Album Notes

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Alice Sweet Alice (ASA) release their sophomore album “Moloko & Ultraviolence” on 12 May 2009, a mere 9 months following their debut release “First Light”. ASA pull out the stops to unleash a mélange of textures, imagery and an all-out assault on their listener’s sonic sensibilities. The stories within are about strange things that happen to strange people, and bizarre circumstances that people face on a daily basis. With their new full band lineup, ASA is tighter, more powerful and exciting than ever before. Scott Martinez and Ali Kat are in excellent voice, Jeff Galios pummels the senses with his razorblade guitar licks, and William Xavier, along with John Wooten on drums thunder through this 10 song tour-de-force.

MUSIC QUOTES

Alice Sweet Alice comes with the sequel “Moloko & Ultraviolence” that brings new set of challenges. Their debut album “First Light” was a magnificent record; huge production, anthemic tracks, warm buzzing guitars. It was the album where Alice Sweet Alice gained their audience. Where “First Light” was visceral “Moloko & Ultraviolence” is intellectual. The high points on the new album are many. The augmentation of the guitar/bass/drums with various instrumentation gives a broader palette than the previous title “First Light”. In terms of songwriting and the melding of this writing with arrangement and performance, the band seem to have really reached a zenith.

“Moloko & Ultraviolence” is an awesome body of work. It is stylistically thoroughly incoherent, although texturally quite even. It is just about works, capturing the same sense of mystery and archaic wonder suggested by the retro-style cover art, whilst aurally conforming to the fuzzy-distorted style of guitar-driven alt-rock popular in the last decade. There are so many emotions - yearning, anger, enchantment, alienisation, love, hope, frustration, that are painted very starkly inside the music.

What is the key to art? Edge. Edge comes from a sense of the unpredictable, the taking of risks, the possibility of failure. Doing something new that confronts our understanding of form. Sure, there are some misses here but you've got to take risks to come up with something as sensational as this. Comfortably the highpoint of this band's career and one of the top alt-rock albums out there.
- AMAdea Records, BULGARIA