Music Review: Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart' by Double Eyelid
Genre: Glam Goth
Age: Adult
Format: Music EP
This EP is unlike anything I’ve experienced before, combining traditional narration with an instrumental accompaniment as well as aria-like pieces of sung story. The Tell-Tale Heart is a Gothic classic and perhaps needs no introduction, but it is one of Poe’s most popular short stories, in which an unnamed narrator describes a gruesome murder he committed all while trying to convince the reader he’s perfectly sane despite the dismembered body hidden beneath his floorboards. As a Goth and music nerd who loves the melodrama of Romantic opera and grew up watching musicals, I adored this adaptation.
Given the nature of Poe’s work, the sinister accompaniment of Revell’s score lends something truly special to the overall experience of this work, steeping the listener in existential dread, highlighting the horror of the narrator’s actions. Revell did an excellent job of matching the prosody of the prose with the music, increasing the tempo at key moments in the narrative to amplify the tension. Revelle similarly makes exquisite use of silence as well, so as not to distract the listener from the most horrific moments in the story. Then, the composer provides an almost jaunty accompaniment to macabre moments in the narrative, providing a less than subtle subtext and insight into the narrator’s unraveling sanity at some of the most gruesome moments.
Ian Revell has the perfect, velvety voice for bringing Poe’s work to life, delivering lines with a deep, husky timbre reminiscent, at times, of Peter Steele. This grit is well balanced with a more strained and emotive vocal quality that immediately made me think of Sean Brennan from London After Midnight or even the Goth legend, Pete Murphy, himself.
Overall, this 20-minute EP is a Goth-opera adaptation of Poe’s story that will thrill some listeners, allowing them to experience the story in a new and evocative way. I imagine, however, that others might find the switch-up between audiobook-style narration, recitative, and fully sung parts a little distracting, if not altogether off-putting. If you aren’t a fan of either opera or musicals, then this adaptation might not be for you. That said, I found it a wholly unique and indulgent experience. I truly hope Ian Revell considers adapting more of Poe’s stories in this way because I loved it.
Review By Xan van Rooyen
