Rose Kemp - Unholy Majesty

Rose Kemp achieves that tricky business of playing gothic rock in a way that isn't entirely unfashionable. Her booming, near operatic voice combines on new release Unholy Majesty with piercing guitars and marching drums- all taken up a notch when the church organ chimes in, adding to the gloomy formality of it all. Yet there are just enough muddy chords and Melvins-inspired lead riffs and rhythm changes to keep it on the more innovative side of darkwave. She will perhaps remind you of PJ Harvey at her most theatrical instances and this is an album of dramatic shades: Milky White delves deep enough to genuinely scare. However, Kemp at times seems unable to control an urge to take those songs of epic peaks to overblown proportions - eg. the atonal piano progression that opens Flawless takes a swan dive thanks to a sappy coda - but thankfully that's one of only a few rare moments comparable to the genre's more commercial exports with a name that rhymes with 'I've nae sense'. [Emma Smith]