[.ca] Frustration Plantation

ok i love them but...:
so this cd isnt that great. i love, love, love this band and have loved them since their humble beginnings as a lady's cello society in 1894, when they released their first ever sonic pressing "thanks for the ether." just kidding. i really do love them though (or at least melora creagor as the lineup changes so often it seems melora creagor might have quite a bit to talk about if she ever met beyonce knowles, cuz it seems that rasputina is the destiny's child of the cellocore world). this album just doesnt seem complete. like they just kind of threw some ideas together and not really whole songs. plus im kinda sick of the whole rockin' cello thing. i really preferred rasputina more as three cellos non-electrified, maybe with a few electronic elements thrown in ("how we quit the forest" is f***ing amazing!!! buy it now.) "cabin fever" wasn't so great either, but its better than this. and what's up with the two new band members? i saw rasputina on tour for "cabin fever" and thought the two new members were ugly as sin! (i know, superficial... but maybe its the reason the band's music has fallen off...?) anyway this review is rambling. buy the cd only if you're a bigtime fan of rasputina, which i am.

Too Many People Are Complaining...:
...about a flawless album. I've read all the other reviews and I'm really surprised to learn that most people don't like "The Mayor" or "Oh Injury." These are two fantastic songs that are absolutely essential to the album. Interpret "The Mayor" as you will, but Melora has stated that it's about someone very close to her (see the newest issue of Outburn), not about our latest presidential mistake. And I remember reading that someone didn't understand "Oh Injury." It's fairly simple: a husband gets injured on the job and is unable to work, and the family struggles to get by. The "toothpick, pen knife, can opener" part is about how men are more useful when equipped with tools then without. She's right. Also, Melora has been doing skits on her albums since the very beginning, so why should this be any different? I really do enjoy "When I Count," it gives us a little peak into Melora's crazy mind. Even "Nov 17dee" is excusable because it really shows how much Melora cares for her baby boy. "My Captivity By Savages" is based on real life Indian captivity stories. There's a whole genre of literature on this subject. It wasn't her trying to be cute or politically incorrect, those events really happened and are documented in history. Personally I think it's a wonderful skit. Melora performs it fantastically, and the sexual attraction that Eliza feels is akin to the sexual tension actually felt by the captives towards their kidnappers (see the story of Mary Jemison for more info). Maybe one should do a bit more research before concluding that "Melora is just nuts as usual..." As for me, this album has earned a permanent place in my disc changer.

Like Bowie, like Bush, you MUST play this LOUD.:
For curiosity's sake I've been reading the reviews of this album - and in many places, I disagree completely. Like others, longtime Rasputina fan! I adore the sounds, the songs, the concepts... everything. Unlike most, I've had the joy of talking to Melora, on the phone and in person (and she's truly as gorgeous, sincere in that special her-way and at the same time mysterious as on the albums/in concert), but that really doesn't affect my thoughts on this album. No, it does, a little - but I'll get to that later. I got Frustration Plantation before I saw them on their most recent tour, but not too soon before - thus my first "true" listening experience with FP was at the concert. I was standing right up front, leaning on the edge of the stage, and wow - did I ever LISTEN. The recital began with a thundering, jaw-droppingly brilliant and edgy "Saline the Salt Lake Queen" and never fell from that level. They did justice to their entire repertoire, not focusing entirely on FP, but many of the songs were played. I walked out of that concert, after chatting backstage and then trading a few dollars + a cigarette at the merch stand because I didn't have the full price for even a postcard (and the merch guy gave me both postcards cause he thought it was a rather funny and innovative way to overcome my dilemma) knowing that it was one of, if not the, best show I'd been to. As for the album - after the show, FP was my repeat listen. In my CD-alarm, in my discman on the métro, in my head... Listening to that album gives me the same "oh my this is a Rasputina rectical & I'm up-front & they are amazing" butterfly feeling in my stomach. You MUST listen to FP as loud as possible to truly hear it! (My review title refers to David Bowie's and Kate Bush's similar directions in the liner notes to Ziggy Stardust and The Dreaming, respectively.) This album does tell a story & it all follows quite perfectly if you pay attention... And November17dee - you're not listening. Picture Melora's four-year-old daughter (yes, that's Hollis Lane) singing this song with a secret meaning only she knows. Then you'll get it. And as for the cello-amps vs. the more "acoustic" sound of Thanks for the Ether? Musicians evolve, and if they didn't, what would be the point of a continued career? This is where Melora wants to be, and she's there. Zoe Keating (the new co-cellist) is the only one who's ever "gotten as excited about cello amplification" as Melora has, so she's happy with her new match. You really can tell when you listen, too. So yes, a forever fan of the beloved Rasputina finds the newest album to be the best yet, & eagerly awaits what's to come, as Melora wouldn't let on...

Less Than Perfect:
I had a lot of high hopes for this CD but I was a touch dissapointed. I adored Cabin Fever but found this CD lacking. When they really got into the music, with such tracks as "Possum of the Grotto" and "High On Life" they were amazing but the storytelling got a little old. I felt like saying, sing more, talk less. But still a keeper.

Alternates between silly and poignant. In a good way.:
A great album, that shows a lot of growth. Not as dark, or quite as rockin' in places, as their earlier releases, but another side shows through. While Melora's crazy sense of humor is still the main vehicle, there are underlying areas of real warmth, and in some places, sadness. The album seems to be split three ways. The hilarious stuff, the rock out stuff, and the really beautiful stuff with some overlap. Some may find it annoying and uneven, though I find these things to complement each other surprisingly well. Added on this album is the fabulous cellist Zoe Keating, and while her solo stuff is quite different, I highly recommend checking it out, if you can find it. She seems to complement Melora's writing very nicely. It's still very much Melora's show, but Zoe has much more presence than just a studio back up musician. I can't wait to hear what these ladies will do next.

• Doomsday Averted
• Secret Message
• Possum of the Grotto
• If Your Kisses Can't Hold the Man You Love
• The Mayor
• When I Count...
• High On Life
• Wicked Dickie
• My Captivity By Savages
• Saline the Salt Lake Quenn
• Oh Injury.
• When I Was a Young Girl
• Momma Was an Opium Spoker
• Nov. 17dee
• Girls' School