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| Punishing Kiss,
Ute Lemper |
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| Music,
Richard Young,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F4
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After hearing Ute Lemper’s Punishing Kiss, I was fairly surprised to see it in the Easy Listening section of HMV. Yet there she sits, alongside Englebert Humperdink and Andy Williams, like some sultry brooding misfit. Cabaret diva Lemper takes a stab at the collaborative project game with the help of writers like Nick Cave, Philip Glass, Elvis Costello and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon (who, unfortunately also contributes vocally on a couple of tracks).
In an attempt to appeal to a funkier audience, there are plenty of photos of the statuesque German songstress dressed in tight black rubber, with slicked back hair (ve haf vays of making you listen!). The album starts well, with the beautiful, Bjorkesque "Little Water Song", and then onto the cinematic drama of "The Case Continues". A slight lull in the middle, but fear not, the astrodroids are sent in and the power is back with a vengeance with "You were meant for me" and the 10-minute, world burning "Scope J". Ute sings like she means every word, her larynx shimmering with all the power and grace of a V8 fuel injection, often attaining the kind of heights heard by the likes of Shirley Bassey or Diamanda Galas.
Some tracks, notably "Couldn’t you keep that to yourself" and "Purple Avenue" are a little ambling and lack presence, while Neil Hannon and his musical buddies do their best to push the overall sound into Divine Comedy territory. Despite this, Punishing Kiss is an unusual but seductive album, and for those suffering post break-up trauma, it’s perfect.
Decca
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