Immortalised is the debut album by Irish band Ava Vox who are the current project of Elaine Hannon who used to be in The Seventh Veil. The album was recorded with help from James Blennerhassett and Robbie Casserley as well as the Sofia session orchestra.
The album opens with the single Crash that I've now heard so many times that is sounds like a very familiar goth rock classic floor filler, as those walls get torn down once more and everything Crashes down and that repeating guitar motif burns itself into your brain, and we wonder how or if we will survive a climate Crash.
Silent Tear has the classic goth feel of say Play Dead or X-Mal Deutschland as the sad story that causes the silent Tear unfolds and draws you into Ava Vox's world of darkness and delight.
Alone Again was the second single and like Crash, I've now heard it more than enough times to be singing along, to this song of surviving domestic violence, as the strings swirl around and you try to escape the blows and find a way to rid your life of this toxic creature, making your life a living hell, while making sure you don't believe the empty apologies and return for more.
One Sweet Goodbye is a slow piano and string led song of heartbreak that sounds like the sort of epic ballad that Marianne Faithful or Hazel O'Connor would sing like the modern torch song it is.
The first cover on the album is of the Gloria Jones northern Soul classic Tainted Love, this version of this timeless classic is closer to Gloria Jones original than Soft Cell's definitive version, this has a wonderful organ line and some very lush production as you hope to find out just how Tainted the Love she requires is.
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Heart Of Good Intention has a very early 80's pop feel to it as Elaine's vocals soar and seem to do battle with a Fairground attraction style driving keyboard part.
Lovesong is a slow piano led torch song for the sort of Lover who makes you feel whole and complete, even if you keep disappearing, when you return the magic is always there.
The album closes with her version of Life On Mars that builds on Barbra Streisand's much derided version and strips out the saccharine elements and keeps the essential darkness by singing it with just a grand piano for company until what sounds like a piccolo comes in towards the end, this is a very gentle version that the orchestra eventually starts to build towards the end, this is certainly preferable to the Spanish disco version that Tino Casal released, not that I collect covers of this song. Either way a very cool way to end a great debut album.
Find out more at https://avavoxmusic.bandcamp.com/album/immortalised https://www.facebook.com/avavoxmusic https://www.avavoxmusic.com/
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