I have been beyond in love with Jucifer (or maybe it's just frontwoman Amber Valentine ;D) ever since I saw them playing in Temples Fest last year. They have always been one of those bands that I wanted to check out but I never got around to doing so. I was expecting some half-arsed female-fronted stoner rock bullshit that's all the rage these days, but Jucifer tore me a new arsehole and blew away most of the bands that played that day, including the revered headliner Electric Wizard. They made an incredible amount of noise for a band consisting of two people.
I believe that L'autrichienne (a concept album about Marie Antionette) showcases every facet of Jucifer in every possible way. As far as 'rock' goes, Jucifer are entirely genreless. The album opens with a sunkissed rock and roll number ("Blackpowder") before blasting through messy, muddy grindcore and then into the almost acoustic siren song of "To Earth", all within three songs! I get a Children Of God-era Swans vibe from the way the music is so juxtaposed from savage brutality to ethereal fragility. It happens again shortly after when the grinding mass of "Fall Of The Bastille" cuts straight into "To The End". It's like Anal Cunt doing a split with Imogen Heap, and it's fucking brilliant.
"Armarda" brings sludgy death-doom onto the menu before the absolutely insanely gorgeous title track steals your heart for 5 minutes. Other highlights include "Birds Of A Feather", the 9 minute doom epic "The Mountain" and the creepy-ass outro track "The Assembly". Seriously give this a listen if you've never heard of this band before.
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