ALBUM REVIEW: Love Me To Death – Queen Kwong
The creative force behind QUEEN KWONG, Carre Callaway is the definition of a cult figure when it comes to music. With backing from Trent Reznor there was always going to be an undeniable appeal to a certain type of music fan. With this kind of support and the debut album receiving critical acclaim it’s surprising that QUEEN KWONG still feel like more of an underground presence. Perhaps then, their second album Love Me To Death will be what really puts them on people’s radar.
Love Me To Death manages to find a nice balance between slick and polished and dark and dirty. It’s an eclectic album that’s hard to pin down but that’s what makes it so interesting. One moment it’s delivering sleazy garage rock like on the opening track. But then One Lung follows this up with a much more delicate approach. It never settles into a groove and this is certainly one of its biggest strengths.
That’s not to say there aren’t good songs either. The Happiest Place is a dark and twisted journey and is one of the album’s standout moments. At points the album feels almost oppressively bleak and Carre Callaway‘s vocal delivery is a huge part of this. She’s capable of sounding truly unsettling at several points on Love Me To Death. Her lyrics add to the darkness of the album, as she sings so bluntly about her struggles with mental health.
All these factors end up making Love Me To Death a challenging album to get into. Despite all the critical acclaim, QUEEN KWONG certainly aren’t looking for any sort of mainstream acceptance. It’s an album that wouldn’t be surprising if just as many people hated it as there are people that love it. The biggest problem with it is that some moments end up coming across as self indulgent. Closing track Sun Of Life is the worst example of this, it’s the most avant garde and out there moment on the album and it just feels like a step too far. It feels like a drawn out closer.
Ultimately Love Me To Death is an interesting album but never quite manages to be a great one. There’s some brilliant moments and it’s not surprising why some people absolutely love QUEEN KWONG. But the album just gets lost in how much it seeks to challenge the listener. The album is certainly worth at least one listen for how bold it is and Carre Callaway is an undeniably talented women. It will probably end up being a very marmite album for most. It’s dark, twisted and filled with ideas but it never quite manages to pull it all together.
Rating: 7/10
Love Me To Death is out now via Edison Sound.
Like QUEEN KWONG on Facebook.