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blackgirls


Country of origin:

U.S.

Type of music generally:

Strange and wonderful alternative pop

Status:

Final release, happy (1991)

See also:

The blackgirls' section of Wikipedia's entry on Dana Kletter

Trouser Press's page for Blackgirls

See The Ectophiles' Guide's entries for Dana Kletter's later projects: Dish and Dana & Karen Kletter

Comparisons:

Highly individual—Rasputina is about the only one I can think of. (Neile)

They remind me somewhat of a folkier, funnier Miranda Sex Garden. (jjhanson@att.net)

Covers/own material:

Own

General comments:

Strange, quirky, emotive, highly individual music with a sense of humorous bitterness. (Neile)

I would highly recommend them. They're a lot of fun and quite unique. Their lyrics are great, and so is the fiddle and piano playing. They remind me somewhat of a folkier, funnier Miranda Sex Garden, but funny doesn't describe them very well either—unless you think of funny as a kind of black-comedy funny. Anyway, they're great to listen to. Definitely worth picking up. (jjhanson@att.net)

as for what they sound like...um...darkish, folkish (courtesy of the use of a violin, though they do not play any folk tunes), somewhat menacing. they don't really fit into any genre, so that's about the best i can do for describing them. (woj@smoe.org)

Both of their albums are pretty good. I can't speak for any classical training they might have, but the vocal excellence is certainly there and the overall approach is pretty assertive. I like it, and I would expect it to appeal to many Ectophiles. (nightwol@dircon.co.uk)

The blackgirls are way cool. I only know of two albums of theirs, both of which I have. Folk/punk is a pretty fair description. They use some nice piano too. (neal)

Recommended first album:

procedure

Recordings:


procedure

Release info:

1989—Mammoth—MR 0017-2

Availability:

U.S.

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Eugenia Lee—guitar, vocals
Dana Kletter—piano, vocals
Hollis Brown—violin, backing vocals

Guest artists:

Sara Bell—mandolin
Karen Kletter—backing vocals

Produced by:

Joe Boyd

Comments:

This album is strange, individual, and wonderful both musically and lyrically. There are times when it's beautiful and times when it's on the edge of being histrionic. The first time I heard it I went nuts—I liked it so much I couldn't believe how wonderful it was, and how I hadn't heard anything like it ever before. It's an individual mix of classical instuments and pop music. The lyrics are fun, teasing. A lot of anger about being spurned in love. A good mixture of slow and fast songs. (Neile)

happy

Release info:

1991—Mammoth—MR0024-2

Availability:

U.S.

Ecto priority:

Recommended if you like procedure

Group members:

Eugenia Lee—guitar, mandolin, vocals
Dana Kletter—piano, guitar, vocals
Hollis Brown—violin, backing vocals

Produced by:

Joe Boyd

Comments:

While just a smidgeon less wonderful and less essential than Procedure, this is still an album worth listening to and I like it nearly as well. The songs are even more fun, and have great lyrics, like "too fucking bad you don't adore me." (Neile)

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DISCLAIMER: Comments and reviews in the Ectophiles' Guide are excerpted from the ecto mailing list or volunteered by members of the list. They are the opinions of music enthusiasts, not professional music critics.

Entry last updated 2016-05-21 18:51:00.
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