Rhea's Obsession

Here we are given another crack at re-experiencing Canada's darkwave duo's first full-length release, with some new tunes and remixes thrown in for good measure. In case you were wondering, the title of their first disc is Initiation, hence the "re" prefix. For the uninitiated, this project is comprised of two folks: Sue Hutton, the vocal mastermind, as well as the one so highly skilled at all those cool world instruments (such as djembe and doumbek ) and Jim Field, who comes from more of the experimental/noise background, putting an industrial spin on their folkie, gothic sound. What results is a perfect blend of the electronic with the ethereal, the vocal with the instrumental and the otherworldly with a more familiar sound. Hutton's vocals and percussion work recall Dead Can Dance, and will delight those into anything along the same vein. Not to be overlooked, however, are the soundscapes created by Field on tracks such as "Strategies of Movement" and "Death by Moonlight." These will appeal to the noise enthusiasts just fine. And to make the disc really worthwhile, there are six new mixes (as well as a couple of new tracks), the coolest of which happens to be by Daniel Myer, of Haujobb, who adds a great EBM finish to the gothickry of Re:initiation.