Opium Den
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Gothic progressive rock/rock
Status:
Most recent release, Clandestine (2005)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry on Opium DenThe Ectophiles' Guide's entries for vocalist Annette (Kramer) Farrington's solo work and bassist John DeGregorio's band Amber Spyglass
Comparisons:
Amber Spyglass, Perfume Tree, In June, Big Hat, Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure...
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Opium Den is a Boston group. The lead singer, Annette Kramer (Annette Farrington), is very sensuous, with a voice which has a fairly wide range, which can sometimes remind me just a little of the lead singer of Sugarcubes (live, anyway—not so much on CD), but mostly it is her own voice, which I can't match up with any of the other female singers in my head. She is gloomy, but etherial, with a very good sense of pitch and mood. If you liked "Ribbed and Veined" by the Cocteau Twins, check this out: The music itself reminds me of an etherial version of Siouxsie and the Banshees from the early-to-mid 80s, perhaps if you threw in the occasional Cure-esque sound and recorded it at Ivo's 4AD studio for atmosphere. (ezust@brainwashed.com)
Comments about live performance:
A couple of weeks ago I saw a couple of bands perform live at the Middle East Cafe in Cambridge, MA. I was immediately impressed by Opium Den. (5/93, ezust@brainwashed.com)
Recommended first album:
Diary of a Drunken Sun
Recordings:
- Diary of a Drunken Sun (1993)
- Secret Sky (1994)
- Clandestine (2005)
Diary of a Drunken Sun
Release info:
1993—Dutch East India Trading
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Recommended/
Group members:
Mike Demma—drums, dounds
Chrisian Gilbert—gutiars
John DeGregorio—bass
Annette Kramer (Annette Farrington)—vocals, guitar
Produced by:
Joel Simches and Opium Den; Opium Den and Dicky Spears (1, 3)
Comments:
Basically it's nice gothic-alternative mid-to-late '80s revival with a female lead singer. The album as a whole doesn't tie together quite as much as I'd like, as there are about 3 or 4 songs which really don't work as well as the rest, but I like mid-to-late 80s revival myself, and this is a very young group, with a bright future ahead, so two thumbs up. (ezust@brainwashed.com)Great album title. Groovacious album. Very crunchy arrangements. Very pretty vocals. Ethereal at times, more 'rock' at others. Neat stuff. Wish I had a lyric sheet. (burka@jeffrey.net)
they remind me more of strange boutique (a washington dc area band) than anything else, though at least one song ("radio in my head") could be a dead-ringer for a sugarcubes song. think dark, introverted, cobwebs. i like this quite a bit after a few extra listens. yum. (woj@smoe.org)
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