Valerie Gentile - Love Is Luxury

After learning so much about the debut EP from Valerie Gentile with the interview I conducted with the musician, it's no wonder that it's up here on the board receiving such a great score. So much effort went into making sure this four track work of wonder, with the likes of Abbey Nex (notable performances in Psyclon Nine, Genitorturers, Combichrist and his recent solo project, Zondustrial), Faderhead, True Fallacy, producer Alan Labiner, and a composer named Adam Brown all joining in on the fun. All these talents combined made one hell of an EP come to life. Not only that, but it also showed that Valerie herself, who usually played live on stage for other bands, can come out from the shadows and head her own project with the same amount of desire and ferocity as those she's performed with.

The album art is simple yet sweet at the same time; a basic pink hue is brought over the background with Ms. Gentile in the forefront staring off into the distance. The title is right off to the side with her name right next to it to stamp the cover art with the title. But, I think what's so refreshing about this album is that its mere title is something rarely seen within the genre.

Most times, bands do like to sing about some sort of love, but it usually breaks down into an emotional break up that happened long ago, or lyrics surrounding BDSM all about playfulness. But, I think this woman is really breaking that barrier by actually singing about sheer and whole hearted love; that's to be seen with the first track on the song.

Abbey Nex and she, as the soon to be married couple they are, sing like two beautifully matched canaries in So Far Away. The organs in the beginning of the song bring out the sort of goth fashion that you'll be hearing throughout the run of this song, and album for that matter. It only serves, as she did perform with highly acclaimed gothic based acts such as Black Tape For A Blue Girl and The Cruxshadows. Out of the two, Valerie does a fantastic job with her chords. I will admit, it was a bit weird to hear Nex singing in such a calm fashion; I was expecting some hardcore screaming from the man. However, as Natural Born Killers (one of my favorite films) put, "Love beats the demon." But, when both decide to combine their vocals and perform a duet in the song, it creates such a mystical and awe inspiring song that I praise in and out with ease.

Erase continues the soothing feel of the album, and even brings out the eighties with its sound provided. The overall melancholic feel of the track just makes me want to transport to an era that I wasn't born in. Without anyone else coming in on the song, I was able to completely enjoy her voice in complete form. And, trust me when I say that there is not a soul out there that wouldn't fall to their knees should she beckon to you with those gorgeous chords that she so graciously bellows from.

Danger comes out a bit more bouncy, having a pretty decent beat to it, but nothing so fast as to overthrow the main theme of the album. The added piano work to the song really works splendidly when it arrives here and there. And, once more, her voice smashes out in an adoring fashion.

The fourth and last track on the EP adds in some autotune to her voice. While most of the time I do suggest that autotune might ruin a person's voice, this goes well with the more electronic centered track. Plus, she's already shown what she could do in the previous three tracks with her voice, so there's no douvt she can't perform swell without the use of digital effects. The song itself comes off very, very dancey, so if you should decide to sit down and listen to this, stand back up and get moving.

And, though this EP is pretty short only coming in at about eighteen minutes in length, each song is wonderfully crafted. This was a labor of love, not some thrown together piece of shit from someone who didn't know what they were doing. She had the connections and friends to make the best piece of music possible, and she used them as effectively as she could. And the results from all her hard work paid off greatly. Love is Luxury might be the title to this album, but, hell, I think listening to these songs was more a luxury than I could ever ask for. May 26 2014