If steampunk is about creating a fictional alternate reality Bad September go the extra mile. All of the songs on their self-titled debut are written from the setting of their post-luddite/communist revolution *and* the CD inserts include examples of underground currency and a page from a period newspaper. It's a nicely tied together package.
Musically Bad September cover a lot of ground on this EP's 5 songs. "Robert's Rules of Order" kicks the set off with a rousing tale of how the revolution went down and does so with a rough & tumble attitude that would make The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed for That Nothing proud. The second track, "Victoria in Absentia", is a melancholy number about the deposed monarch now living in exile and seems an echo of medieval folk madrigals. "Minister Rand Tells Us That Art Is In Service To The State" is a blues/lounge piece that injects a bit of sexy sass in the middle of the album."Takin' Notes" seems more informed by 60's bubble-gum rock than anything else, but it makes me smile and bop my head side-to-side so I have to give it my support. The collection closes with "Empire of Steam". This song seems like an anthem based on sea chanties or working songs that would be sung at the end of a musichall performance to stir the heart of (fictional) patriots.
I do have to say that there is something a bit rough on these recordings that makes me feel, at times, that I'm listening to a demo of a final product.
Over all I really like "Bad September", it's a fun and lovely bit of well thought out conceptory and I think anyone interested in the whole steampunk culture should give it a listen.
