Album Notes

The Hellblinki Sextet's "A Pirate Broadcast" is a trip into another world, a sountrack for a non-existant film, filled with pirates, gypsies, malcontents and raconteurs, a mad journey into the subconcious , puctuated by songs of depth and beauty, life and vivacity, a growling testament to both the horror and beauty of the world in which we live. A few things that fans have had to say about the record... -WOW! Bizarre and macabre, this recording has it all. Super dark doom and gloom. Has a sadistic twinge to it. Truly unique! -As I pushed play on the latest from The Hellblinki Sextet, the sound of an old recording of "The Star-Spangled Banner" is interrupted by a thunderclap. Thus starts the eerie carnival ride that is A Pirate Broadcast. From this point, you envision a drunken pirate steering his ship and misfit crew out to sea. Rocking back and forth with the ocean's waves, arm in arm, singing sea chanteys while throwing back huge glasses filled with thick ale. The guttural yowl of vocalist A- is your guide through thirteen tracks of beautifully orchestrated tales of love, loss, monsters and fortune hunters. Often bringing to mind the soundtrack for an Ed Wood horror movie and at other times a delightful circus sideshow with help from instruments like the glockenspiel, toy piano and accordion. You would be wise to use your imagination and give this a listen if not for the amazing music, then for it's theatrical brilliance. Monk www.independentsonly.com -I listened to the CD and I cried. Mckenna From the ever enchanting mind of Andrew Benjamin comes this newest platter from he and his loyal band of pirates. Blending the many corners of world music into theatrical musical piece, the HELLBLINKI SEXTET consider no instrument too sacred to toss into the mix. "A Pirate Broadcast" actually BEGINS with the ending of the broadcast day so right off the bat one gets the feeeling that this is not your usual rock band, or rock cd for that matter. "Comes to This" get the ball rolling with a neat jig number that fits somewhere between a Jewish wedding and a Greek funeral with it's lively tempo and biting lyrics. After a brief "Halloween Overture" the Sextet go sexy fifties hip on "Love, She Said" with vocalist Danielle Parcells cooing over smooth beat era music. But her haunting lovely singing really come to play on "The lily", a beautiful piano ballad that will send chills down your spine over and over again with ech listen. My favorite Hellblinki song live has always been the "Dementish Waltz". Just something enticing about the way Andrew and Danielle vocalize around each other about "the girl with tears in her eyes" that gets me every time and this track is represented very well in this studio version. Hellblinki's "A Pirate Broadcast" is a mixed bag of mini operettas blended with little sound "minuettes" to tie it all together. Trying to investigate this platter piece by piece is nearly impossible as each track lives and breaths on what comes before and after them. Not recommended for high volume in the car but rather as a complete musical companion for a clear night and candle light. But then again, I'm just weird that way... I guess. John "Stoney" Cannon -Lokal Loudness