REVIEW OF
IN A GLASS DARKLY
SONGS INSPIRED BY THE STORIES
OF J.
PERFORMED BY THE GREEN PAJAMAS
Hidden Agenda Records
(ISSN 1932-9598)
This twenty-two minute audio CD by the Goth band “The Green Pajamas” is an enjoyable excursion into what a Goth band can do in the spirit of Gothic literature. There has been more popular culture interest in the masters of the Gothic and particularly Le Fanu in recent years. There is even a well-known Goth bar called “Carmilla’s.”
This band takes five stories: Uncle Silas, “Madam Crowl’s Ghost,” “Green Tea,” “Carmilla,” and “Laura Silver Bell,” and evokes Le Fanu for the 21st century. The composers, Jeff Kelly and Laura Weller, utilize the requisite electric guitar and electronic keyboard to produce their music and songs to evoke the Anglo-Irish master.
“Uncle Silas” is sung from the point of view of Uncle Silas to Maud Ruthyn. The male vocalist sings slightly off-key, which may be appropriate for the laudanum-saturated Silas. Thunder sound effects rumble through the song and the music is at times atonal, in keeping with the strange and terrifying quality of Silas. The female singer of “Madam Crowl’s Ghost” gives a sad, beautiful rendition that haunts the listener long after it is over. The female vocalist of “Green Tea” sings at a fever pitch and rapid beat to this song that sings out “green tea” in its refrain. The male singer of “Carmilla” is accompanied by a harpsichord and violin effect to emphasize the languid beauty of the female vampire. The final entry is reminiscent of an Irish folk song in “Laura Silver Bell.”
I must say that the listener feels he should get more for his money, but all told, this production through Hidden Agenda Records is of some interest to the scholar and reader of Le Fanu.
Gary William Crawford