Opheliac (Limited Edition)

Despite not being exactly a household name, Emilie Autumn's musical résumé will be pretty darn impressive to the average alt-rock fan, as she has been involved in past projects with the likes of Courtney Love and Billy Corgan. Autumn's style incorporates quite a few contrasting elements, including cabaret, electronic, symphonic, new age, and good ol' rock & roll (and heavy on the theatrical bombast). On her fourth release overall, 2006's Opheliac, Autumn's varied approach is dutifully on display throughout. It's easy to detect similarities at times between Autumn and such renowned female artists as Kate Bush and Tori Amos (especially on such tracks as "Swallow" and "The Art of Suicide"), but when you come across the electronic/symphonic "Gothic Lolita" and the swirling "Let the Record Show," Autumn sheds her influences and finds her own original voice. Opheliac will certainly not be construed as Top 40 music, but what it does manage being is a true -- and ofttimes, an original -- artistic statement. ~ Greg Prato|