THE FIRE SERMON

This intriguing band sounds to me a lot like a mixture of the approach of All About Eve with various prog giants such as Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Marillion. This fusion was not quite unique to The Violet Hour - at around this time, All About Eve were slipping some awfully Marillionesque motifs here and there into their sound - but The Violet Hour lean heavier on the prog side than their goth-folk side, though that's present enough to give them a unique sound.

Lead singer Doris Brendel's vocals sound a lot like All About Eve's Julianne Regan, with a bit of Kate Bush popping in here and there, whilst lyrically the approach ranges from fashionable indie slice-of-life stuff to more esoteric fare. In particular, when things creep into realms of fantastical allegory, the lyrics suggest Peter Gabriel's Genesis-era approach. With a musical backing that combines the best of the prog and goth-folk scenes, the album becomes a unique treasure which is well worth hunting for.