Charming Disaster: "Cautionary Tales" album + lyrics book
Brooklyn-based musical duo Charming Disaster was formed in 2012 by Ellia Bisker (of Sweet Soubrette and Funkrust Brass Band) and Jeff Morris (of Kotorino). Inspired by the gothic humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the noir storytelling of Raymond Chandler, the murder ballads of the Americana tradition, and the dramatic flair of the cabaret, they write songs that tell stories, using two voices to explore dark narratives and characters with a playful sensibility. Their song “Ghost Story” was featured on the hit podcast Welcome to Night Vale and appears on their debut album Love, Crime & Other Trouble, described by New York Music Daily as “twistedly delicious…if you aren’t hooked on this by now, there’s no hope for you.”
Charming Disaster’s latest album, Cautionary Tales, expands on the duo’s spooky, offbeat universe with songs about espionage, occult practices, supernatural creatures, and the end of the world as we know it. The album's diverse musical influences include traditional murder ballads, the duo collaborations of PJ Harvey and John Parish, and the folkier side of Led Zeppelin. Charming Disaster's literary bent is also in evidence, with references to cult fantasy novels Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and The Golden Compass as well as ancient lore from Greek and Norse mythology.
“Gothic folk murder balladry, not unlike PJ Harvey...an accessibility and pop sensibility that also nods to the likes of Andrew Bird or Regina Spektor. It’s darkness cut with a melodic immediacy, and it’s a thing of fanciful beauty.” -
“Charming Disaster sound like the music that Pugsley and Wednesday Addams might have made after listening to the Decemberists, Squeeze and some Chopin.” -
“On Cautionary Tales, Charming Disaster writes fables for the deconstruction…onstage, the duo has the same understated presence that makes its albums so compelling.” -
“Heavily melodic folk music that is goth as hell.“ -
Track Listing:
1. Sympathetic Magic
2. Snake Bit
3. Selene & Endymion
4. Phosphorescent Lilies
5. Ragnarok*
6. Little Black Bird
7. Days Are Numbered
8. Infernal Soiree
9. What Remains
10. String Break Song
Accompanying digital lyrics book features original artwork by New Orleans visual artist Magda Boreysza and includes extensive footnotes filled with arcane references.