The Birthday Massacre- Violet

The Birthday Massacre exemplify everything good about the phrase “perky goth” with an enchanting blend of cutesy and creepy – their logo is a purple bunny rabbit, for god’s sake – that seems almost expressly designed to sell T-shirts to the Tim Burton crowd. Fortunately, the band’s songwriting is as solid as their marketing instincts. This album, actually an expanded version of an EP the band released last year, leaps effortlessly back and forth between industrial and new wave, bittersweet pop and distorted horror rock, thanks in no small part to versatile front woman Chibi. “Blue,” for example, starts out with airy, almost bubblegum synthpop, then at the chorus launches into a burst of sludgy guitars and horror film growls that would give Marilyn Manson a run for his money. “Lovers End” is a rock ‘n’ roll murder ballad with wavering keyboards adding Halloween flavor to guitarist Rainbow’s blustery power chords, while “Video Kid” is more upbeat and poppy, with ‘80s arcade game effects and bouncing keyboards. “Nevermind” is pure pop punk, but in an irrepressibly fun way; it’s what Blink 182 might sound like if they were a goth band (and didn’t suck). For a band so adept at crafting catchy hooks, the Birthday Massacre are also remarkably good lyricists. Title track “Violet” is a brightly shining example of intelligent lines that are fun to sing along to, and “Play Dead” cleverly takes on the goth scene without devolving into third-rate parody. This album is already sold in Hot Topic, and it’ll only be a matter of days (perhaps even minutes), before you see the Birthday Massacre on MTV2. What’s surprising is that each and every one of these songs is both intelligent and accessible. If you’re the kind of person who gives up on a band when they start getting popular, however, you’d best pick this one up in a hurry, because you’re not going to have very long to enjoy it.

Join the party at www.thebirthdaymassacre.com.