HOMESTEAD MAGAZINE
(Robert) Damien Youth : Bride Of The Asylum
Zygote/Blackberry Records (US,1998)


Damien’s name I saw listed in several alternative magazines, like Ptolomaic Terrascope, or Dream Magazine - a magazine which lists various of the names I have already discovered. Not all which are listed on Ptolomaic Terrascope I trust blindly or will appeal to me. In this context I also wondered how much at any time a mentioned name, found list-worthy for articles in magazines, in a need of a new voice to explore in certain areas, would then become forgotten after a few years, because there came examples deemed much better afterwards.

It is because I still remember some fuss around Paul Roland amongst some collectors for instance, back in the '80s, when he was doing things that were missed in those days. But now, looking back at his early releases for instance, I hear that also he couldn’t
lift himself completely over the '80s dark sound production, so now I prefer to forget all this. I also remember we had to wait until late '90s before a renewed natural feel in inspiration, in a more positive way, was restored / healed a bit. I believe that such open conditions, which were generally focused and applied in music, where as well global
human (race) conditions, that affected conditions psychologically, physically, spiritually and in those days in a same degree politically. I also saw some diagrams of evolutions in radio-activity, that physically, in the '80s, we must have suffered most from all atom bomb experiments started in the '70s. (I even read some theory such bombs might have caused
lighter gasses to go to upper layers of the atmosphere, which caused in its turn the first
appearance of the ozone layer hole, but I'm not sure about that). Or just look at the effects of the global effect of DDT, or any other global physical conditions that might have in parallel influenced our mentality towards a kind of spiritualless dark hopelessness or
something. At least now in this new century, there's a more visible struggle between 'true nature of some kind of self-renewal' and what I call 'domination of repetition of old patterns', with its own fake perspectives. In music I notice that there is a global increase in true creativity and production.

Damien Youth might be one of those people who might have experienced this climate change through a kind of kaleidoscope vision, seeing this fractured world of changes. Within his own world of perspectives he tried to maintain his own vision, which is something between imagination and fantasy. Like Lucifer here he reflects his own light of imagination, causing a creative process to flow on its own. This trick in mind of self-imagination kept something of what was so special in the '60s more or less intact.

Damien Youth's songs are sung with nice dual recorded vocals and with accompaniment close to the essence (which is guitar, bass, and some percussion). When I listened to this music over and over again, there might have been a few songs which I liked less, but in general many songs are so "catchy" I must admit some of these begin to sound just like 'classics' in my mind. Such songs are Bride of the Asylum (backing vocals and guitar), Katie Called Me Lucifer, or Ugly Alice (which sound like a Alice In Wonderland reference, in the story more like an 'Alice in Lostland'). Another favorite is Zoomorphic Kingdom, which is a bit Syd Barrett-like, and yes, I like Damien's voice here. Also Mythical Light has some catchy aspect from the same area of Syd Barrett with a sing-a-long idea, but with a somewhat philosophical thought behind it, going once more beyond religious reflections. Blackbird and the Widow is also attractive because of the sitar with percussion, and also because of the voice of Damien. The last tracks, Fountain Heart, Virus and Somebody New are equally enjoyable.