EGL Magazine

17 December 2010

Italian all-girl group SPECTRA*paris are more used to cavorting about in the pop, glam-rock, electro sphere, but this winter has seen them deviate to something a little more reverent.

The group have released a Christmas album, offering an alternative to the fifteen-or-so tracks we hear over and over every single year. It may be somewhat different to their preceding albums, but 'Christmas Ghouls' is so stunning and captivating, that even their long-standing fans will forgive the deviation and fall in love with it.

SPECTRA*paris is led by the strong and commanding vocals of Elena Alice Fossi, who also turns her hand to the electronics, keyboards, bass and the writing of the music and lyrics. She is joined by Marianna Alfieri on guitars and bass, and Alessia Cavalieri completing the line-up on backing vocals and synth.

I'm not quite sure how many ways I can say the word 'stunning'; exquisite, wonderful, striking, dazzling. Somehow, they seem to fall a little short of the sheer beauty of this album. If you love Christmas buy it. If you hate Christmas buy it. Even if you're completely indifferent, you should still indulge.

The album opens with a simple, classic version of Silent Night.
It comes complete with bells that twinkle like stars, and a host of backing vocals to flesh it out to choir proportions. It's traditional overtones contrast nicely with the rest of the heavily gothic album, and stands in direct opposition to the CD's closing track, it's German counterpart; 'Stille Nacht'. Here, SPECTRA*paris have taken the song and turned it into a deeply gothic track; with an organ accompanying, emotive backing vocals and a good number of minor chords.

The second track, 'Movie Ghouls', is sung in Italian, but none of the impact of this song is lost if you don't understand the lyrics. When songs are sung in a language we can't speak, the sounds of the words become what we follow, they become part of the musicality in a way lyrics we understand don't. The song is repeated towards the end of the CD translated into English, so this track is perfect to just immerse yourself into. It's exotic and mysterious, with a hint of electronica breaking up the sweeping, dreamy soundtrack.

Every track on this album is as beautiful as the last, and SPECTRA*paris have successfully pulled in elements from every genre you might associate with Christmas and winter - classical, folk, choral, Pagan - and wrapped them up in a gothic box strung with electronica. Every track oozes with winter charm; 'Time Behind the Clock' (available to hear on their MySpace profile) is an impressive and imposing track led by epic vocals and backed by thick instrumentals: transporting you to ancient snow-drenched forests on vast mountain slopes.

The middle of the album offers a musical interlude; 'Snoqualmie is Sleeping' is a purely instrumental track; soft, sombre, reflective. SPECTRA*paris capture all the emotions of winter throughout this album; joy and sadness, loneliness and family; from dark icy nights to sunlit expanses of snow. Modern elements mixed with classic tones, the soft, hypnotic music overlaid with Elena's haunting voice.

'Spectrelfen', a short, less than 2-minute track, is a truly stand-out piece. The words are spoken over an eerie, ghostly soundtrack; it's like a fairytale told by the fire on Christmas Eve, conjuring up visions of gingerbread houses and traditional Christmas ambience. The backing vocals are almost unearthly, spectral, angelic even. And it's genius in its brevity, leaving you wanting more.

'Christmas Ghouls' is the perfect soundtrack to your gothic Christmas, and the perfect antidote to the commercial, gaudy festival it seems to have become. This album is filled with a sentimentality for the past, a longing for the innocence and magic of Christmas as well as a celebration of a more sombre, gothic perspective; an acceptance of the austerity of winter and an acknowledgement that not everything is neatly tied up with a red, velvet ribbon. This truly is the perfect album to play while you're opening your Christmas stocking.