Scooter Chronicles

Poe - “Haunted”

Tracks:

1. Exploration B
2. Haunted
3. Control
4. Terrible Thought
5. Walk the Walk
6. Terrified Heart
7. Wild
8. 5 & 1/2 Minute Hallway
9. Not a Virgin
10. Hey Pretty
11. Dear Johnny
12. Could’ve Gone Mad
13. Lemon Meringue
14. Spanish Doll
15. House of Leaves
16. Amazed
17. If You Were Here

Isn’t it amazing how some albums (or songs) make such a vast impression on you the very first time you hear it? Thanks to LaLa.Com, I have experienced that feeling with this album. I just got it two weeks ago and it is already a favorite of mine.

Poe is the childhood nickname (and now musical artist name) of Ann D. Danielewski. She is the daughter of Polish documentary filmmaker, director, and acting teacher Tad Danielewski, and sister of Mark Z. Danielewski, author of the critically acclaimed novel “House of Leaves” (which I read and REVIEWED in part). Her style has been described as an unusual blend of folk, pop-rock, and electronica. That about hits it on the head for me.

“Haunted” is a very appropriate name for this album. It has a very haunted feel to it, but we are not talking about very dark emotional art rock. It is still very much in the realms of pop-rock. It has some vicious pop hooks that have gotten me singing/humming/whistling melodies since my first listen. The story can be dark at times. Added to this atmosphere is a quote from Poe in the liner notes:

A few years after my father died, my brother and I came across a box of cassette-recordings of my father’s voice. One was a letter to my brother that he had spoken into a tape recorder long ago; another was a recording of a speech he had given during his years as a teacher; and a few more contained random recordings of forgotten family noise. Hearing his voice again shook me to my foundation. At first I couldn’t bear to listen to him, then I couldn’t stop. Finally I began sampling him. It was an eerie process. Had I resurrected a ghost? In some ways I did. Ultimately I entered into a dialogue with that ghost. Pieces of that dialogue compose the story contained on this album.

I am not sure what that story all entails. But two themes reoccur; her father’s death and the absence of her mother after her parents’ divorce. In an interview I read, she said that she was afraid of her father at times, mostly afraid to disappoint him. And after the divorce, which happened when she was 15 years old, her mother pretty much went AWOL. The artwork for the album too lends to themes of her dealing with feelings from her youth. Throughout the booklet, on the cover, and the back, Poe is seen mostly with a young girl. The cover you saw at the beginning of this post, there are two sets of hands on her face; one is her and the second is the young girls. Another pose is used on the back, but it is reversed; the young girl’s face with her own hands and Poe’s hands.

The mix of electronic sounds, rock grooves, and hook-laden pop melodies, along with some cool production tricks really got me. Plus the voices of Poe as a child, and her father, and just other little bits that she recorded between songs, truly give this album an eerie feeling. It is quite a treat for me since I like the strange and weird, and yet it still has pop sensibilities.

Added to this are ties to her brother’s novel. “House of Leaves” is classified as both a horror novel and dark modern fantasy. (I would lean towards the latter of the two.) The song itself seems to pull on those threads of dark fantasy and terror. “5 & 1/2 Minute Hallway” and “Dear Johnny” are both associated with the book, too. Though “Hallway” is more melody driven.

Another thing that has caught my ear is her voice. It takes a few listens to really realize what she does with it. At times she sings with angst like a grunge rocker. Other times it is soft and very smooth. Plus at times she uses effects that give it more of an eerie sound to go along with the themes of the album.

She even does a rap, or rhythmic type singing. One is very Spice Girls like ala “Tell me whachya want / Whachya really really want” in the bridge of “Walk the Walk”. It’s not bad, and lends to the array of sounds and styles. Though it was Marcia that pointed it out to me.

For the concept junkie in me, and my love of the strange and weird in music, this album has been an absolute treat to get into. (Boy, I realized that I had a lot to say about an album that I have not quite heard a dozen times yet.)