Tiger Lillies, the – “Circus Songs ” – [Misery Guts Music]

Studebaker Hawk   1/16/2005   A Library, CD

Imagine if Tom Waits and Dame Edna somehow had a love child and he grew up to be a Contra Tenor (male soprano) singer and accordion player – well, this is what it might sound like…
Euro/Brit singer-songwriter Martyn Jaeques and two Adrians form the Tiger Lillies and they have been turning out a huge library of CDs in the last few years that have been almost totally ignored in the USA. This particular release takes us to a Circus that is more twisted and ugly than most Big Tops and Freak Shows, but there is somehow a sad respect for the mutants that run the show. There are a few obvious choices for over-the-top cover songs: Send In The Clowns, in particular but mostly these are originals. Track 3 has the only bad language, but this is very strong stuff in general – a very dark, dramatic and strange recording. *review by Studebaker Hawk