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Like an uncomfortably morbid Renaissance Faire, the debut album from Orion Rigel Dommisse is a bit of ancient escapism mixed in with near-constant themes of death and disintegration. Altogether, it amounts to a captivating but unsettling tour of a freak-folk take on mortality.
To prove this isn’t an exaggeration, see a few of the song titles: “Fake Yer Death,” “A Faceless Death,” “Suicide Kiss (Because Dead),” and, ending the album on an unsurprising note, “Drink Yourself (To Death).” The parentheses are hardly necessary at this point, as one has to be completely obtuse not to get Orion’s gist.
Produced by Espers’ Greg Weeks, What I Want from You is Sweet is another sturdy entry into the New Weird America canon that already boasts strong but often acquired tastes in Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Jana Hunter, etc. Unlike Newsom or Banhart, Orion Rigel Dommisse doesn’t have much of a quivering or witch-like timbre, but instead sings her higher registers with a soft but persuasive tone that doesn’t overwhelm the lithe accompaniments that dominate this debut.
With such heavy subject matter, it’s an enjoyable surprise that Orion balances sentiments like “When you die I’ll rearrange your bones” with the full-on lusciousness of a string section, harp from Jesse Sparhawk, sparkling synths, piano, and just a smattering of guitar here and there. Also nearly absent is any sort of percussion, which is an interesting change of pace, but causes a creeping sort of sameness to take its toll after a few tracks. Still, bouncy synthesizer lines and electric cello crisscross nicely on each track, especially on standout the standout opener “Fake Yer Death.”
What I Want from You is Sweet is the sort of album you’d expect to hear from someone associated with Joanna Newsom and her pals, but who also lists “The Legend of Zelda” on her MySpace as one of her influences. The maudlin subject matter does get to be a bummer, but with such invigorating instrumentation and the occasional odd time signature, What I Want from You is Sweet is too pretty and curious to become overly serious, a strength or weakness depending on how you like it.
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