From Greece comes Katerina Panopoulou with her album “Evil Eye Charm”, a dark collection of songs for which a lost or a love out of reach, perhaps even forbidden, is the predominant theme. The album has had a struggle to see the light of day with the final production, and release being funded by fans. But thankfully it’s here!
Opening with “Losing”, distorted guitar and solid carefully placed drum beats you are sucked into a world created by Katerina Panopoulou. With the lyrics almost spoken, stated, to the listener. As the track progresses their is a change in the delivery as if you are listening to her voice through a radio, she tells you she is losing in love again.
Things change for the second track “Leave Without Me” as I was reminded of “Four Non Blondes” (a great album that I still put on every now and then), not just for the vocals, but also the late 80’s indie rock feel that it possesses. It has some great hooks and sound that want you to listen to them. Things start to change from the opening track, as I started to get a folk/rock’ish feel from the tracks, perhaps because it is not your typical rock fair. Having been described as a cross between PJ Harvey and Radiohead, might give you a better idea!
As the album progresses I am strongly reminded of The Straylings who I reviewed earlier this year. Their is a melancholic feel to the sound to the tracks, and almost a story telling feel to the vocals. Especially with the track “Hello” has her flirting with the listener, saying she only wants to be friends, “Hello, I like you and your friends”, but wanting more, but with no signs of commitment. This is followed by “Lyds” which seems to be an acoustic reprise of “Leave Without Me”, and slows everything down. Things pick back up for “Siren” with its slightly rockier feel. The rest of the album follows carefully treading with it’s mix of indie rock, and acoustic guitars, all overlayed with Katerina haunting vocals.
Having listened to the album a few times now, it is safe to say it is also a fairly dark body of work. Not just musically, but also lyrically. It is almost like a musical journey through wonderland, where you wait in anticipation at every turn wondering where you you will taken next.
The album is due out on 10th September, and is well worth looking out for, especially if you like The Straylings, or your music slightly laid back and dark!
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Words by Jon.
