brilliant duo who broke the repetitive, faded, hopeless mold of gothic music.

The newest release from the gothic/darkwave band Switchblade Symphony is a wonderful,dark sometimes haunting listening experiance. The opening track Invisible opens you up to a softer more melodic side of the band that was somewhat left behind on thier Bread & Jam for Francis cd.Then songs like Copycat & Invitation take on a new style not seen before on previous releases. On my favorite song by them since hearing the Leatherstrip remix of Clown came Fear. This song takes you into the singers nightmares and leaves you there. If you were to buy any gothic/darkwave cd anytime in the near future,This cd needs to be one of them! I also -HIGHLY- recomend thier first release titled Serpetine Gallery. - Rated A+

Well, I guess it's time to admit that Switchblade Symphony may never be returning to the style that we came to love so much on "Serpentine Gallery". But, hell, that's the music industry for you...a band's sound can and is often encouraged to do a full rotation from CD to CD. At first, I didn't find this CD to be particularly impressive...it just didn't really 'catch' me or anything. But I gave it a chance before writing it off, because I still entrust some faith in these girls. Honestly, I'm glad I did. Tina really has the ability to tap into emotion. I think she utilized that skill very well on "Fear" and "Invitation". Her voice is most interesting; the way it swings back and forth from haunting and evocative to high-pitched and almost innocuous. Susan displays great skill, too, with the mixing and all. She's a very talented musician, as well. In all, I recommend this CD. It isn't mind-blowing, but it's certainly a nice way to spend forty minutes.

"Serpentine Gallery" was my first introduction to Switchblade Symphony. I thought the duo reminded me a lot like Siouxsie & The Banshees, particularly Tina Roots' vocals with that high-pitched, if not quirkly (at times) vocals which Siouxsie's voice often sounded like on "Peek-a-Boo" and "Slowdive". "Three Calamities" is the only other SS album that I own. I must admit that I am in the small percentage of reviewers who will say that "Three Calamities" is the better of the two albums. I don't know why but other than the music on "Three Calamities" resonated with me more than "Serpentine Gallery" (as delightfully good as the cd is). I just find myself enjoying SS's brand of trip hop and goth music more enjoyable on "Three Calamities". The cd starts off with a bang on "Invisible", one of my all time favorite SS songs. "Wicked" is a wickedly hypnotic song. Susan and Tina rocks out a bit more on "Naked Birthday". The guitars are more obvious on this track as opposed to the synthesizers. Excellent song. "Invitation" shifts into a more trip hop mode but the listener still can hear the guitars on the song. Overall I don't know why "Three Calamities" gets slagged so much. I honestly find the music on this album very enjoyable. It has been awhile I have listened to this cd. Now that I am listening to it again while writing this review, I almost forgot how much I adore "Three Calamities". Although the production could have been better, the music overall still sounds as fresh too me as when I bought it over a year ago. Too bad I got into the band after they had broken up. I really would have liked to have seen the band live. Still it is never too late to get into Switchblade Symphony.

First of all, I'm not some die-hard Switchblade Symphony fan. I had no idea who they were before I heard this album, and... I still don't really know anything else about them.

We were at my friend Johnny-boy's house, and he randomly threw this album in. It was kinda strange, not bad, but I wasn't paying much attention. Then "Copycat" kicked in, and I was blown away. I was like "WHOA, whoa, who are these people?!" I immediately asked to borrow it. It's an awesome album. Stuff like "Naked Birthday" and "Invitation" are really cool, deep, moody songs... not like thoroughly depressed, just somewhat introverted, if that makes any sense. And, of course, "Copycat" kicks royal (bleep), from the beats to the lyrics.

I'd never heard anything like this before, and I still haven't. This album is quite unique, and worth a listen.

Switchblade Symphony have to be one of the most enchanting bands that ever were. Tina's vocals are so gratifyingly childlike and gloom that her voice alone penetrates a listener. Very dub layered and thick bass beats and sounds envelope simple and atmosphereic melodies. Just dark enough to please the goth and fun and groovy enough to please a down-tempo electronica fan, SS have alot to give.

The production work and overall sound quality could be much better and I hope this album gets remastered someday but for now its not so bad, just adjust your EQ a bit if you feel cheated.

Alright, I have read all of the reviews of this albulm and it seems to be all about whether or not it's "real" goth music. If you ever read interviews with tina and susan, they have mentioned moving away from the gothic scene for quite sometime. Also, people forget that much of Serpentine Gallery (nearly all of the more frantic "gothic" tracks) was recorded in back 1991. Bread and Jams for Francis was their first album of all new material since signing with cleopatra, and it barely holds ties to gothic stylings. So forget whether or not it's Goth, and just listen to it. This is a beautiful, dark, and dreamy album. It flows well, starting with what seems like a breakup in Invisible and getting darker and darker until it decends into crazed sampled voices and madness in Monsters. Then Therapy comes along as a bright spot, a mantra for those dark moments in life when you need to "start to wake up, scream all you want, see what you've done". It starts off the second half of the album, which is considerably less codependent sounding. Production is better than ever. Part of the joy of this album (and bread and jams) is all of the little background noises that go on. Tina's vocals are not so operatic, which is a little disappointing, but they goes well with this music. One of my favorite albums for the winter.

'Three Calamities' continues with the same rhythms of 'Bread and Jam for Frances', yet echoes back to the same gothy lushness of 'Serpentine Gallery'. In SS's new album, gorgeous vocals soar over layers of flowing synthesizers, swirling guitars and trip-hop percussion. Overall, this disc demonstrates a more mature sound and better production than SS's previous albums. If you've never heard the band and you like Portishead, Garbage or Bjork, I recommend 'Three Calamities' as something new to try.