"Shipwrecked" is the full length debut by Morella & the Wheels of If and I have to say it's a bit of a winner.
The band manages to mix their influences and talents and come up with a gothic take on 19th century music-hall music that would be a welcome part of any repertoire for a haunted circus or macabre cabaret.
Edward Payne's suitcase drum kit is so restrained it often seems to *hint* at percussion, it keeps the music moving but leaves plenty of room for the rest of the music.
The focus is really on the piano playing of Aeryk Laws. His keyboard work is up front in each piece on "Shipwwrecked", the keys even sound a bit more sharply produced than the other elements found here.
The twin vocals of Anastacia Ternasky and Laura Laws are so entwined that it is frequently hard to tell how many women are singing. The end result is lovely, and yes, haunting.
The only issue I have with this set of songs is that the vocals seemly slightly too buried for my tastes. I want to reach over and turn up the vocals on each song... just a hair.
That being said this is a swell debut and I particularly love the tracks "Ghost Waltz", "Bird in a Guilded Cage" and I'm a sucker for the harpsichord on "Carnival Ride".
