Melora Creager is the force of Rasputina. She is the singer, writer, and designer doing all the artwork for the albums and their website. This is all her with the assistance of bringing her singular vision to life from her ever-revolving band mates. I imagine it is a pretty tightly run ship over there. I guess you would describe this as Chamber Rock or Cello Rock. The original band was formed when Melora wrote an editorial in her local NY Village Voice paper while also looking for players for her "electric cello" band. They built something of a cult following playing in NYC bars that landed them a record deal. I don't love their first album, although it does have a few notable tracks, mainly the stellar "Any Old Actress." But one of the songs on the record, "Transylvanian Concubine" which had a bit of an industrial rock element to it would get them attention from Marilyn Manson and Twiggy Ramirez who would join up with them to record a follow up EP called Transylvanian Regurgitations that was remixed by Manson and Ramirez. They would also tour with Manson and get some additional notice from a larger fan base as a result. On this second studio album, they were assisted in production by Chris Vrenna. Ironic that I am finding this album again randomly after just reviewing Tweaker yesterday, I had no idea he was even involved in this at all until just now listening to it and reading the credits on Amazon Music. That is probably why this is so much more focused than Thanks For The Ether was. Musically, they are very gothic. They would also dress gothic and perform in Victorian era garb. Melora, a self-proclaimed historian, had a fascination with old lore and history, and the majority of her songs are based on some historical event or person. Everything from the pilgrims to the Donner party. They have a good amount of industrial rock flavor mixed into their work, but the cello is the star, and some extremely beautiful pieces of music are composed over the course of their significant discography. I haven't listened to new stuff (I didn't realize they were active as long as they had been), but I think I am going to dive. The industrial rock-tinged stuff used to be some of my favorite songs, but relistening now, I find that they are not quite as powerful to me as they once were. I am gravitating more to the extremely emotionally resonant cello pieces. Melora's voice is a bit exasperating at times. She has a great voice, but does this strange warble that I think can be off-putting but is also charming and compatible with the music in its way. From: https://musicboard.app/mattattherecordstore24/review/album/how-we-quit-the-forest/rasputina/
