 Santa Monica, CA (TOP40 Charts/ Ave Vox Entertainment) -- I received my copy today and I can�t get enough of it! Backstreet Bordello is another fantastic work by the talents of [Pope Jane�s] Danielle Egnew and Kristen Coyner. I always thought of Kristen as the chick drummer to watch, but who knew she was also such an awesome rhythm guitarist? �Dashboard Mary� gets right into the groove with beautiful acoustic guitar work and vocals by the amazing pixie-esque voice of Danielle and the spot on lead vocals of Kristen. �Drag Me� gets a little more serious, but that�s the nature of the Pope Jane stars if you�ve followed their career as I have. �Undone� then completely sucks you in for the rest of the Backstreet Bordello ride. I don�t know if I�d call it an End-Times-Diner as I�ve always thought of these women like a fine wine, but End-Times-High-End-Restaurant doesn�t exactly flow, now does it?
�Morningside Lane� is another example of the brilliant writing skills and vocal extravaganzas of this talented pair. �Miraculous� has that Led Zeppelin �Battle of Evermore� feel to it, but with a whole new twist on current reality. The cutting edge wit, both sarcastic and playful, really kept me into what�s going on. And then �Rise Up� returns us to the serious mode with its theme of justice which doesn�t lack for clarity, and again, a surprising contribution from Kristen. This is truly Kristen's debut as I've not heard this much original material by this amazing woman. And again, the vocals are amazing and extremely well mixed, no doubt, an attribute of the anal retentive nature (and rightly so) of Danielle. There's got to be some Virgo in there somewhere in addition to her Pisces.
The darkly themed �Copper Street� stays with you. I had to listen to the song a few times to see if I was really getting the message, and again, the lyrics are very straight forward regarding death, the devil, and a hard life. �Anybody� follows the dark theme but speaks more to our loneliness as individuals, yet remains consistent with the rhythms and tempos of the entire work. �Blind� is utterly delectable for you bluesy and blue grass lovin� peeps! Not my favorite genre, but then it�s not about me, although the rest of the album certainly resonates and strikes a chord and an accord with every fiber of my spiritual being.
Back to the playful, �Go Away� sent me into joyous laughter and a slight reminiscence of a song I couldn�t get enough of (and still can�t), �Rumor� on an earlier work of Danielle�s. The End Times Diner ends with probably the only cover song I�ve ever heard Danielle do, one of the most beautiful versions of Leonard Cohen�s �Halleluiah.� It�s such a hopeful song (actually never heard a better version since Jeff Buckley), and you will tear up by the end of it. Kristen and Danielle will definitely make you stop and ponder life. And if you believe in the latter days, this work will give you hope that there is still hope for humanity.
The simplistic nature of the entire album is refreshing as every single track you hear and every single overdub on it is always pleasing to the ear. Intelligently written and marvelously mixed. If you�re looking for a change from all the multi-layered tracks and heaviness out there (not that that stuff isn�t good too), this is my pick for 2010.
By Peter Lancellotti
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