REVIEWS

Cindergarden
The Clandestine Experiment

Posted: Tuesday, November 18, 2008
By: Matthew Johnson
Features Editor

The clicks, whirrs and chimes of the instrumental intro to her second full-length album make it clear that Cindergarden's Jaymie Valentine has retained the unique industrial music box aesthetic that marked her debut. It's as the album proper begins, with "Genesis," that first reveals how much she's matured as a singer and songwriter, less spooky clockwork doll than multifaceted artist, girlish whispers left behind in favor of a soprano that glides over piano and synthesized bell arpeggios. Sonically, The Clandestine Experiment is also a far more diverse effort, encompassing everything from the driving aggression of "Alibi," reminiscent of Diva Destruction and The Razor Skyline, to the moodier violin-laced trip-hop of "Sacrament" to the sensual night garden atmospherics of "Something to Kill For." While "Mire" and "Nothing Revealed" recall Valentine's earlier work with their synthesized harpsichord and wide-eyed spookiness, there's a new seriousness here, both in theme and in sound, less dusty attic and more sprawling fog-shrouded wasteland. Title track "The Clandestine Experiment" in particular achieves an impressive density, Valentine's vocals deadpan over layered arpeggios, dramatic timpani crescendos, and guitar-laced orchestral samples that come together in a beautiful miasma as evocative and complex as Last Rites-era Skinny Puppy. Not every song is quite so heavy or intense, but even comparatively lighter offerings like darkwave dance track "Things that Never Die" and softly brooding "Digging Up the Bones" benefit from multi-tracked vocals and crystalline synth-string and organ arrangements that give the album as a whole a slick, professional charm. One of the most promising sophomore efforts of 2008, The Clandestine Experiment reveals an artist blossoming into the potential only promised by earlier releases.