Bitchhouse [CD]

Welcome to the BITCHHOUSECome as you are, do what thou willstBITCHHOUSE, the long-awaited full-length debut from Brighton, UK's Hviress, is a sinister and sulphur-hot statement on magick and feminine power. Subversive hooks, ethereal and snarled vocals, and dark deathpop haunt the album's 11-track runtime. Hana Piranha and Mishkin Fitzgerald of Crimson Veil and Birdeatsbaby share both songwriting and vocals, trading duties as they whisper and scream last rites to the old world and breathe truth and beauty into a universe of their own creation.With a shared interest in spirituality and the occult, Hana and Mishkin's combined energies are equally enchanting and unsettling. Embracing her classical roots, Hana's vision is founded in the culture and aesthetic of ancient Greek mythology. Mishkin's fascination with occult practices, combined with her innovative approach to music theory, add to the group's unusual, magickal leanings.Each song reveals a new piece of Hviress: "It's too late for promises," warns Hana Pirana in the album's doom-tinged opener "Arrival." Second song "Golden Apple" employs an ominous chorus and haunting pianos, leading to the hyperpop dembow rhythms of "I Am The Snake Queen." "Secret" shifts grooves in the middle of the song, like a trap opening up beneath the unsuspecting listener, setting the stage for "Black Diamond Villain"'s warped time signature. The second half of the album is decidedly heavier and weirder, from "Witness feat. Catherine Elms" where a slow, spacey intro explodes into symphonic metal, to the steampunk circus-from-hell of "Organ Grinder feat. Emberhoney," and the headphones-rewarding "Welcome To The Bitchhouse," with vocals and synths swirling around like spectres. Veteran rocker Wendy Rae Fowler (Queens of the Stone Age, Unkle) appears in the headbanger "My Cup Runneth Over," and finally the album closer "No Exit" reminds the listener that once you've entered the BITCHHOUSE you can never truly leave."BITCHHOUSE is an album about building a protective space where women can make the rules. Just like our music, it is a blend of extroversion and vulnerability, a place where you can be a queen or a demon. Welcome to the BITCHHOUSE, come as you are, do what thou willst." - Mishkin Fitzgerald