Louise Patricia Crane
„Netherworld“
Progressive Rock, Goth, Jazz. Limited Box Edition. Golden Vinyl 2024.

A follower on Bluesky introduced me to Louise Patricia Crane, who was previously unknown to me. The Northern Irish native began her career as a singer in gothic bands until she began to pursue her solo career in 2019. All of the designs are her own, as she is also a visual artist. She also quickly founded her own label, Peculiar Doll Records. Together with King Crimson guitarist and singer Jakko Jakszyk, she wrote and co-produced her second solo album "Netherworld", which was also released as a Storybook Edition luxury box set on August 23, 2024. And this is what is discussed here.

The sturdy black cardboard box printed with a gold emblem contains the double LP in gold, a 7′ single in black vinyl, a CD and DVD version, and a small storybook. A signed photo of the artist is also included. All of this was completely designed by Patricia Crane and is pretty to look at. Let's start with the single.

"Ladys of the Road" was written by Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and Peter John Sinfield (also King Crimson), here in the L. P. Crane version. Song 2 is "Dirty", originally by Johnny Winter. Two not bad cover songs. I'll keep this single in the box and probably won't play it again. The cover songs are good, I'm just too lazy to play singles.

The entire Netherworld album is available three times. As well as vinyl, it is also available as a CD and DVD in DTS 5.1. Of course, there is also a booklet included. In terms of design, P. Crane follows her own style. It is supposed to give the impression that it is bound in red leather. Without structure and gloss, the impression doesn't really come across. Apart from a video on the DVD, there are the same songs as on the vinyl version. No demos, no remixes or extra songs.

The story book is also supposed to suggest leather, which doesn't really work here either. Still, it's nicely done. The nutritional value is aimed at fans. I might leaf through these extras twice and prefer to concentrate on the music.

Netherworld is the second album by L. P. Crane. First of all, I'll talk about the voice, which is unusually good. Musically, everything has been done before, and that's why I'm always a little more cautious with comparisons. Tori Amos and Kate Bush are mentioned. There are undeniable similarities, but she is not Tori Amos or Kate Bush, even though I admire the latter very much. Louise Patricia Crane makes a kind of baroque pop, art rock, folk, progressive rock. And creates her own mixture of them. While the external design reminds me of the Renaissance, and this theme can still be found on albums A/B, albums C/D move away from it and go in a more jazzy direction. For me, the theme is not implemented consistently. And that doesn't have to be a bad thing. In any case, Crane draws us into her fairytale parallel world, which combines the past and the present, can be light and dark, has an infinitely large nature and oppressively small spaces for people. From epic to dreamy folk, from sleazy jazz to Celtic kitsch. This is just a hair's breadth from kitsch, but at no point do we get into kitschy Shire pop. This album, the theme and the music are just too idiosyncratic for that. Let's get to the individual LPs...

“Dancing with the Devil” musically transports us into an Irish-Celtic fairy-tale world. And it’s epic. The male-spoken part of the wolf, “Let me in child, don’t you know, its cold outside,” brings this kitschy element. But what happens from 02:27, the increased dynamics that sweep us away, is really great! And the two-minute intro fits in with that. For me, this song is the absolute highlight. At 07:29, it’s the longest song. The following “Tiny Bard” breaks through the darkness of the first song and is much happier, almost childlike. And here Crane’s ability, like Kate Bush, to express exactly that vocally is evident. It fits and is a nice contrast. At the end, a cat purrs. In “Celestial Dust,” we wander out into the ‘cosmos’ and let the beautiful melody accompany us. It sounds very smooth, and it is. But it’s also just beautifully done. So we leave side A behind us.
Side B starts with "Little Ghost in the Room" and I don't really like this song, nor the songs "Toil and Trouble" and "The Red Room". There is no real break here, but I think side A is brilliant and side B is so-so.

Side C begins folkily, but I don't like "Lady Peregrine's Concubine" and I hope for "Spirit of the Forrest" and I actually wake up from my trance. I'm completely back to it when "Béte Noire" starts! Varied, smoky, jazzy. And I don't like jazz! But interpreted this way, I do. And here the varied voice shows itself again. Highlight number 2! Precisely because it's not smooth. And yet it's a break from the fairytale beginning of side A. And that's a good thing.
Side D begins with "Long Kiss Godnight" and it feels like I'm in a New York bar. And it's wonderful how the lyrics and melody flatter each other. It has nothing to do with the Renaissance anymore. Highlight 3. "Thieves Fools and Crows" is a bit more folky and I listen relaxed, nice atmosphere. "Midnight View" reminds me of New York again, much more dynamic and varied. At the end there is a music box melody in "Japanese Doll". And that ends an interesting album.

Of course, the actual record sleeves are printed on both sides. One picture and lyrics each.

And now comes the inevitable conclusion. And that is in two parts. First, the box itself. Would I buy it again in this form? Absolutely not. The box is beautifully designed, everything is cleanly printed. The first point of criticism concerns the packaging of my box. The CD/DVD and the little storybook flew back and forth in the box and as the booklet was not specially packaged, it naturally got crumpled. The included single was warped. However, both items were replaced immediately. Reason two: I don't need the same album three times. The storybook and the single are irrelevant to me, the pure vinyl edition would have been enough for me. But I knew that beforehand and I could have left it alone. In future I will only buy pure vinyl box sets.
My musical conclusion is very positive, however. Musically, it's not really my thing. And yet Miss Crane manages to draw me in, thanks to her voice and the excellently recorded music. Even if I don't like side B, the songs are part of it and I always listen to them. I've named my three highlights. Would you recommend buying it? Definitely the album 'Netherworld'. The box? Everyone has to decide for themselves.

Louise Patricia Crane: Vocals, EBow, electric and accoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar.
Jakko Jakszyk: Electric Guitar, Synth Bass, Vocals, Vibraphone, Piano, Mellotron.
Ian Anderson: Flute
Tony Levin: Bass Guitar
Gary Husband: Drums
Shir-Ran Yinon: Violin
John Devine: Low Whistle

The photos are all from my LP. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.