Cinema Strange
The Astonished Eyes of Evening

In 2002, Cinema Strange softly knocks on the door of our minds once again, gifting us the entrance key to their delightful, seductive, and sinister microcosm, filled with small horrors, sharp and shiny like glass shards, fantastic characters, frightening lullabies, and unsettling tales. Like Alice, we are whirlpool-sucked into a wonderland suspended halfway between the stories of Gianni Rodari and the more frightening ones of Hans Christian Andersen, both steeped in a sense of the grotesque that, with steps of enchantment and gracefulness, spills into real everyday life. Like a meteor crashing onto earth at supersonic speed, Cinema Strange crosses the membrane of our unconscious primarily through their alien and disturbing appearance. It certainly recalls the stunning looks of Jonny Slut from Specimen or those of Virgin Prunes, but from such initial inspirations blooms the identity that differentiates and defines Cinema Strange and their incontrovertible creativity. Strips of fabric that resemble bandages/wrappings, Venetian carnival masks, stratospheric hairstyles, lace parasols, and snow-white makeup frame the art of the Californian ensemble. In "The Astonished Eyes Of Evening," the band's typical hypnotic, dreamlike, and fairy-tale atmospheres are less hectic and sudden, accompanied by a more extended theatricality. The notable vocal musings from Lucas Lanthier's rather extensive vocal range are masterfully accompanied by the instrumental arrangements of the Ribiat brothers, Daniel (bass) and Michael (guitar). The three main characters appear in the album as Zampano, Yellow, and Lafitte, respectively. It all begins with "Reveil En Sursaut D'Un Rêve," a piano sonata that seems to soar through the air via the horn of an early 20th-century phonograph. It prematurely interrupts to make way for the introductory vocalizations of "'Ere The Flowers Unfold," a track with a distinct batcave flavor, as well as the subsequent "Dead Eyes Open, Or, How The Woman In The Attic Fled, Never To Return." Soon, the more distinctively deathrock episodes (like "Catacomb Kittens") from the treasure chest that "The Astonished Eyes Of Evening" undoubtedly is also make their entrance. Indeed, stunning and precious gems unfold between deathrock and batcave sounds, like "Speak, Marauder!," "Mathilde In The Dirt," "Legs and Tarpaulin," which give way to sound paradises such as "Finger Broken Branches (Instrumental)," another incomparable gem. With "Tomb Lilies" and its interlude of vocalizations, intricate as the branches of trees in a forest, we return to the batcave shore of the enchanted world that hosts us. The organ (or perhaps Harmonium?) melody at the end of "Tomb Lilies" serves as a prophecy of the next "Quatorze Exemples Authentiques Du Triomphe De La Musique Décorative," released in 2006 and currently the latest work by Cinema Strange. "The Red And Silver Fantastique And The Libretto Of The Insipid Minstrel," the last song of this album, is a captivating, yet hypnotic electronic march that, through its outro, long as the train of a royal dress, returns us to the world we came from.

Cinema Strange ‎– The Astonished Eyes Of Evening

2002

01 Reveil En Sursaut D'Un Rêve

02 'Ere The Flowers Unfold

03 Dead Eyes Open, Or, How The Woman In The Attic Fled, Never To Return

04 Catacomb Kittens

05 Speak, Marauder!

06 Mathilde In The Dirt

07 Legs And Tarpaulin

08 Finger Broken Branches (Instrumental)

09 Tomb Lilies

10 The Red And Silver Fantastique And The Libretto Of The Insipid Minstrel