RazorBladeKisses - Ballerina

  by Russell Ferguson

published: 24 / 9 / 2009

Label: RBK
Format: CDS

intro

Pretentious and irritating latest single from Southampton-based Gothic rockers, RazorBladeKisses

Razor Blade Kisses are one of the modern bands who tout themselves as Goth-Rock and they have just released a double A single, 'Ballerina' and 'The Butterfly', neither track of which grabs you in any way, shape or form. 'Ballerina' is a typical Goth-Rock song so much so it’s bland in its unoriginality. The song starts with a few thumps of the bass drum, which is a drum machine (I’ve seen plenty of Goth bands so know the difference in sound) and a violin which scratches away setting your teeth on edge. The thing that makes it harder to bear is the vocals from Layla and Azadeh, which are sung in a child like and breathless way that have no charm at all and serves only to annoy and irritate. 'The Butterfly' is in stark contrast to the first song as it has an acoustic guitar but it still has those breathless, irritating vocals that just gets under the skin. From its opening notes onwards it can not do anything right. It’s like meeting someone you take an instant dislike to. You just pick more fault with the person. I just pick more fault with this record the more I listen to it. At several points in this song Layla and Azadeh sing in a different language and I can’t make out if it’s Latin, some East European language or if it’s the language of the Goth. You would have to be one of the uber Goths to understand it. Yes, it’s that pretentious. All the lyrics on this record are at best average and come across as clichéd, child like and second hand. Lines like "It’s the witching hour, in the dead of night", "Do you hate me now? Tell me what to do" and worst of all "And then her death, and then her death" quickly become grating. Hearing this latter line once is bad enough but they add to the misery by repeating it. The worst thing about all of this is that Razor Blade Kisses have done better records in the past and this new release has just let them down. Check out 'Pretty Dead Doll' for a better and more typical sound

Track Listing:-