Dark Of Days

#		Title	Length
1		Still Asleep	4:49	Play
2		The Waiting Noon	4:19	Play
3		Blue Kitchen	4:26	Play
4		The Hat	5:20	Play
5		Dark Of Days	5:24	Play
6		Clich	5:28	Play
7		Supergirl's Complaint	5:07	Play
8		In Between Songs	5:18	Play
9		Master Manipulator	4:04	Play
10		Minor Key	3:24	Play
11		So Much Time	4:30	Play
			52:09

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Description

Bourbon Princess is a band of four exceptional musicians making beautiful, dark-edged, highly original music featuring the lyrical songwriting of singer/bassist Monique Ortiz. With the co-release of Bourbon Princess' new Dark of Days by the Accurate and HI-N-DRY labels and the band's upcoming tours, bigger audiences are bound to fall under the spell of her group's mesmerizing sound.

The unique sound of Bourbon Princess is like New Wave with a sophisticated and heady, soulful bite. She crafts the approach from the warm, flexible tones of her contralto voice and the deep sonorities of her versatile bass playing, with the help of her talented co-conspirators: original Morphine drummer Jerome Deupree, Either/Orchestra saxophonist/leader Russ Gershon and guitarist/pianist Jim Moran.

Bourbon Princess began as a bass and drums duo in 1997, but over the course of three full-length studio recordings, 2000's debut Stopline, 2003's Black Feather Wings, this year's release of dark Of days, and hundreds of live performances, the group's line-up and adventurous sound textures have grown into one of the most distinctive styles in modern rock while drawing comparisons to such giants as Roxy Music, Patti Smith, Jim Morrison and Nina Simone.

Dark of Days is a creative breakthrough for Bourbon Princess. "The album is more pop yet heavier than anything we've done," says Monique. "That might seem contradictory, but I think we've pulled it off."

"It's the first body of songs I've written that are really influenced by the times," she continues. "The first two albums were self-absorbed. This one is less so. "Dark of Days'' is really about the times we're all living through now. 'Cliche' is social commentary, written from the point of view of a single woman struggling to make a living, not ready to give up and yet not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel for all of her efforts."

Dark of Days is also the first full-length collaboration between Monique and Paul Q. Kolderie (producer/engineer for Radiohead, Hole, Morphine, and many others), who manned the console. "It was a great partnership," she says. "He could hear what we were trying to do with our sound and made it more expansive and clear. Since Paul is a bass player, too, it was easier for me to convey the sound I wanted to capture, which is very bass driven, without compromising the other instruments."

Although Bourbon Princess is based in Boston, Monique hails originally from the Pennsylvania of open farmlands and Amish horse-and-buggy traffic. She moved to Massachusetts seeking an environment more receptive to her creativity. Within months she was performing her songs in clubs and coffeehouses, at art school parties and poetry slams, accompanying herself on fretless bass. Audiences immediately responded to her dry wit and riveting presence. Monique frequently performs solo and many fans insist that these solo performances pack as much punch as full-band performances....a trademark of an outstanding performer and songwriter.

Early on Monique began perfecting a percussive and sliding instrumental style flavored by Arabic grooves, the perfect support for her cinematic lyrics which, while at times unsettling, are always strangely beautiful and affecting.

Besides the two previous Bourbon Princess albums, Monique's songs have appeared on the Respond II compilation alongside tunes by Ani DiFranco, Aimee Mann and Dolly Parton, and on MTV's Real World. She has also been nominated for a prestigious Boston Music Award and in the Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll in the best female vocalist category. This fall also brings the unveiling of Bourbon Princess' first video "The Waiting Noon", directed by Mary Haverstick.

Reviews:

GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE, MAY 2005
By Andy Ellis


Casting a sonic spell that's spooky, hypnotic, and often nightmarish, Bourbon Princess mixes droning bass, world-weary tenor saxophone, jazzy percussion, and washes of textural guitar into a startlingly original ensemble sound. Fronted by bassist and vocalist Monique Ortiz, and powered by Morphine's original drummer, Jerome Deupree-whose tom-rich rhythms evoke vintage Velvet Underground-the band specializes in mysterious, rumbling grooves. Saxist Russ Gershon wraps his lines around Ortiz's husky alto voice like an anguished lover, while guitarist Jim Moran artfully fills the cracks with subtle, liquid colors. Ortiz writes about the intoxicated, seamy side of life in such frank, unflinching detail that some listeners may miss the telepathic musical interplay that underpins her lyrics. Engineer Paul Q. Kolderie (Morphine, Hole, Radiohead, Warren Zevon) keeps the swirling sounds sharply focused. Fans of Tom Waits, Portishead, and Nick Cave will feel right at home.

MIX MAGAZINE, March 1, 2005
BOURBON PRINCESS
Dark of Days
(Accurate/Hi-N-Dry)
The unfortunate band name, Bourbon Princess, brings to mind some boozy rock 'n' roll chick, but actually, the music of this Boston-based band comes from a very different space.

Deep-voiced lead singer/songwriter/bassist Monique Ortiz has written a set of dark, moody tunes that are somewhat reminiscent in spirit to The Doors, Patti Smith and Nico-era Velvet Underground, as well as the Boston band Morphine, whose drummer, Jerome Deupree, plays skins in Bourbon Princess. Sax player Russ Gershon also brings some of that Morphine vibe, while guitarist Jim Moran lays down haunting lines that snake around the extremely prominent bass parts supplied by Ortiz. At times jazzy, other times more rockin' and hypnotic, Bourbon Princess has made an album that is both unique and uncompromising.

Producer: Bourbon Princess. Engineer: Paul Q. Kolderie
- Blair Jackson


DAILY TARHEEL, March 24, 2005
Though the name of the modern rock band Bourbon Princess has nothing to do with Louisiana and more to do with the French Princess of Bourbon - as soon as the bass of the first song begins on Dark of Days, it is as though you have stumbled upon a pre- or post-Mardi Gras jam session held somewhere close to the famous New Orleans party street.

Bourbon Princess has returned with its third album and has applied its trademark bluesy sound and funky trumpet vibrations to tracks with weighty drumbeats and has managed to create a very strong album.

True to the album's title, the band provides nail-bitingly haunting arrangements, with tracks worthy of inclusion on any horror movie soundtrack. But Bourbon Princess displays its talent and versatility with a variety of songs each standing strong on its own originality and energy.


Monique Ortiz, the lead singer, songwriter and bassist, is responsible for the album's story-like lyrics, and engineer Paul Kolderie - who has worked with rock bands Hole and Radiohead, is credited with the album's unique sound.

The album begins with "Still Asleep" and "The Waiting Noon," on which saxophonist Russ Gershon displays his talent with a provocative rhythm, lusty enough to influence anyone imagine moving as though they are the wavy stream of air coming from the hollow opening of his instrument.

The instrumentation of this album can not be ignored - the music alone would have been enough to offer an enjoyable release.

But Ortiz's lyrics are almost as engaging as their musical arrangements. In "Still Asleep," Ortiz croons in a dreamlike state "Better come back my friend./ Gonna lock you in my legs again,/ pin you to my bed and pull a pillowcase/ over your handsome head." Her vocals, suggestive of Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone influences, are as penetrating as her bass.

Ortiz offers a little sunshine on a gloomy day in "In Between Songs," an upbeat song about catching the eye of an admirer who makes her a little more excited than she expected to become.

As the album moves along, the songs begin to slow down, but Bourbon Princess doesn't lose its enthusiasm.

Ortiz could have easily to put listeners to sleep with her abysmal voice in ballads such as "Clich" and "Master Manipulator," but her sound intensifies and the lyrics become sharper, deterring any urge to skip to the next track.

Bourbon Princess has received critical acclaim for its murky sound, and the band does a good job of preventing the album from becoming dismal and boring.

The creativity and originality of Bourbon Princess is undeniable, and Dark of Days proves that the band definitely has a sound you definitely won't find anywhere else.

Dark of Days is an album with songs that have a variety of arrangements and lyrics capable of holding your attention till the very end.

European Press:

Benzoworld (Italy)
Luci soffuse. Una comoda poltrona di velluto viola. Anelli di fumo e odori speziati. Questa e l'ambientazione che la musica dei Bourbon Princess rievoca. E forse l'ideale per poterla ascoltare. Un libro. Kerouac o Borrough si abbinano benissimo come lettura. Se non avete tutto questo, mettevi sdraiati sul vostro letto, occhi chiusi e sara la voce profonda e sensuale di Monique Ortiz a sfiorarvi come un vello viola, che crea melodie dall'anima blues e jazz (come il brano d'apertura "Stretcher"),insieme al sinuoso lavoro dei sassofoni (come avviene ad esempio nel secondo brano, "Another Day": blues fino alle radici!), con momenti piu aggressivi e ritmati,frutto dell'elegante lavoro delle percussioni e delle chitarre, come in "The Dream", o in "Black Fearther Wings", che da il nome anche all'intero album. Queste due canzoni rappresentano il momento topico dell'album, in cui ogni elemento del gruppo trova la sua migliore espressione. La spina dorsale di molti brani, infatti, sembra essere la voce della Ortiz, mentre, conseguentemente gli altri elementi sembrano quasi un contorno. Questi due brani, insieme al primo, ben manifestano l'unitarieta di questo gruppo che fa una giusta miscela tra il blues piu classico, il jazz (rappresentati anche da strumenti come il sassofono e il clarinetto), il rock, riprendendo cosi degli stili un po retro e riproponendoli attualizzati. Assolo finale di pianoforte: elogio del blues...