Curse

Curse is the second album released by the Legendary Pink Dots; it was originally releasedin 1983 and is the first of the albums named after tarot cards. To rate it against the otherthree of the "first four" albums (which were also packaged into the out-of-print box set"Lullabies for a New Dark Age") "Curse" shows astonishing growth in songwritingcraftsmanship over 1982's "Brighter Now," and is significantly better than the secondalbum from 1983, the mostly moribund and drab "Faces in the Fire," but not as good asthe complex and realized masterpiece of the era that would prove a jumping off point forthe Dots: 1984's "The Tower." The songs:Love Puppets - A haunting, spare song, both catchy and dark, brought along by a strongand sinister vocal performance as Edward agonizes over his "soul on a string." Ahighlight.Wall Purges Night - An interesting way of spelling out the pagan holiday "WalpurgisNight" is it not? A decent, poppy song, nothing too deep.Lisa's Party - The first song in the epic of Lisa, started in 1983, which continues to thisday with 2002's "Lisa Goes Surfing" on "All The King's Horses." Another highlight, thistrack features delightfully sinister lyrics and pop sensibilities.Aarzhklahh Olgevezh - I rather regard this song as a throwaway, notable only for Ed'spractice of his unique language of nonsensespeak.Pruumptje Kurss - More of the same.Waving at the Aeroplanes - As Rex put it so colorfully and accurately, this song is "popcracked askew." A good song, though not as good as "Puppets" or "Party."Hiding - Not quite sure to make of this. Another short throwaway, but at least oddenough to be more memorable than most.Doll's House - Wonderfully freakish, with a riotous circus-like sound, elastic-spasticmelody, catchy-if-goofy chorus, and perhaps Edward's most varied vocal performance thisfar. A highlight.The Palace of Love - Confusingly enough, on the Soleilmoon release of this album,"Palace of Love" is tacked on the same track as "Doll's House" and "Stoned Obituary" issplit between tracks 9 and 10. Regardless, "Palace of Love" may have unsettling lyricsbut little else to recommend it.Stoned Obituary - The absolute magnum opus of the album, an excellent, unforgettabletrack. As far the Dots' longer, epic tracks go, "Stoned Obituary" in my mind is second orthird greatest, and more consistently excellent than either "Premonition 13" or"Andromeda Suite/'98." Many longer Dots songs are intermittently brilliant, but this trackis excellent through and through. A gripping and moving vocal performance carries theentire song, but musically it wears many masks, from a solemn death march, to a poppy,sing-song interlude of optimism, finally ending in a dirge featuring a fantastic keyboardwash with the eminently hummable and haunting refrain "He died with his eyes on." Atruly great song.In the end, like most of their early works, "Curse" has dizzying high that are offset by aplethora of forgettable lows.

Having talked with the LPDs, the music makes a bit more sense, or maybe it makes less. Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups. People will lump it in with goth (it isn't). Lay back and enjoy some honest to goodness quirky, storytelling music from some very talented folks.

This was the Dots' second official LP release after numerous tape-only releases in the early 80s. I have almost all of the Dots' official releases, and I have to admit, this is not one of my favourites. Its sounds is typical of their early years -- lo-fi keyboards, interesting samples, and Ka-Spel's quirky and apocalyptic lyrics. Imagine Syd Barrett noodling about on a cheap synthesizer and you have the idea. While this album has some great songs, such as Lisa's Party and Doll's House, it also has some rather turgid material which doesn't come off very well. The last track, the epic-length "Stoned Obituary," is particularly disappointing, even though it points in the direction that the Dots would go with their next album, "The Tower." In its favour, this track sees the Dots moving away from the simplistic pop of their first album towards their more mature sound. However, at this point they just didn't have the technical abilities to pull off more ambitious concepts. This album is obviously a must for serious Dots collectors, but newcomers who want a taste of the Dots' early sound are advised to stick with their first LP, "Brighter Now."