Album Details

• Artist: Diamanda Galas
• Album: Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
• Label: N/A
• Year of Release: 2008
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2008-05-22

Okay, I know I'm not the most weathered appreciator of music, I haven't heard but maybe 25% of all the different genres and styles out there, but in the name of bridging such gaps in one's taste, I have to pat myself on the back for even getting to the end of Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!, the apparent 17th (whoa) album by the apparent "queen of scream" and living legend Diamanda Galas. Forgive me if you're a fan and reading this, but I don't hear much of anything of the sort. At least not on this record.

Her style, on this album, is all her own; she plays a percussive style piano and that is undoubtedly her most accomplished skill. Otherwise, it's just her voice and, again, I apologize to any fans but...her voice sucks. It's horrible. She has incredible lung capacity but her pronunciation, accents, and general style of vocalizing is utterly annoying. She craps all over the expressive and beautiful piano melodies with loud-as-fuck verses that grate at the ears. Her voice is certainly adaptable to different styles, and her lower-pitched crooning is quite good. But when she gets loud, she gets nasally, strained and totally uncool.

Even the songs themselves hold little weight; all are her interpretations of other people's music, most of which I've never heard of but there has to be a market for this out there because she's obviously famous globally. Her press release is a stack of clippings, all raving about her and I'm left wondering what the fuss is all about. I can't compare this to anyone, I've never heard anything quite like it before. It's operatic, thematic, probably more visual than anything and that doesn't help the music stand on it's own at all. I can't fathom the situation where playing this record would be fit or enjoyable; maybe sex music for severely depressed and morbid folk? 

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