Search - Gothic Archies, Stephin Merritt :: New Despair

It's useless to not buy this album.

Justin E. Jacobson | Fort Walton Beach, FL United States | 02/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Tracks such as "The Tiny Goat" and "City of the damned" are monstrously fun for sing-alongs at work while "Ever falls the twilight" and "it's useless to struggle" offer a wink and a nod to Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and how can one not go wrong with an album where the last intelligible lyric is "The world's a leech crawling down one's throat. / One would rather be a tick than be a tiny goat"?"

Worthwhile - But not for Beginners

Martin J Flanagan | Wantagh, NY USA | 08/16/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Stephin Merritt has yet to make an album or EP not woth owning, and this one's no exception, but bew warned that this is a dark record (even by Magnetic Fields standards). This was Merritt's intention; the Gothic Archies side-project was created specifically for the release of his most depressing songs. Mission accomplished: The tracks here are hilariously bleak, and the lyrics intentionally over-the-top (from "The Tiny Goat": "The tiny goat was really very ugly/ And like all ugly things it fell in love/ When 20 years of waiting came to nothing/ It swallowed lye and laid down on the stove").There are a few catchy tracks ("Abandoned Castle of My Soul" and the minute-and-a-half "City of the Damned"), but nothing that would qualify as classic or essential.Once again, it's worth owning, but if you're still in the process of building your Stephin Merritt collection, you should make this one of your last purchases."

This guy needs a hug

Jon Won | Mexico, Africa | 06/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, what an amazing album. The lyrics are completely depressing in a really cool way. I was amused by this bands name while pirating music so a gave "The Tiny Goat" a gander and wow....I was completely blown away. This Steven guy is completely cool. His music is dark and strange and kind of has a fantasy vibe to it. No one but this guy has the jewels anymore to bust out fantasy music. Every song on this album is good. The cheese factor is kinda high, but maybe that's why I like this so much."