www.ottosdaughter.com
A second dose of barbed wire kisses and
digital bliss from Jersey-based Otto's Daughter. Fronted by German goth
goddess Jacqueline Van Bierk, OD have largely abandoned the saw tooth
grind and angry bee buzzing of their earlier days for a more refined
version of cyperpunk mayhem, and as a result, the aptly titled
"Renew" is a glossy, post-industrial pop metal confection that
sutures moments of bubbling ambience with pounding, hook-heavy alt-rockers
and even a few dips into dreamy coldwave, emerging from the shadows with a
sound that's somewhere between Nine Inch Nails and Queen- lush,
extravagant, and experimental, but infused with as much melody as rock 'em
sock 'em power. Jacqueline's typically stellar vocals are as forceful and
bewitching as ever, twisting through a nasal whine, a careless whisper,
and a bull roar like starlings in a high wind, and her lyrical flights
follow the same angel with wax wings laments as OD's debut, "Void of
Course", except now there's a palpable sense of optimism flowing
through her icy veins, making "Renew" more post-apocalyptic
victory anthem than suicide note melancholia. There's a metallic cover of
Depeche Mode's "Stripped" included here, and that's pretty
telling as far as where Otto's Daughter are taking their sound, although
something by Manson or Rob Zombie would probably do just as well. Gorgeous
and blood engorged in equal measure, "Renew" is the sound of the
future calling- are you brave enough to answer?