Alex Hall and Emil Amos have been blending and transforming psych music from around the world for over a decade, and anyone familiar with the visual motifs of Grails knows that these fellows love Italian film music, British television soundtracks from the '70s, and other obscure cultural errata. The obtuse videos they've put together to promote their last few albums (including this one) are quite indicative of what this new Lilacs & Champagne project embraces. In fact, the video element has never been more integrated than it is here. Themes of decadence, violence, the occult, religion, and theater [techni] color the album's pages, and the overall play between humor and dread ensures an intriguing listen from start to finish, which sounds something like
(an exciting update (For me) from L&C's Facebook page. They posted a link to my review on The Silent Ballet, and even though I've been doing this for years, it's so gratifying to have the artist say a review of mine is "well written." Thanks guys.)
and a bonus song, one of my favorites from the album, "Sensations":
