"Verbal jousting accompanied by bursts of machinegun acoustic guitar"
- Tom Robinson, BBC6 music.
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"This darkly theatrical duo certainly relish a murderous ballad or two. Menacingly pulsating piano and dramatically intricate guitars, often building to haunting crescendos, back up Georgia Train and Ben richards' intensely harmonised vocals; core strengths of the twosome's reportedly spectacular live act."
Source, Oct '08
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brighton boy-girl acoustic partnership Bitter Ruin have built up a strong local following. With their debut album, We're Not Dancing, out now, they confirm their status as one of Brighton's very best bands. Blending idiosyncratic, melancholy vocals with Dresden Dolls-style cabaret theatricality, they may not be dancing, but they sound amazing.
Latest7, Nov '08
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Influences
Regina Spektor Jeff Buckley Beethoven Kate Bush Paco De Lucia The Talking Heads Queen Fiona Apple Van Morrison Tegan and Sara Tori Amos Fionn Regan Flamenco Mozart Chopin
Described as ‘Amazing noir indie-folk’ by Latest7, Brighton’s weekly lifestyle magazine Bitter Ruin are an explosive, theatrical acoustic duo with grasping lyrics filthy with energy and anger. Renowned for their intense and dramatic live performances, their audiences are mesmerized by Georgia’s vicious, complex vocals and are left desperate to hear more of Ben’s brutal vocal attack and cutting, jagged acoustic guitar.
Georgia and Ben are from opposite ends of the UK. Their influences are similarly from opposite musical counties. While Ben draws his serene and engrossing tone from Jeff Buckley, Georgia punches quirky outbursts tainted by Regina Spektor and Kate Bush. However the duo has obviously adjusted their ear drums to gorge on each others inspirations and have skillfully combined their crowning credentials to hatch an addictively juiced sound and frenzied drama.
Buy Hung, Drawn & Quartered via post: ________________
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We're Not Dancing (2008)
Buy We're Not Dancing via post: ________________
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Bitter Ruin (2007)
Buy Bitter Ruin via post:
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LIVE REVIEW
The Troubador, London: 20th February 2008
"A couple take to the stage in the intimate confines of the Troubador Club dressed for an upmarket 1920s funeral. Ben cradles an acoustic guitar as Georgia stalks briefly around the stage in her stockinged feet. Without preliminary the haunting intro of Chewing Gum begins, a wordless chorus over slowly-picked melody. It breaks suddenly into something murderously intense, by turns bellowing and delicately melodic with dramatic, jarring shifts of tone and rhythm. Bitter Ruin are not like anything you've seen before. The aesthetic is folk-gothic, like a less gravelly and plodding Mark Lanegan. The songs are intricately plotted duets, mostly about love gone varying degrees of horribly wrong. Often they build from intricate twinkling to choppy, percussive, stomping choruses or, as in stand-out Trust, blisteringly fast call-and-response. Georgia's delivery ranges from a witchy cackle to full-throated blues, via what I'm reasonably sure was a therimin impression. Brazen theatrics are the other half of the equation, when she's not throwing carnival shapes the two are perched about the stage or belting the lines out into each other's faces with an intensity verging on the frightening. If someone feels like writing the missing scenes, a graveyard knife-fight over an incestuous love affair would be about right, there's one hell of a musical on show here. The audience are evenly split between rapt and puzzled. Weird, unique, highly recommended."
Great show in Paris last tuesday with the Evelyn sisters. Cannot wait more longer to see you again, you were just amazing. <3 You cabaret is fantastic I love it.
Saw you yesterday at AFP's gig, you were fantastic. Signed your mailing list, listened to you for most of the day today! Looking forward to the album! Hope to see you playing in brighton soon!
are you serious?? new stuff?? freacking awesome.... ill be hre that day "TRUST" me lol --TRUST IS FOR FOOLS?-- hmm then dont trust me lol i miss you guys!!
You know the internet is a fascinating thing, I'm currently sat watching you two onstage in Glasgow, via partyontheinternet, with Amanda & Jason on Skype in The States whilst I'm in Chester. Possibly my biggest internet amazement feat to date. Much Love! xxXxx Ps: Hallo Birdies below. =) xxXxx
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