20 « September « 2019 « The RingMaster Review

With their debut album, Finding Beauty in Chaos, an acclaimed release last year, Beauty In Chaos has returned to its contagious adventure for their second full-length, Beauty Re-Envisioned. Revisiting those earlier tracks though does not mean that the new release is simply an easy echo of songs which have already enticed keen attention, indeed what we found was a whole fresh exploration based around a mix of dramatic remixes, bold new visions and alternative versions of those original encounters.

Beauty in Chaos is a LA-based collective led/curated by guitarist Michael Ciravolo (Human Drama/ Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel) featuring a host of renowned luminaries and unsurprisingly Beauty Re-Envisioned is littered with them. For the album Ciravolo admitted “I basically handed the keys to the car over to an amazingly talented cast of producers, engineers, re-mixers, DJs and artists… giving them near total autonomy to throw the puzzle of ‘Finding Beauty in Chaos’ on the floor and reassemble it as they hear it.” What has emerged is a proposition in its own right aside of that first offering, one bringing new bold characters and potency to songs which over past months had already become good friends.

Beauty Re-Envisioned opens with a snarling MGT Remix of the Beauty In Chaos take on the T-Rex classic, 20th Century Boy. With Al Jourgensen’s rapacious tones enticingly scowling across its infectious electronic bounce and harmonica scorched canter, the track reveals itself as virulent as it is feral and proving an immediate impossible to refuse invitation into the album which swiftly further rewards with the glorious embrace of Man of Faith. The Preacher Man Mix again has the ever potent tones of the Mission’s Wayne Hussey, one of our all-time favourite vocalists, and The Cure bassist Simon Gallup at its heart, the track a quickly addictive slice of shadow wrapped melodic rock as seductive as it is voraciously rousing.

Canadian duo Ummagma add their creative touch to Look Up next, the band’s instinctive atmospheric craft and radiance soaking the inescapably absorbing song around the temptation of vocalist Tish Ciravolo while the Collide Mix of Un-Natural Disaster springs even stronger alternative /industrial metal ferocity and intensity into the dUg Pinnick, Zakk Wylde and Ice-T embracing track. Both songs had us fully and greedily hooked as too the acoustic version of Storm with Ashton Nyte at its vocal helm. Written by The Awakening frontman and Michael Ciravolo, the song finds a new earthier intimacy and emotive depth without losing a sense of the catchy virulence in the original’s veins.

The alluring beauty of I Will Follow You featuring Evi Vine and the mutually fascinating draw of the Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and Michael Anthony (Van Halen) contained Drifting Away in their respective Cotton Socks and High Water mixes only entangled pleasure and imagination, each making a less striking impact initially but only more hungrily consumed by the listen while the Kitty Lectro Mix of Man of Faith offered up a more eighties post punk/electro pop energy and enterprise to the already devoured encounter with similar force of appetite involved.

The enjoyment of Mr Hussey’s voice did not stop there as immediately his tones infused power and emotion to The Long Goodbye (Au Revoir), the track not exactly stripped back to its core but certainly exposing its melancholic heart with greater clarity as emotive piano, evocative strings, and sonic intimation wrapped intense vocals.

I Will Follow You returns with its IVaD Mix as in turn does Storm via the Vampyre Mix, again offerings which left pleasure full before another slice of 20th Century Boy sees Rolan Bolan and Wayne Hussey united in a great southern kissed, glam nurtured funk ‘n’ roll arousing which just had us bouncing.

Beauty Re-Envisioned is completed by the crepuscular Eclipse Mix of I Will Follow You and the compelling Fall & Sway Mix of the Ashton Nyte featuring Finding Beauty in Chaos, another two tracks which had little difficulty entrapping ears and enjoyment.

We will admit we are not naturally drawn to remixes and especially releases based on such collections but such the quality of the songwriting behind the tracks here and the rich imagination in their evolutions Beauty In Chaos have again simply enslaved.

Beauty Re-Envisioned is available now @ https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com/album/beauty-re-envisioned

https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/ https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic/ https://twitter.com/MichaelCiravolo

Pete RingMaster 20/09/2019

photo by Temira Decay (Yellow Bubbles Photography)

This September sees American cellist, performance artist and the artistic director of the interdisciplinary performing arts group Juxtapositions, Cellista begin a series of live dates in support of her recently released album-book, Transfigurations. They are moments in time sure to fascinate and provoke as classical music, theatre, improvisation and visual art entwine with tapestries and intimations of sound and genres and align with the compelling body of Transfigurations.

The release itself is a politically-charged invitation to thought and imagination with a layer of closer intimacy. From its first breath Transfigurations evoked attention and contemplation as Rupture I opens things up with an aural echo of defiance and oppression. It is a potent introduction to the heart of the album leading to the pure captivation that is Confessions. Featuring the magnetic tones of Rykarda Parasol across the equally transfixing cello led musing of Cellista, the track slowly but firmly strolled through ears, plucked strings a brooding radiance and melodies a captivating sigh alongside verbal intimacy.

Rupture II brings the current US ‘frontman’ with a typical declaration before Look Homeward, Angel steps forward to entice and reward. Cello caresses swiftly and easily seduce and inflame the senses even before the lyrical and vocal rhyming of hip hop artist DEM ONE (a.k.a. Demone Carter) evoke further eager attention. As the track continues to absorb and infest, soprano vocalist Melissa Wimbish accentuates its inherent beauty, it all arm in arm with the simply irresistible lures of Cellista’s strings.

The provocative series of Ruptures continue to separate and mark upon each track, the darkly shadowed and increasingly intense third welcoming the contrasting but no less powerful and consuming piece of narrative that is You Can’t Go Home Again. An electronic shimmer surrounds and accentuates the absorbing storytelling, the track increasingly darker and imposing by the minute and indeed enthralling.

A dystopian air clouds Repetitions, its breath intense and composition unpredictable ensuring fascination embraced every note and creative trespass while the three part movement of When the War Began left a similar maybe even more dramatic imprint on the senses and imagination with its rousing cacophony of tenebrific incitement cast with a craft and invention often as delicate as it is imposing; keys and cello led intimation a wonderfully forceful evocation.

Tzeva Adom brings the album to a close; the sirens of its early-warning radar system the prelude to a radiant and defiant beauty as strings and keys again weave a pungent tapestry of emotion and sound. It is a haunting and arresting conclusion to an album which bewitched from start to finish whilst provoking increasingly darker and tempestuous shadows and emotions.

Words can certainly hint but with Transfigurations only experiencing is the true way to understand its magnificence.

Transfigurations is available now @ https://cellista.bandcamp.com/album/transfigurations-2

Upcoming Live Dates (tickets at the door or reserve online via Facebook):

Sept 20 Seattle, WA – Wayward Music Series (with The Zero Collective, noisepoetnobody)

Sept 22 Portland, OR – a steep & thorny way to heaven (with Operafication, The Zero Collective)

Sept 24 Los Angeles, CA – Coaxial (Noise Soirée) (with The Zero Collective, Crank Sturgeon, Anna Homler)

Sept 27 Denver, CO – Mercury Cafe (with Sean Renner)

Oct. 06 Sacramento, CA – NorCal Noise (Part of Norcal Noisefest)

Oct. 18 Los Angeles, CA – Art Share (with Sean Renner)

Oct. 25 Oakland, CA – Temescal Arts Center (with Mia Pixley)