Strange Boutique
The Kindest Worlds

When one thinks of California, the sun, surfing, Baywatch lifeguard rescues, or the Beach Boys playing on the beach immediately come to mind.
Many do not even imagine that this land is the cradle of the American Gothic movement, which gave rise to a fair number of bands, some of which achieved good success.

Everything started with the birth of Christian Death, in the late '70s, who, thanks especially to the scenic excesses and religious and sexual provocations of their frontman Rozz Williams (later shamelessly plagiarized by Marilyn Manson), gained excellent visibility divided between positive feedback from their numerous supporters and an equally large number of detractors.

On the wave of the success of Christian Death, the American dark movement was born and later developed thanks also to the large number of musicians who passed through the lineup that, once, belonged to Rozz.
It is, however, a fairly heterogeneous movement (like, for that matter, the European one) that is strongly derivative of the dark scene of the old continent.

The Christian Death of the debut album (Only Theatre of Pain), in fact, were heavily influenced by Bauhaus (some critics accused Rozz of mimicking, exacerbating, the provocative moves and attitudes of Peter Murphy), while in the subsequent "Catastrophe Ballet" the punk matrix of the beginnings is almost purged in favor of a more ethereal, almost dream pop component.

The blending of more typically gothic rock elements and those of dream pop was accentuated and became a musical characteristic in bands formed by former members of Christian Death, such as Barry Galvin's Mephisto Waltz and William Faith's Faith and the Muse.
In particular, the latter were, perhaps, the most successful American band of the last years of the US gothic scene (success shared with London After Midnight who, however, play a much more traditional gothic rock compared to William Faith's band).

The positive response from critics and the public to their work is mainly due to the charm of their music in which the ethereal and ethnic aspects prevail over the gothic, decidedly in the background.

Faith and the Muse is a duo composed of the aforementioned William Faith and singer Monica Richards.

Before forming Faith and the Muse, Monica was part of Strange Boutique, a group that encompasses all the gothic souls I mentioned earlier (gothic rock, dream pop, and ethnic) to which is also added a touch of British-derived dark-pop (The Cure and The Chameleons) and psychedelic music.

All these influences give rise to an extremely fascinating and dreamy music, characterized by Richards' soft and melodious voice and the strongly ethereal sound of the rhythm section, so much so that Strange Boutique could be described as the rock version of the Cocteau Twins.

The album I propose is "The Kindest Worlds", truly a small gem of music that transports your mind to places that breathe of folk traditions, ballads by the fire, walks in the windy desert, faraway places where you'd wish to be at certain moments to reset everything and reconcile with yourself.
Dream pop that embraces psychedelia in "The Loved One", becomes romantic in "Whipoorwill", ethnic and folk in "And Then She Was Healed", melancholic and poignant in "So Serene".
Ethereal rock, on the other hand, reminiscent of The Chameleons' indie style in "The Kindest Worlds" and "Chant The All", becomes ethnic and tribal in "In Hysteria" before returning to a more typically gothic death rock style ala Christian Death in "Quicksand Minds", in "Step Softly" and in the concluding "Easter Island".
The peak of the album, in my opinion, is reached in the cover of "A Strange Day" (already my favorite song by The Cure) reinterpreted by Strange Boutique in a dream pop key.

In conclusion, if there are certain moments you wish to carve out for yourself without thinking of the outside world and you don't find yourself in the cold, windy dark of the Californian desert with only the fire of the natives to warm you, put on a pair of headphones and listen to this "The Kindest Worlds".