Martin Hall - If Power Asks Why

Yes, this is neo-classical music, and at first glance, this is an album that you'll probably cock your head to and ask, "Why the fuck is this album even being reviewed on Brutal Resonance in the first place?" Shove a cork in your mouth, bite your tongue, and just wait a god damned second before you continue. Because this album is full of satirical wit, hilarious and stinging lines that can be quoted for the ages, along with gorgeous vocals and amazing piano work that will have you swaying back and forth. Sit back in a leather chair, put on your fancy clothes, and grab a glass of wine, for this is an album that will have you wanting to do so.

This album is backed by Martin Hall, an all around awesome dude who began his musical journey since the age of 10, and has allowed his nearly forty years worth of built up talent and education make him the man he is. Not only that, but you have to understand that he is an author, as well as a magazine publisher, created music for museums, has appeared in films; pretty much, this guy is contender for most interesting man in the world.

He combined his talents with that of Andrea Pellegrini, a mezzo-soprano, which means that her vocals go well in an opera. Which makes sense considering she graduated from the Royal Danish Opera Academy. But, wait, there's more talent packed with these two in this album. Tanja Zapolski also makes a grand presence as the woman behind the piano in this album, and her work is astounding.

Now, you have all three of these amazing people fit tightly into one album. And, you pretty much have got to be saying by now that you are in for one hell of an amazing time. Well, you are. However, if you're here looking for an album that's anything closely related to industrial, EBM, dark electro, ambient, or anything else like that, just get the fuck out. You'll find none of that here. What you'll find is just glorious, blissful, and amazing work done by three of the most talented artists I have ever come across.

The first song, Dead Horses On A Beach takes no time in introducing us to how the trio works from the beginning. You have Pellegrini delivering her beautiful vocals from the start of the song, and you get Zapolski's somber piano keys chiming away in the background, perfectly suiting the female singer's voice. And then you have the string instrument just serving up all the more atmosphere right well within the song.

However, along with all this beauty comes along this vulgarity. But, the way it's served up is just purely humorous. Just take a look at the next song on the list, entitled Rather Quotable Than Honest. The song once again is amazing, but if you read the lyrics, you get lines such as this:

You tell me women fake their orgasms
Men entire relationships
Well, I couldn't really give a damn 'bout your moral indignation
It's a sign of constipation
Some Darwinian Frustration

Or even these lines later on in the song:

Pardon my French
But you're too lazy to be a nihilist
At best you'll make a travesty
A tragedy that needs to be unzipped
You're a male, but you're a cunt
Second only to no one
Yea right, well take advice
The only thing that alcohol does not preserve for long is the state of dignity

The thing that gets me about this album is purely the fact that the songs are so gorgeous, and yet the lyrics so hysterical and so biting that you really question what you're listening to. I mean, with titles in the album such as Milfs, Cum and Schopenhauer, you would think that somewhere along the line, something seriously got fucked up. But the lyrics are well thought out, and you really just need to read them on your own to understand the boldness of their dark comedic routine.

And, holy hell, if I haven't found an album that finally has me questioning the length of their songs. Not because they disgust me, but because I find them so awesome that I really just wanted them to extend even longer. With the amount of talent present within this album, I wanted the songs to extend to infinity and beyond, to keep me laughing, to keep me entertained, to keep me wanting to know what they're going to say next.

This is definitely a rare album. You won't really find beauty paired with vulgarity, talking about cunts, rape, and suicide. And that is what is so odd. I keep coming back to this album with a twitch in my eye, because this really just should not work at all. Yet, the trio has made it work wonderfully, without a doubt, in every sense. I can wholly recommend this album to everyone who comes across my path; it's an ironic self enlightenment course with tasteful music on the side, able to make fun of itself and the world around it. This is not something you want to miss. Aug 18 2013