Rocker (feedbot)
Platinum Member
Harpy’s already taken on festival fields and pushed the limits of experimental goth-industrial-power-electronica, but now? Goth Metal Mommy’s embodying all seven sins in style. ‘VII’ takes in a sin with each track, and fans of blasphemy should get on their knees and rejoice; danceable electro-obscenity has never sounded quite so appealing. If you aren’t already a paid-up member of Harpy’s cult, you probably will be by the end of ‘VII’.
Clocking in at under twenty five minutes ,’VII’ straddles the line between EP and album, and half the tracks were already contained on her ‘Call Me Mommy’ single. Let’s call this a “statement compilation” instead, the musical equivalent of a massive punk necklace that you’ve never quite been brave enough to wear out yet. ‘VII’ is also a very intentional journey through the underworld, front loaded with the bangers. ‘Inferno’ is dark pop gold, full of promise and menace, before we get onto the terrifying seduction of ‘Last Time’ and ‘Call Me Mommy’, dominated by siren vocals and industrial beats. Cursed club music with a metal ethic is her game and she’s playing to win.
When Harpy takes on slower numbers, we’re treated to another side of her. ‘Torture’, surprisingly enough, takes plaintive post punk energy and reworks it into a emotional electro, and as the piano driven ‘Dark Matter’ gives way to the juddering obsession of ‘Precious’, we begin to realise that there’s a lot more to Harpy than just another provocative solo act. There’s a powerful maturity in her growing presence as we’re led into the crashing, tender ‘Bitter’, and her alter ego of a softer demon desperate for love is just as compelling as her stomping bass side.
Like her metaphorical little sibling, Bambi Thug, the points where she reveals herself to be as human are beautiful, the juxtaposition between the pageantry and the person making the music that much more real. It would be too easy to point out the similarities between Harpy and Bambi – and there are a lot of crossover points – but what Harpy offers up is a clear vision of what she wants. There’s a journey, not a scattershot approach to a sound, and it feels like Harpy is taking us somewhere with a clear intention, whether we like it or not.
‘VII’ is an addictive little manifesto, a record from an artist who has propelled herself by her (knee-high PVC) bootstraps and into the big leagues of female-fronted heavy music. There’s a lot to be impressed by, from the balance of electronica to heavy and from the vulnerable to the empowered, but theres even more potential to create something great from this baseline. As statements go, it’s a monster of a first EP.
KATE ALLVEY
Clocking in at under twenty five minutes ,’VII’ straddles the line between EP and album, and half the tracks were already contained on her ‘Call Me Mommy’ single. Let’s call this a “statement compilation” instead, the musical equivalent of a massive punk necklace that you’ve never quite been brave enough to wear out yet. ‘VII’ is also a very intentional journey through the underworld, front loaded with the bangers. ‘Inferno’ is dark pop gold, full of promise and menace, before we get onto the terrifying seduction of ‘Last Time’ and ‘Call Me Mommy’, dominated by siren vocals and industrial beats. Cursed club music with a metal ethic is her game and she’s playing to win.
When Harpy takes on slower numbers, we’re treated to another side of her. ‘Torture’, surprisingly enough, takes plaintive post punk energy and reworks it into a emotional electro, and as the piano driven ‘Dark Matter’ gives way to the juddering obsession of ‘Precious’, we begin to realise that there’s a lot more to Harpy than just another provocative solo act. There’s a powerful maturity in her growing presence as we’re led into the crashing, tender ‘Bitter’, and her alter ego of a softer demon desperate for love is just as compelling as her stomping bass side.
Like her metaphorical little sibling, Bambi Thug, the points where she reveals herself to be as human are beautiful, the juxtaposition between the pageantry and the person making the music that much more real. It would be too easy to point out the similarities between Harpy and Bambi – and there are a lot of crossover points – but what Harpy offers up is a clear vision of what she wants. There’s a journey, not a scattershot approach to a sound, and it feels like Harpy is taking us somewhere with a clear intention, whether we like it or not.
‘VII’ is an addictive little manifesto, a record from an artist who has propelled herself by her (knee-high PVC) bootstraps and into the big leagues of female-fronted heavy music. There’s a lot to be impressed by, from the balance of electronica to heavy and from the vulnerable to the empowered, but theres even more potential to create something great from this baseline. As statements go, it’s a monster of a first EP.
KATE ALLVEY