Search - Emilie Autumn :: Enchant

Stunning

Nicola Jarvis | Herts, UK | 04/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you come across Emilie Autumn fans, you may well find that many are divided. Many love THIS Emilie, the Emilie that they call the "Enchant Era" whilst others enjoy the "Victorindustrual" era. Bear in mind though, that there are not many people that enjoy the latter era and dislike 'Enchant'; it's a completely different type of music, but Emilie back then was still unique and this album provides us with music which is radically different to what she does now, but it's also different compared to anything other artist due to the albums eclectic material.



This album is not pigeonholed for an audience; when the album opens up with 'Prologue: Across The Sky' you will believe that you have stumbled into a fairy wonderland which sounds like a bizarre collaboration between Enigma and Enya but as the album continues you were treated to mild blues/jazz like Second Hand Faith, rocky-pop numbers like 'Chambermaid', pop/techno/violin songs like the catchy 'Juliet' and pretty haunting ballads like 'Epilogue: What If'. I'd say that if you don't like the jazzy sound, you may not like the majority of the album, but there are enough songs on it without the jazz to pull this through for you. The standout songs are 'Across The Sky', 'Chambermaid', 'Rapunzel' and 'What If'.



As to Emilie's performance - it is very different to her later CDs. None of this is rock or industrial really, she sings all the songs straight with her real voice (no growls). As to her violin playing it is highly played down on this album, but is obviously present in songs such as 'What If', 'Juliet' and 'Remember'. A lot of the album is electronic but a piano and violin can be heard pretty much throughout, even if not on the forefront. Unlike other albums, Emilie didn't do this album by herself so it's not purely her production wizardry and strong instrumental playing.



Enchant has reached cult and classic status because there is simply a song on here for everyone but is hard to obtain. It has been more or less impossible to get until August this year when it was released again in a special boxset for a limited amount only (3000 copies). This is the same product, and if you don't snap it up now you won't get the opportunity again for a very long time, possibly never. As it is, the boxset (if you can call it that) is quite pricey and you may not regard it being worth your money, as you can buy the album legally on download through her website for a quarter of the price. The packaging comes as a normal CD sized book with a thin card board sleeve that covers it. Inside you have several pages but there is not much artwork to be seen, and there are zero photos. There is only lyrics written by Emilie's own hand, but it is barely eligible, so if you want the lyrics you will still have to log on the net and find them that way, despite having them in your hand. The CD itself does not have any bonus songs or material. It is exactly as it was in its original release."