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 KletterTrouser 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)
