Review: Beauty Queen Autopsy – 'Lotharia'

BEAUTY QUEEN AUTOPSY
'Lotharia'
UNDUSTRIAL RECORDS

The uniting of Unwoman's Erica Mulkey and Caustic's Matt Fanale promised to be something special from the very beginning. Having originally joined forces for a track on Fanale's 'The Golden Vagina Of Fame And Profit' back in 2011. 'Roughest Cuts' was the first material to surface under their official moniker of Beauty Queen Autopsy in late 2013 hinting at a stunning blend of electronic-heavy post punk and doomy pop.

Last year they followed it up with the EP 'Good, Giving, Game' which showcased a more polished presentation along with the brilliant cover of Placebo's 'Pure Morning'. Finally though 2015 sees the official unveiling of the anticipated full-length début from the pair in the form of 'Lotharia'.

Combining simple mechanical post-punk beats, minimalistic synthpop electronics, and prominently placing Mulkey's seductive post-grunge vocals high in the mix Beauty Queen Autopsy present a deceptively straight-forward but undeniably infectious formula that is both intimate and dance-friendly.

The album includes the familiar cuts from the previous EP and demo with 'Good, Giving, Game', 'Birthday Pony', and 'Lotharia' sounding strong in their final refined versions. While new tracks such as 'Spread', 'Contaminate Me (Dirty Thoughts)', 'Methadone', 'Pumps', and 'Petit Mort' continue to show the depth of the duo's song writing partnership with grunge, psychedelic, and trip-hop elements coming through to create a diverse palette of sounds.

The album has a wonderfully gritty 90s sound to it in so much as it evokes, the best elements of the Nothing Records, Wax Trax! and Warp Records catalogues of the era but maintains a modern dark sound that is both dark and strangely pop-friendly.

'Lotharia' is quite simply a wonderfully strong full-length début from the duo. One that should have people sitting up and taking notice if they haven't done so already. This a subtle, but varied album that leaves you hungry for more. If this offering is anything to go by, Beauty Queen Autopsy are going to be a name to watch over the next few years as they can only grow from here.  

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