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Rayo Casablanca
Splendid E-zine
"In 1970, the French film "Mais ne Nous Delivrez Pas du Mal"
scandalized Europe with its tale of wayward school girls who tore a
path of destruction across France long before Thelma and Louise did
their thing across the desert Southwest. "Do You Find Me Wicked?"
resonates with the same feminist aggression-an aggression that is both
coyly seductive and wicked. And it's all from the mind of a man.
St. Mary's is Chad Merritt, who not only sings-in a suitably
androgynous voice-but plays every instrument, including bass,
glockenspiel, and bowed mandolin, on this impressive album. "Do You Find
Me Wicked?" is packed with murder ballads and tales of the forlorn,
loveless and wicked, all dripping with morbid humor. The characters in
these seven songs either die or may be responsible for murder. Much like
Alfred [Edward] Gorey's work, St. Mary's creepy tunes unfold like snippets
of 20th century gothic fiction.
The album opens with the somber "Sarah Said", a ballad wrapped in the
thud of a simple piano refrain. "Because of You" is a haunting snippet
of a ghost story, told with bells, a heartbeat, and elegant guitar-work.
It is simple and moving and may best reflect Merritt's artistic
aspirations. The mood picks up with the clamor of "I Light A Candle", a
song whose Pixies-like bravado is leavened by the chilling sounds of a
singing saw. "Clementine" is a traditional murder ballad, similarly
enhanced by Merritt's otherworldly saw-work......"
Steven McCarron
Incendiary Magazine
"...The guitar rings out delicately, and the vocals echo in the distance,
defying gender but gripping emotion. There is a prettiness to the music,
yet the feeling remains slightly ethereal throughout. This is
severely boosted whenever the musical saw is unleashed. It's such a spooky
instrument, but it's used wonderfully throughout the album alongside some
glockenspiel and bowed mandolin.
This all means that "Do You Find Me Wicked?" is by no means a typical
guitar record, and even though the influences of bands such as Tarnation
and Edith Frost (the album contains a cover of her 'My God Insane') can
be heard, there is a definite uniqueness, and the album improves upon each
listen. Additionally, the packaging is handmade and exceptional to look
at and touch. Irrelevant to the music as it may be, it's too good to go
unmentioned..."
Jim Santo
Demouniverse
"...A slow drip of musical morphine, "Do You Find Me Wicked?" unfolds
like a David Lynch dream. Twangy guitar, theremin [actually, musical saw],
and minimalist drums form a languid and stark backdrop for Merritt's
creepy, neo-Gothic lyrics: "She laid out/a deadly plan/I'll never rest/
till his bones are sand/And her eyes/shine/My Clementine." Chad's
androgynous vocals, as always drenched in reverb, seep out of the mix
like a cold, phosphorescnet vapor..."