Rasputina: Chamber Pop (August 1996)

It had to happen sooner or later: three women banding together to play electrified cellos in Victorian underwear. And they're not just playing the usual alterna-rock, mind you, but an odd variation of popular music and classical which sits comfortably nestled between the two genres: in short, chamber pop. Add to that their unusual sense of humor, gift for brevity, and knack for offbeat subject matter (such as "Howard Hughes", "Kate Moss", and "Transylvanian Concubine"), and this truly is alternative music we're talking about here.

On their Columbia debut, Thanks For The Ether, Melora Creager, Julia Kent, and Carpella Parvo – her successor Agnieszka Rybska did not play on the album – conjure up a wide array of string-driven tunes which provide an intriguing antidote to standard rock music. In fact, they make an unintentionally ironic statement: while being unplugged is the latest trend for volume-heavy rockers, Rasputina are plugging in instruments normally associated with classical contexts. And some of these songs rock: "Howard Hughes" and "My Little Shirtwaist Fire" offer driving cellos and drums. The trio also plays more sedate songs with pastoral grace, not trapping their catalog within a formula.

Songwriter/group leader Melora Creager – known previously for touring with Nirvana on their final tour – sings with a delicately quivering vibrato that adds an unusual but appropriate vocal presence throughout the record. Within the context of smoother cello passages, it can be a little off-setting, but it's a style which certainly will grow on you. She sings everywhere between fragile and unwavering dependent on the mood and tone of each song. On "Brand New Key", her breathy vocal melody is a dynamic addition to the playful nature of the music. On "Mr. E. Leon Rauis", her distant singing sounds as if it has coming off an old 78. Not surprisingly, her voice was etched onto a wax cylinder via an old Edison machine then re-recorded from that format. The inclusion of the sarcastic "Why Don't You Do Right?", a cover of a 1940s tune, further emphasizes the nature of a group lost in time.

Rasputina showcase their fun, quirky humor on songs like "The Donner Party", where somber strings accompany spoken word (with a strong Midwestern accent), offering a humorous analysis of infamous, cannibalistic Western settlers. Another spoken word-driven track, "Nozzle", sounds like a bizarre voice-over from a soap opera. On their ode to the mental decline of late filmmaker and entrepreneur "Howard Hughes", the lyrics quote from strange personal memos he sent to employees in his later years.

While people will view Rasputina within the context of rock music, they possess a level of sophistication lacking in your average pop musician. This is due not only to the tone of their instruments, but the interplay of various parts and the complexity of certain rhythms and melodies. Not every track on Ether stands out, but the band is developing a sound and style that certainly stands out from the pack. And considering the three of them possess in excess of 60 years experience with the upright instrument, its safe to say they won't be running out of ideas anytime soon.