SOAP&SKIN / Sugarbread EP [2013]

Anja Plaschg (aka Soap&Skin) breaks away from the somberness of her previous records, then takes all that emotion and twists it into something quite frankly morbid and frightening on her confrontational 2013 three song EP Sugarbread.
By incorporating some angry driving string arrangements, blood-curdling screams, haunted choirs, wailing brass sections, and unnerving percussive staccatos, Plaschg reinvents her sound but remains completely recognizable with her impressionable vocal performances.  With it clocking in at only a mere 9 minutes, it has me tearing my hair out in anticipation for more.

5 Robert Johnsons out of 5

Songs Of Note:  Sugarbread; Me And The Devil

SOAP&SKIN / Narrow [2012]

In response to the sudden death of her father, Austria's Anja Plaschg (aka Soap&Skin) recorded her 2012 8-song mini-album, Narrow.

A thing of stark intimate beauty, the album flourishes with intense feelings of sadness and loss through Plaschg's bold, yet trembling, voice and strikingly emotional piano playing.  She might not always sing in English but her voice soars past language barriers with it's angry & confused passionate depth, while her piano playing goes back and forth between gentle chord progressions to powerful hammering of the keys over skittish industrial rhythms and textures.  A perfect album that's more awe-inspiring than entertaining,  Narrow is something to pull out on a rainy day and let it seep into your heart.

5 Desireless made desirable out of 5

Songs Of Note: Deathmental; Wonder