Behind the Veil is the latest album by the Beauty In Chaos a musical collective that revolves around Michael Ciravolo alongside Tim Palmer and John Fryer and this time all the vocalists are female.
The album has two versions of each of the 6 songs apart from the single Open Wound Heart that has 3 versions. If you buy the vinyl or cd it comes with a full download of extra mixes that means instead of 13 tracks you get the full 25 track digital experience. They have employed among others Julien Shah-Tayler and Mark Gemini Thwaite as remixers.
This opens with Afterlife a slow gauzy goth song wondering what the Afterlife will be like at this moment when so many have made that journey sooner than expected in the last couple of years. Tish Ciravolo is the first of this album's half dozen female singers her gentle tone working perfectly with the at times lush backing.
The Kiss Of The World feels like a very late night song of lust and entanglements with Elena Alice Fossey's wispy vocals whispering a sweet nothings into the listeners ears and eventually they get a reaction, as the song breaks out like a real connection has just been made, before it becomes a bit more thoughtful again.
Not Your Fault works around a strummed acoustic guitar as Pinky Turzo's vocals tell a sad and dark story of loss and pain and how things have gone wrong as the full band behind her rises and falls and becomes quite ethereal in places.
Early single Orion is next as Whitney Tai's vocals feel full of longing and she wants everyone to sway along with it in the hope of some healing as we move forward and out of the pandemic. As the song progresses it becomes more epic and Whitney's vocals become almost a muezzin style call that echoes somewhere between Trans Global Underground and Dominion era Sisters Of Mercy. As this song has come up on my work I-pod a few times since reviewing the single last year I have to say it's really grown on me and feels very comforting and familiar now in a very good way.
The first version of Open Wound Heart sounds as doleful as a song with that title ought to as Cinthya Hussey's rather forlorn vocals caress our ears and try to supply some healing from all the pain and sorrow.
Grasp The Stars has more of a dancefloor feel that the other songs and Betsey Martin's vocals have an air of desperation about them as you look for anything to hold onto to make things feel better.
Afterlife (JST MIX) adds loads more bass to the first version and makes it perfect for a dark dank dancefloor as Tish Ciravolo's vocals seem to become more bewitching. Julian Shah-Tayler's mix is a very cool alternative.
The Kiss Of The World (MGT Mix) is slower and more dramatic as the middle part bursts out and Elena Alice Fossey's vocals get encased in the strings swirling around her as Mark Gemini Thwaite brings out more of a sense of yearning especially when he seems to strip almost everything away as the song ends you can hear what sounds like a pop on a vinyl lp repeating on the fade out.
Not your Fault (Meltdown Mix) opens with Meltdown being repeated over and over as this then takes an almost classical approach musically, Pinky Turzo's vocals being more central and unadorned are seemingly more heartfelt as they become the main focus no matter what weird computer noises come and go among the strings and almost timpanic percussion.
Orion (Asteron Mix) takes us to the stars and beyond, as I ignore the sound of the helicopter buzzing overhead as that's not on the album, as Whitney Tai vocals shines through and I sit here swaying in time with the music.
Open Wound Heart (Edge Of Reality Mix) makes this into a beautiful memento mori for the lost and the missing in this lush setting Cinthya Hussey's vocals shine through like a healing balm.
Grasp the Stars (Collide Mix) takes Betsey Martins vocals
and strips out the dancefloor action and instead goes a bit more ambient techno with added whooshing sounds and percussion that seems to be moving around the speakers with every hit of a stick.
The album closes with Open Wound Heart (Shadows Of Coils Mix) that sorts off slowly and rather sparsely and is a little bit reminiscent of This Mortal Coil and this makes it a very slow and thoughtful version.
Find out more at https://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/music-store https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic/ https://beautyinchaos.bandcamp.com/album/behind-the-veil
