Ten Sorrowful Mysteries

Monica Queen makes music for the long dark night of the soul. It’s the kind of music that makes you think of pain and misery, death and depression.

It’s hardly surprising to note, then, that this debut album suffers from an almost overwhelming melancholy, made more pronounced by the singer’s vocal delivery.

Queen’s voice is a reedy, trembling and plaintive instrument. Possessed of tremendous range, she can, and frequently does, shine. But for every moment of raw, unburnished beauty, there is another where Queen over-emotes, singing in a kind of dramatic affectation of pain. Truth be told, occasionally she sounds like a bag of cats. Or Neil Young.

As the title of the album suggests, the lyrics are full of the appropriate pathos for this singing style. “Black is the colour of my heart,” goes the opening line of ‘Do Something Pretty’. Many more mournful observations follow, most of which are quite bland.

But redemption does come. Ten Sorrowful Mysteries rewards patient and repeated listening. Subtleties which initially escape the senses emerge. Johnny Smillie’s backing arrangements of warm acoustic guitar and a soft wash of electronica show themselves as deft and delicate. Queen’s vocals also grow more appealing with each hearing.

This album exudes a skewed, late-night charm, but lacks immediate impact. Next time round, a little less suffocating gloominess and a little more restraint could work wonders.

A flawed, if intriguing, offering.