Made up of classically trained musicians Ben Richards and Georgia Train, Bitter Ruin are purveyors of dramatic folk noir. The duo’s music has been described as weird, unique, brilliant and disturbing, and the group have had a huge amount of praise for their up-coming single “Trust” from the likes of Stephen Fry and Tim Minchin to name but a small, small few. Bitter Ruin have released a number of albums since their creative conception in 2007, and have accumulated a significant number of fans. Curiously though, they have yet to find a record deal.
The Brighton-based duo met at music school and are both highly classically trained musicians. Unsurprising then, the likes of Mozart and Beethoven crop up in their list of influences, alongside Regina Spector, Jeff Buckley and Kate Bush. The most significant, audible influence in Bitter Ruin’s sound, however, is The Dresden Dolls, and the general cabaret noir scene. In fact, the group have even toured with Amanda Palmer (the marvellous lead vocalist of The Dresden Dolls).
The result of their collective influences is a dark, cold, sparse, kooky and macabre sound with lashings of blues, jazz, mariachi, folk and classical. The focus is on the vocals (with especially good pipes from Train), with only acoustic guitar and piano as occasional backing. This is accoustica with energy and anger – truly frenzied yet aloof, and understatedly dramatic.
See this at HCE at: http://www.herecomeseveryone.org/_blog/journal.php?id=307
