Victor Sierra - Electric Rain
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Victor Sierra is an aspiring Steampunk group from Paris. The crew of the airship "Hydrogen Queen" will surely take you on a vaporous journey.
Victor Sierra is an important part of establishing the Steampunk aesthetic in Europe. Steampunk itself is not a musical genre, there is only Steampunk-themed music which is very diverse. Actually, I like the idea that finally there's a movement which counteracts the stereotyping of music through dictatorial genre-categorisations.
When I first listened to the new album by Victor Sierra, Electric Rain, it was already over, before I could become aware of the songs. Not, because it is so short (not at all with its 11 songs), but because the music has the ability to carry you away, and the order of the songs is solid, like one long track.
The first piece "El Topo" introduces the adventure of the "Oxygen Queen" with hard drumbeats. The melody is somehow arabesque, the lyrics are sung in Spanish. I can't tell what the song is about as I'm not able to speak Spanish.
"The Road Not Taken" is sung in English and turns the speed up even more. The percussions of this song sound exciting.
One of the best pieces on the disc is the third song "Blood in the Skies" with Anouk Adrien's powerful vocals backed by Bob Eisenstein. It has this typical Sierra-sound, which we already know from their first EP Secret Page. The melody takes you on an adventure ("Get ready...!"), where the possibility of returning home alive is reduced to zero, but you are still willing to take it.
"Putsh", sung in French, decelerates the album a bit. It is actually quite a chilly song, unfortunately not one I would remember.
On the other hand the darkwavy "Make My Day" is another highlight on Electric Rain. "Please, take me to the stars, make my day!". I prefer it when Anouk Adrien and Bob Eisenstein join their voices to a stone wall, challenging the unknown.
The title "White Rabbit" may be reminiscent of a Jefferson Airplane song by the same name. Victor Sierra managed to transfer this classic to a Steampunk aesthetic perfectly.
Also "Scratch My Door" sounds like the songs on Secret Page, but more solid. "You can scratch my door, I am not afraid any more", theatrically sung by Anouk Adrien.
"Laberinto" is another Spanish song. Hard drums and distorted guitars.
"Mastermind" has elements of glitch electro featuring again some arabesque melodies.
The track "Yiddishe Klub" is, as the name tells, sung in Yiddish. But also the instrumentation reminds me of Jewish klezmer music with its typical groove. Who ever heard a klezmer band live, might know what I mean.
Finally, the last song, "Bridge to Nowhere". I couldn't wait to get here, as this is one of the most extraordinary Steampunk songs I have ever listened to. It could definitely be an anthem for European Steampunk, like Abney Park's "Airship Pirates" or Vernian Process' "Behold the Machine" in America.
Electric Rain is an outstanding album in the field (not genre!) of Steampunk music. I would say that Victor Sierra finally found their sound, and it was definitely worth to wait. Steampunk irrevocably set foot on the European continent. I was also positively surprised by the multilingualism of the artists: their songs are not just French or English, but also Spanish and Yiddish. And this internationality and open-mindedness is exactly what Steampunk should be about.
Tracklist:
01.El Topo
02. The Road Not Taken
03. Blood in the Skies
04. Putsh
05. Make My Day
06. White Rabbit
07. Scratch My Door
08. Laberinto
09. Mastermind
10. Yiddishe Klub
11. Bridge to Nowhere
Other articles:
Victor Sierra is an important part of establishing the Steampunk aesthetic in Europe. Steampunk itself is not a musical genre, there is only Steampunk-themed music which is very diverse. Actually, I like the idea that finally there's a movement which counteracts the stereotyping of music through dictatorial genre-categorisations.
When I first listened to the new album by Victor Sierra, Electric Rain, it was already over, before I could become aware of the songs. Not, because it is so short (not at all with its 11 songs), but because the music has the ability to carry you away, and the order of the songs is solid, like one long track.
The first piece "El Topo" introduces the adventure of the "Oxygen Queen" with hard drumbeats. The melody is somehow arabesque, the lyrics are sung in Spanish. I can't tell what the song is about as I'm not able to speak Spanish.
"The Road Not Taken" is sung in English and turns the speed up even more. The percussions of this song sound exciting.
One of the best pieces on the disc is the third song "Blood in the Skies" with Anouk Adrien's powerful vocals backed by Bob Eisenstein. It has this typical Sierra-sound, which we already know from their first EP Secret Page. The melody takes you on an adventure ("Get ready...!"), where the possibility of returning home alive is reduced to zero, but you are still willing to take it.
"Putsh", sung in French, decelerates the album a bit. It is actually quite a chilly song, unfortunately not one I would remember.
On the other hand the darkwavy "Make My Day" is another highlight on Electric Rain. "Please, take me to the stars, make my day!". I prefer it when Anouk Adrien and Bob Eisenstein join their voices to a stone wall, challenging the unknown.
The title "White Rabbit" may be reminiscent of a Jefferson Airplane song by the same name. Victor Sierra managed to transfer this classic to a Steampunk aesthetic perfectly.
Also "Scratch My Door" sounds like the songs on Secret Page, but more solid. "You can scratch my door, I am not afraid any more", theatrically sung by Anouk Adrien.
"Laberinto" is another Spanish song. Hard drums and distorted guitars.
"Mastermind" has elements of glitch electro featuring again some arabesque melodies.
The track "Yiddishe Klub" is, as the name tells, sung in Yiddish. But also the instrumentation reminds me of Jewish klezmer music with its typical groove. Who ever heard a klezmer band live, might know what I mean.
Finally, the last song, "Bridge to Nowhere". I couldn't wait to get here, as this is one of the most extraordinary Steampunk songs I have ever listened to. It could definitely be an anthem for European Steampunk, like Abney Park's "Airship Pirates" or Vernian Process' "Behold the Machine" in America.
Electric Rain is an outstanding album in the field (not genre!) of Steampunk music. I would say that Victor Sierra finally found their sound, and it was definitely worth to wait. Steampunk irrevocably set foot on the European continent. I was also positively surprised by the multilingualism of the artists: their songs are not just French or English, but also Spanish and Yiddish. And this internationality and open-mindedness is exactly what Steampunk should be about.
Tracklist:
01.El Topo
02. The Road Not Taken
03. Blood in the Skies
04. Putsh
05. Make My Day
06. White Rabbit
07. Scratch My Door
08. Laberinto
09. Mastermind
10. Yiddishe Klub
11. Bridge to Nowhere
Other articles:
- Interview with Bob Eisenstein (Victor Sierra) - 2012-11-01 (Interviews)
