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Nov 30, 2012 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

This gothy girl group throwback walks a thin, strange line between creepy and coquettish; their campy horror-shtick winds up being less David Lynch and more Tim Burton, feeling exaggerated and cartoonish. Unfortunately, the gimmick doesn’t mask subpar songs and vocals that won’t amaze many. The lead single, “Sleepwalking,” is super catchy, but the rest of the album just isn’t as fun as that track.

The Casket Girls’ debut has a bit of the fuzzy weirdness—though very tempered down—that you’d expect of a Black Moth Super Rainbow spinoff: BMSR’s Ryan Graveface plays a role as this group’s sort-of Phil Spector (Phil Spook-tor?). Opener “Walking on a Wire” plays with some bizarre droning, and “I’ve Got a Secret” has an interestingly nutty ambience, like the famous Wall of Sound created on thrift shop keyboard. Outside of the spoken-word ghost story “The Visitor,” which interrupts that album’s flow right around its midpoint, the rest of Sleepwalking plays it too straight. This project could have used a pinch more of Black Moth Super Rainbow’s out-and-out WTF-ness. (www.casketgirls.org)

Author rating: 4/10