A Curio to Make You Say "Hmm"

Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities (Shaman)

Nicki Jaine

By David Lilly

Let's get to the point and meet on the bottom line, eh? There are certain audiences most likely to embrace (or even listen to) Nicki Jaine's music. If you belong to the avant-garde music crowd, some of your favorites in your CD collection are the Tom Waits' The Black Rider and Alice soundtracks, both Faun Fables CDs and/or you are gothic-prone, then you will definitely want to get a copy of this, Jaine's debut full-length disc.

For the rest of you, Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities is perhaps an acquired taste. But hey, there's nothing wrong with patience in acquiring a taste for music that's dark and way outside the mainstream; sometimes it just needs to be given a chance. So why might you give this CD a chance? Probably because you harbor a secret desire for dark cabaret music of another time, featuring a woman singing in her lower register. Even if it isn't your first choice for stranded-on-a-deserted-island music, it might take a couple of spins, but you could enjoy Jaine.

Dig into Jaine's lyrics for yourself, but music lovers, these songs feel as if they belong on stage in a play, even a ballet. (The following is not a non sequitur) I even envisioned "Pretty Faces" used to score a gothic version of a Tom and Jerry cartoon. And for the record, so to speak, "Antarctica" rocks; a Rob Zombie cover would be very interesting to hear.

Curious enough to look further? Go to the source via www.nickijaine.com and nickijaine@nickijaine.com