Queen Victoria
There Will Come Soft Rains [CS; Stunned]

Ed. Note: This is a reprint of the original review from Cerberus Issue #14. This is in conjunction with TMT’s Favorite Labels of the Decade, in which Stunned was highlighted.

The fallout depicted on the cover art for Queen Victoria’s There Will Come Soft Rains does much to prepare listeners to the hodgepodge to be found beneath the wreckage. The A-side’s duality only fortifies the visual. Beginning with the somber drone of “Séance,” the tape slowly morphs into the nighttime desertscape with the lonesome folk dirge, “When You Return.” The tune recalls the darkest days of Nick Cave and Grant Lee Buffalo. Side closer “Monolith” combines the cassette’s first two ideas into a dense layer of moans and drones, not far off from the earliest wails of Pocahaunted. By delving headfirst into traditional folk premises while never shying away from more modern affects of storytelling, Queen Victoria display fearlessness. There Will Come Soft Rains serves as a chilling reminder that lasting impressions and clever innovation can still be mined from the scraps of folk.

Cerberus

Cerberus seeks to document the spate of home recorders and backyard labels pressing limited-run LPs, 7-inches, cassettes, and objet d’art with unique packaging and unknown sound. We love everything about the overlooked or unappreciated. If you feel you fit such a category, email us here.

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