All The Miserable Times
I Love You Loudly
Fish of Death
This is one head-trip of a record. A stream of consciousness rant that feels like reading someone’s diary. It’s intriguing, confusing, repulsive, and opens up more questions than it answers. You feel guilty reading, but you can’t resist it. The songs are often as humorous as they are painful. The lyrics, wrapped around very eclectic tunes, which range from Delta Blues to Beat-inspired percussion are delivered in a Lou Reed influenced half-sung, half-spoken style that may also contain a nod to Gene Wilder’s singing in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and a wink to Madonna in her “Justify My Love” phase. Terri Phillips voice would never be praised for its tonal strength, but her earnest delivery make her impossible to ignore. She could easily be compared to artists as diverse as Michelle Shocked, Azalia Snail, and P.J. Harvey. They work so well because they tell the truth about life and love in a way few of us ever vocalize. I Love You Loudly is a record that sounds as if it had to be made instead of the artist wanting it to be made, a wrenching album in league with P.J. Harvey’s 4-Track Demos in content and scope.
Fish Of Death, P.O. Box 93206, Los Angeles, CA 90093; http://www.fishofdeath.com
