Label : Alfa Matrix
Review by Davide Torresan
“The House of Wonders” is the debut album of Belgian Lovelorn Dolls, or rather the follow-up of the well received EP “An Intense Feeling of Affection”. Their music is the main result of the work of Ladyhell on vocals and Corpus Christi with music and the instruments. Their musical style can be described as a mix of alternative, rock and electronics and with this release they hope to make themselves known to the fans of this particular musical genre.
As the band stated, the listening of ” The House of Wonders” will carry you within an old manor where, between dark and fairy atmospheres, sweet and sick melodies, the listener will ride on a sort of rollercoaster. It’s a pity that I couldn’t get my hands on the graphic work done for this CD by Gogo Melone, singer and graphic designer for To-Mera and Plague of Stars. It was like to do a half-assed job, but it’s better than nothing, right? So here we go. I watched the artwork of theCD thinking that this could give me some clues about the general sound. I immediately assumed that there were some gothic influences and so it was. I heard also some other influences from other bands like Depeche Mode, Oomph and The Birthday Massacre. The first song that I appreciated was “After Dark” with its catchy chorus and heavy guitar riffs.
“Purple” has some parts where the voice of the singer remembered me the one of Marilyn Manson though it’s less effective. Another song that I liked was “Mother of the Universe”, where Ladyhell‘s voice becomes warm and mellow and the instruments are relegated to the background giving more space to electronics. On the chorus she’s accompanied by Flowing Tears‘s singer Helen Vogt that will reappear later on “Feel Myself With You”. On “Aux Dieux” there’s the opposite situation since it’s the heavier song of the album. Ladyhell sings very well in French. Lovelorn Dolls also cover Depeche Mode with the song “In Your Room” which is more rock than the original. After this quick summary of the most significant moments of the album, the curtain can finally fall. What can I say? Lovelorn Dolls are really good and they know how to entertain the listener. Surely it wasn’t a challenging CD, but I can advice it for all the lovers of bands like Evanescence and Lacuna Coil with a touch of electronics/industrial.
Rating – 75/100
Tracklist
- House of Wonders
- After Dark
- Purple
- Save Me From Myself
- Mother of the Universe
- Frozen Inside
- Aux Dieux
- No Life
- Feel Myself With You
- Inside My Head
- Euphoria
- In Your Room
- Wonders Rats
- Final Curtain
Line Up
- Ladyhell – Vocals, Composer & Writer
- Corpus Christi – Guitars & Composer
- Sedjem – Guitars