Poe

Diesel 11

Diesel 11

As you scream into the web of silence...
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~~ POE ~~​

Anne Decatur Danielewski was the daughter of Polish film director Tad Danielewski. After her mother left the family, Anne packed up her bags, moved to the Big Apple, and became Poe, a feisty and spunky new singer that was a part of a new movement of female artists in the alt scene. She built up a fanbase via internet communications - one of the first artists to do so - and was also one of the first to incorporate hip hop beats into her music. In the mid to late '90s, she was considered one of the spear-headers of a new movement of pop, and one of the leading ladies of alternative music.

In November of 2001, however, Poe was dropped by her record label and, in a terrible move, brought in a friend of her father's to help out. He ended up tying all her affairs into knots and blocked her from releasing and redistributing her music for years. This mess was eventually solved, but Poe hasn't released anything new since the turn of the millennium, outside of a minute-long piece from 2012.

Poe has done some live performances every now and then, and was even named UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2014, but has unfortunately become a rather obscure artist because of her legal issues. Once a prominent singer pushing her way forward to the top of the genre, she's now become a name you don't hear very often... although those that do end up finding Poe's work rarely go home unhappy. Her small but utterly devoted fanbase waits each and every day for some word of a new release. Maybe we'll get one soon. We can only hope.

Hello (1995)
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Tracklist:
  1. Hello
  2. Trigger Happy Jack (Drive By A Go-Go)
  3. Choking The Cherry
  4. That Day
  5. Angry Johnny
  6. Dolphin
  7. Another World
  8. Fingertips
  9. Beautiful Girl
  10. Junkie
  11. Fly Away
Coming out right in the mid-'90s as the grunge scene was on its last legs, Hello feels like a transitional album. "Trigger Happy Jack" and "Choking The Cherry" are certainly grunge inspired (and the band version of "Hello", not released on the album, also carries that vibe), but the rest is more electronically-based. Poe sets herself apart right away with songs like the title track and "Angry Johnny", two fantastic songs with some great lyrics to boot.

You can tell that this is a debut album, however, and it isn't perfectly consistent throughout. It's well worth a listen, though, and indeed some fans consider it their favorite of her two albums. There are also some cool artist decisions - including the cello as an instrument, for instance - so make sure you check it out. It just pales a bit in comparison to her opus...

Listen to Hello...

Haunted (2000)
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Tracklist:
  1. Exploration B
  2. Haunted
  3. Control
  4. Terrible Thought
  5. Walk The Walk
  6. Terrified Heart
  7. Wild
  8. 5&½ Minute Hallway
  9. Not A Virgin
  10. Hey Pretty
  11. Dear Johnny
  12. Could've Gone Mad
  13. Lemon Meringue
  14. Spanish Doll
  15. House Of Leaves
  16. Amazed
  17. If You Were Here
It took five years before Poe released her sophomore release, but it was five years of personal growth and development as both and artist and as a person. She had found some old tapes with her brother, Mark, featuring some recordings of their father. He'd died before the release of Poe's debut and it didn't seem as though the relationship had been a perfect one. Haunted was her way of making amends with her dad (Mark would express his feelings differently, in the acclaimed novel House Of Leaves) and, after a year and a half in the making, was released to much acclaim among fans and the music press as a whole.

The album was certainly a more mature effort than the first one. The grunge influence had completely evaporated, and the electronic pieces were much better polished now. It was a digitally produced record, and she and her producer went in with the intention of making this one an album that could only be produced digitally, and that level of belief in the art makes it an enthralling album, despite it being over an hour in length.

Some of these songs are written from a rock 'n' roll mindset, like "Control" and "Walk The Walk", but others are more epic and sweeping in nature, like the 9-minute "Wild" and the phenomenal title track. The big single from this album was "Hey Pretty", although because alternative radio wasn't big on female artists at the time, it was re-made in a "Drive-By" mix, featuring her brother reading excerpts from his book.

This would regrettably be the last release to date from the artist, but damn, what an album.

Listen to Haunted...

Music Videos

Non-Album Songs

With Conjure One:
  • Center Of The Sun
  • Make A Wish
  • Endless Dream
  • One Word
  • Extraordinary Way
Solo:
  • A Rose Is A Rose
  • Can't Say No
  • How Long
  • My Lips Are Sealed
  • Padre Fear
  • Rise And Shine
  • Strange Wind
  • Today
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I know, sorry. Got caught up with ABBA last week and spent the weekend watching part 2 of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I'll try to listen to the album tomorrow. Acid Bath's too.
 
Production so far is flawless, and she sounds more... experienced. Like she's found her true voice. Unlike Hello, I can actually understand what she's saying without having to read the lyrics.
 
"Control" sounds more like actual alt-pop tho. "Walk the Walk" sounds much more rock-oriented, a pop punk kind of sound. It's almost like something I would usually hear from Avril Lavigne, style-wise.
 
Precisely. Not to mention the songwriting. She can make a 9-minute song ("Wild", which I'm hearing right now) sound like it's 5 minutes long.
 
“Wild” is awesome. It descends into a whirlpool of musical color and is an epic in every sense of the word.
 
I'm actually considering writing a review for this album, tho I'll need a couple more listens.

Don't take me up on that. :ninja:
 
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