Cruella is the latest album by Swedish American duo I Am A Rocketship and follows on from Lies & Legends. The duo are Eric Weissinger and L E Kippner with special guest drummer Kellii Scott on the opening track of the album that was recorded at The Barry Patch.
The album opens with Do You Feel Good that has some nice gothy guitar swathes, as L E Kippner asks all sorts of questions so to why you might not be feeling good, how your life might be falling apart, can you find a happy life once more after everything that's happened. This isn't overly optimistic for the right outcome, but then that is more realistic currently, as they hope to one day feel free.
The title track La Cruella is slow careful drumming with flashes of guitars, before the vocals come in to tell La Cruella's story, with crystalline vocals that are deadpan gauzy, rather dry as they slowly emote the tale.
Gravity takes a classic No Wave Contortions style guitar part and bassline, strips everything else out and then adds glacial vocals to help denote the seriousness of the situation, just how deeply you have fallen.
Bury It Now is for when you need to put aside the fighting and arguing, just get on with being decent and loving to each other, a very slow thoughtful ambient indie backing.
A Little Bit Of Heaven has crunchy guitars on a loud quiet almost drum and bass anthem as they search for that Little bit Of Heaven to distract them from the reality of the last few years.
Sold For A Pound is a slow sad song with dolorous strings and carefully played piano as this sad tale unfolds among the bad dreams and sorrow.
It's Because Of You He's Dead opens with a sample from a film that contains the song title, as we find out just why you must take the blame this time. Both the drums and guitar sound like they are marking time waiting for an admission of guilt, hopefully your accuser is wrong, you’re not to blame, but well sometimes things get out of hand.
See Me Go has me wondering, are the low voices on the album, or coming from the garden, as the ambient feeling of doom slowly build for you to ponder on the temptations that have led to this current situation, the sadness you'll feel if they really do go this time.
Heaven Tonight takes the Cheap Trick classic to places Yngwie never dreamed of in his song of the same name, this is slow dreamy and hopelessly romantic, far warmer than Waysted's over the top attempt to take us to Heaven Tonight at least this makes it sound possible.
The album closes with The Madness that on this tune is far from mad, being well controlled with sparse instrumentation that eventually lets rip and goes oddly prog, as perhaps they equate Progg instro parts with the deepest forms of madness.
Find out more at https://iamarocketship.bandcamp.com/album/la-cruella https://iamarocketship.com/ https://www.facebook.com/iamarocketship
