Rasputina fills a unique niche in independent music, that of a ladies cello society, and for over ten years, they’ve been releasing highly stylized records that can be compared to little else. After taking a three-year hiatus, Rasputina is back with Oh Perilous World, and once again, they don’t disappoint.
Consistent with their sound, this record is chock-full of obscure medical oddities, punctuated alliteration, and overdriven cellos that are all woven into the haunting waver of Melora Creager's voice. Each element combined creates a perfectly delivered pseudo-history lesson pulled from the headlines of newspapers. The first track on the record recounts the story of “1816, the Year Without a Summer,” when a freak snowstorm caused Mary Shelley to have “to stay inside and she wrote Frankenstein.” The next track “Choose Me for Champion,” is a montage of speeches by Osama bin Laden and “Child Solider Rebellion,” tells of just that happening in Africa.
While Rasputina’s sound has definitely gotten more mature since their first release Thanks for the Ether, it seems that they’ve moved further away from trying to construct catchy songs and towards a critique of culture, specifically the way media presents the news. “Old Yellow Cake Breaking News” mimics the sound of a headline news flash and interrupts the middle of the record. In addition, on many tracks, Creager is just speaking words rather than singing them, which is slightly jarring atop the sinuous flow of cellos.
Still, Rasputina stands in a league of their own. If you’re a fan of Rasputina, all you need to know is that this record stays true. If you’re not, you should take a listen and Oh Perilous World would be a good place as any to start.
