Animal Slaves
Country of origin:
Canada
Type of music generally:
Crunchy punky prog / alternative pop
Status:
Band has broken up. Its lead singer and driving force, Elizabeth Fischer, is still active in the Vancouver music and art scenes. Her new band, DarkBlueWorld, released their first CD in 2006.
See also:
Elizabeth Fischer's recordings archive—ef's ongoing project to catalogue all her recordings over the years, including Animal Slaves recordings, for free download.AllMusic's info on Animal Slaves
Elizabeth Fischer's personal / art site.
The Guide entry for DarkBlueWorld
Comparisons:
Sort of a Diamanda Galas-voiced singer doing prog-ish pop material. (Neile)
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Dark, jangly, crunchy music, with Elizabeth Fischer singing her dark, edgy, often haunting lyrics in her raspy voice that keeps getting compared to Diamanda Galas. (damon)
Recommended first album:
A Fine End
Recordings include:
- Animal Slaves (EP, 1984)
- Dog-Eat-Dog (LP, 1985)
- Secret Sharer (cassette)
- A Fine End (1991)
A Fine End
Release info:
1991—Spiral Records Inc., Box 398, 1027 Davie Street, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Availability:
Hard to find, even in Vancouver—but turns up in secondhand stores. Some (eventually all?) the tracks are available on Elizabeth Fischer's recordings archive.
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Elizabeth Fischer—voice, keyboards, words and pictures
Ryan Moore—bass guitars
Pat Sproule—guitar
Paul Brennan—drums
Steven Nikleva—guitar
Guest artists:
Elliott Sharp—guitar
Greg Reely—percussion
Produced by:
Greg Reely
Comments:
This has been a favourite ever since a friend introduced me to it back in 1993 or so. I guess i think of it as dark-indie-punk-prog-pop-rock-crunch which isn't necessarily my usual cup of tea, but the sound on this disc just works for me. I especially love Elizabeth Fischer's unusual, raspy vocals, and the dark, crunchy feel of the music. Her vocals can be hard to understand at first—compounded by rather murky production on this disc—so it takes some real listening to figure out the lyrics. But doing so is rewarding; i find the imagery of the songs and the stories they tell intriguing and often haunting. (damon)
Thanks to (damon) for work on this entry.
