Hecate's Angels make their Birdcage debut with Hidden Persuader, a remarkable collection of recordings from the band's extensive sonic archives. Under the guidance of lead vocalist, Pietra Wexstun (Drywall, The Stan Ridgway Quintet and the Moon People), the album is a compelling, mysterious musical odyssey through uncharted psychic terrain.
A bold mix of ambient pieces and pop music kissed by chaos, Hidden Persuader takes the listener on a journey through that dream world presided over by the Greek goddess Hecate (heh`-kah-tee ), a land where familiar sounds mingle and shift against steady, pulsing breaths and beats. Starting with Oracle, their opening track, the band invites you to turn on, tune in and follow the siren's wail...
Down the rabbit hole to Eve's Angle, a spooky, jazz-tinged answer to Freud's infamous question, then on to Hidden Persuader where a series of seductive voices plant subliminal messages against a backdrop of crackling percussion and hypnotic melodies. Purdah Party, written for a traveling art installation known as Nice Ladies in Cages, posits the theory that what the Sultan doesn't know, won't hurt him. It acts as a prelude to Hall of Mirrors, a swirling ode to narcissism replete with tambourines, tablas and crowing cocks.
Next comes the evocative Seduction of the Minotaur, an organ and harmonica duet accompanied by ghostly sounds from the labyrinth. Fence is a meditation on indecision, accented by pizzicato strings and hints of balalaika. Comatose Dose's hypnotic kalimba line and eerie angelic choir give sonic expression to the phrase "between the worlds." Rosemary's Baby, also from Nice Ladies, explores the joys of motherhood ala Roman Polanski.
Pleasure and Pain is a Salvation Army hymn written for Johnny Cash and June Carter. It examines the wisdom of "walking the line," against a backdrop of marching band brass and autoharp, with Oakridge Boys harmonies thrown in for good measure. The journey ends with Somnium Waltz, which can only be described as "Wagner and Liszt dine with the Brothers Grimm," a drunken dance into fairyland, with longing romantic overtones.
