Review: Beauty Queen Autopsy – 'Good, Giving, Game'

BEAUTY QUEEN AUTOPSY
'Good, Giving, Game'
UNDUSTRIAL RECORDS

The joyous musical union of Unwoman's Erica Mulkey and Caustic's Matt Fanale as Beauty Queen Autopsy gets its first proper unveiling since December's 'Roughest Cuts: The Demo'. The first EP proper 'Good, Giving, Game' Focusses on perhaps the strongest track from the original demo and gives it the spit and polish it deserves to make it one of 2014's hottest songs.

The simple drum beat, mechanical synths and sultry post-grunge vocals of Mulkey are a combination that is deceptively simple but incredibly effective as the melodies really hook the listener and the beats compel you to dance. The remixes of the title track courtesy of Sweat Boys, Letzte Ausfahrt Leben, and Loss each give the original a very different reworking: Sweat Boys giving us a more dance-friendly mix, Letzte Ausfahrt Leben throwing in drum and bass elements, and Loss getting slow and nasty.

The cover of Placebo’s 'Pure Morning' was an ambitious gamble that has paid off in dividends. The song gets sexy dark synthpop overhaul with Mulkey's vocals channelling, but not mimicking Brian Molko's. The final track sees Mr Kitty get his hands on 'Lothario' from the original demo and gives it a big club-friendly shot in the arm that begs for a follow-up collaboration between Mulkey and Mr Kitty.

The EP has had the rougher edges of the demo filed down and smoothed-out, leaving a strong and polished product. There is something a little old school sounding about the EP but it is completely fresh and modern, with each track has been mixed and mastered to the highest degree and the songs just sound great as a result.

Matt Fanale may be a man of many projects with the forthcoming album from Prude due out imminently, plus is own monster Caustic, and a myriad of other side-bands in various stages. But Beauty Queen Autopsy just has something about it that makes it different and exciting. The collaboration between Fanale's prowess with words and music and the sheer joy of Mulkey's voice begs to be explored further on a full-length album.  

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