Advice and Opinion – Mistress Ravine

Artist Spotlight: Bitter Ruin

September 20th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by Madame Katarina

Bitter Ruin, based in the United Kingdom, consists of two members: Georgia Train and Ben Richards. Both members equally contribute to vocals, and Ben plays the guitar. I discovered Bitter Ruin through a Myspace friend request. Most “bands” that request my friendship there are not even worth my time. However, Bitter Ruin was different… they blew me away! The first song I heard was actually a bonus track on their “We’re Not Dancing” CD, called “Trust“. As a virgin to them, I skeptically listened to the song start off… It was mellow with what I suppose you would call a Louisiana Blues sound. I love a large variety of music, but I can’t say that I ever have had a passion for that genre… but Bitter Ruin uses it in a modern way and it works well. (Another reviewer calls the sound “folk-gothic”, which sounds pretty fitting.) I found the style to be unique (amongst current artists), and recognized quickly that this girl COULD SING. Such a velvety smooth voice that fluctuates with ease, and such power without a hint of straining.

Click Image Below to Purchase “We’re Not Dancing” from Amazon MP3

As much as I deeply appreciated the true talent, I somewhat expected the whole song to be slow-paced. I wondered if I would really find that certain je ne sais quoi that would really hook me on this band. About 35 seconds into the song, Georgia’s vocals start to gradually intensify in a soul-piercing way… and then the song suddenly surprised me as it took off. The song is so fast and vicious, it rocks! I instantly fell in love! Georgia and Ben’s parts in this chorus are layered together in a manner I feel to be genius.

“I had no idea that vocals like this actually existed, I actually had to turn around to check that it was her singing, I thought it was a recording. The control, the power, the tenderness, WOW, just fantastic! If they don’t hire her they’re stupid.” – Kate Cameron – (Fat boy Slim)

Being a female singer, I tend to gravitate toward praising and idolizing the female singer moreso, but I would like to give Ben credit where it is due. His style of singing sometimes reminds me of Voltaire, whom I am a big fan of. His vocals are solid and not overpowered by Georgia’s. Their voices are like they are made for each other.

I admit… I have a massive passion for music where a male and female sing together. It is not something that is incredibly common in mainstream music. I feel that the balance of a male and female singing together is just magical. Bitter Ruin helped really bring this passion out in me, and I also am a big fan of Ashbury Heights and the incredible song “You Don’t Know Me” by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. I’d like to note that Ben Folds helped my idol, Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls, to create her mind-blowing solo album. It all comes together in a beautiful web of incredible talent influencing more phenomenal music to be created… You see, Georgia’s intense and theatrical style is influenced by Regina Spektor as well.

I love music and live performances that are not only singing, but are acting as well. In my opinion, an artist that performs with intensity and and charisma shows more of a true passion for what they do. I am not meaning to discredit all artists that perform in a more “standard” fashion, as I like many artists that are like that as well. However, even they need to have an energy or stage presence that takes you away from the real world. I admire the theatrical musicians most of all for this. Also, sometimes even theatrical musicians are not admirable. The difference is quite obvious between when it’s artistic and when it is just being done for attention and fame. Lastly, my passion for Bitter Ruin also spurs from a love of angry music with smart lyrics. To me, another important aspect of music is that the artist writes meaningful lyrics because they are trying to express something, and not just because the words fit the timing of the music or are marketable.

I have hardly done them justice by discussing just 1 of their songs. (I am not about to offer deep interpretations of their lyrics, for fear I would most likely misinterpret them!) Right now I am loudly listening to the entire “We’re Not Dancing” CD on repeat as I am home alone, and it is entrancing…
“Outrageous” has highly skillful and impressive vocal fluctuation from Georgia. Their name seems very fitting with this song as it comes off to me as deliciously bitter. I enjoy the sense of empowerment that she portrays at the end with lyrics such as, “He’s the one that needs to be scared“.
“Soldier” starts off slowly with a beautiful and tormented sound (and lyrically may appeal to fans of BDSM, or enlighten them :p) and includes beautiful acoustic guitar playing, and at the end it explodes with passion and anger.
“I’m Going to Be a Murderer” is a dose of black humor with many of it’s verses sung in a quirky manner (slightly reminiscent of Skybox), followed by beautiful soprano backups during Ben’s singing at the end. Of course I love the feline references too.
“Beware” is probably my favorite song for Ben. He starts the song off softly, and and as his vocals alter and become increasingly powerful it really shows off his vocal skill. I adore Georgia’s backups during the song when he sings, “And you’ve left your marker…”, the swap they do with him singing and her doing backups, followed by a burst of the word “tall” intensely sung by both.

Any song I have not mentioned is only my own fault, it does not deserve to be left out! Every song on that CD has a very different feeling to it and I love them all!

… It’s about time that you check out Bitter Ruin for yourself…

Fin.

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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