Prince Rama
Shadow Temple
Captured Tracks
Unfettered is a good word to start this on. Shadow Temple is an unfettered album, full of avenging spirits, elemental forces, ghostly vibes, ancient curses and wild trances. Shadow Temple is the perfect title to describe the galestorms of visceral, witchy noise that this trio of young Brooklynites (via Florida, my god!) conjure up. But there’s something strangely familiar to much of this music. Now, I wouldn’t expect the trio of musicians in Prince Rama to own a large chunk of the Projekt Records’ early back catalog – they were probably too young – but Prince Rama’s music is subconsciously reminiscent of a particular strand of early ’90s tribal Gothic music. Faith and the Muse, Mors Syphilitica, Lycia, This Ascension, that kinda thing. Alhough Prince Rama are signed to the Captured Tracks label and even enlisted the help of Avey Tare and Deakin for recording/production (this thing was recorded in Kurt Vonnegut’s grandson’s cabin?), I hear Swans, the drum heavy nightmares of the Cure’s Pornography, and ESPECIALLY Siouxsie and Budgie’s Creatures project. It’s there in the crashing, massive percussion and the untrammeled, free, oft-operatic female vocals, reminiscent of a preverbal Siouxsie. The songs on Shadow Temple build to epic, incantory, Wagnerian crescendos of voice, cybernetics, and warlike percussion, never failing to beguile. Here be monsters!
Captured Tracks: http://www.capturedtracks.com
