Currently Emilie Autumn's image/music tends towards... well, the best description I can come up with is Tim Burtonesque, industrial-goth-doll. But her debut album had a vastly different flavor -- while it has the same dark edges and spatterings of industrial rock here and there, "Enchant" is a more romantic, Victorian/medieval album.

It opens with an ethereal, twinkly expanse of sound, and Autumn intoning the first four lines from Shakespeare's 53rd sonnet. Then she launches into a starry rendition of her own poetry: "Across the sky/I will come for you/If you ask me to/Demystify/Your uncommon dreams/Stranger things have come true..."

That opening song may give you the impression that Autumn is a sort of Delerium/Enigma artist, but she quickly proves that it's not the case. Instead, she dabbles in a little of everything: hard-rock in "Chambermaid" and the blaring "Heard It All," some spacey jazz in "Second Hand Faith," rambling piano ballads in "Castle Down" and "Ever,"  dramatic string-soaked ballads in "If You Feel Better" and "Save You." It ends with the satiny "Epilogue: What If," which just reinforces that Autumn is not someone you can pin easy labels on: "What if I'm a snowstorm burning/What if I'm a world unturning/What if I'm an ocean, far too shallow, much too deep?"

Among the best songs are a trio of pop songs  which have a sort of medieval/fairy-tale flavor: "Rapunzel" is a bittersweet song about... well, Rapunze; and "Juliet" is an exquisite, glittering swirl about... well, Juliet. And "Rose Red" swings between a spiky pop sound ("Tell me no stories and I'll tell you no lies/No one wants to hurt me/but everybody tries!") and a luscious ye-olde one ("Rose Rose Rose Red/Will I ever see thee wed?/Only if you can capture me").

I probably could have guessed that "Enchant" was Autumn's first album without even checking wikipedia -- it sounds like she was experimenting with different styles and trying to figure out which one fit her best. You can hear some romantic goth, classical, hard-rock, jazz and a bit of Regina Spektor's anti-pop here. But "Enchant's" different styles flow easily into one another.

This is mainly because of Autumn's classical musical skills -- she winds silken strings of piano and violin around almost every song, along with some shimmering keyboard and the occasional blasts of electric guitar. The entire album has a sort of rock'n'roll Victorian-romantic flavor, and quite frankly that combination is something I wish there was more of.

Her voice is also very lovely and versatile: she can sound punky, angelic, or low and powerful. And her lyrics and poems are very evocative and atmospheric ("But would you tear my castle down/Stone by stone/And let the wind run through my windows/'Til there is nothing left but a battered rose"), and tinged with a sense of bittersweet romance.

While it explores various musical styles, "Enchant" has a distinctive flavor that shows off Emilie Autumn's talents -- and leaves you wanting to see whatever else she's produced.
Currently Emilie Autumn's image/music tends towards... well, the best description I can come up with is Tim Burtonesque, industrial-goth-doll. But her debut album had a vastly different flavor -- while it has the same dark edges and spatterings of industrial rock here and there, "Enchant" is a more romantic, Victorian/medieval album. It opens with an ethereal, twinkly expanse of sound, and Autumn intoning the first four lines from Shakespeare's 53rd sonnet. Then she launches into a starry rendition of her own poetry: "Across the sky/I will come for you/If you ask me to/Demystify/Your uncommon dreams/Stranger things have come true... "

That opening song may give you the impression that Autumn is a sort of Delerium/Enigma artist, but she quickly proves that it's not the case. Instead, she dabbles in a little of everything: hard-rock in "Chambermaid" and the blaring "Heard It All," some spacey jazz in "Second Hand Faith," rambling piano ballads in "Castle Down" and "Ever,"  dramatic string-soaked ballads in "If You Feel Better" and "Save You. " It ends with the satiny "Epilogue: What If," which just reinforces that Autumn is not someone you can pin easy labels on: "What if I'm a snowstorm burning/What if I'm a world unturning/What if I'm an ocean, far too shallow, much too deep? "

Among the best songs are a trio of pop songs  which have a sort of medieval/fairy-tale flavor: "Rapunzel" is a bittersweet song about... well, Rapunze; and "Juliet" is an exquisite, glittering swirl about... well, Juliet. And "Rose Red" swings between a spiky pop sound ("Tell me no stories and I'll tell you no lies/No one wants to hurt me/but everybody tries! ") and a luscious ye-olde one ("Rose Rose Rose Red/Will I ever see thee wed? /Only if you can capture me"). I probably could have guessed that "Enchant" was Autumn's first album without even checking wikipedia -- it sounds like she was experimenting with different styles and trying to figure out which one fit her best. You can hear some romantic goth, classical, hard-rock, jazz and a bit of Regina Spektor's anti-pop here. But "Enchant's" different styles flow easily into one another. This is mainly because of Autumn's classical musical skills -- she winds silken strings of piano and violin around almost every song, along with some shimmering keyboard and the occasional blasts of electric guitar. The entire album has a sort of rock'n'roll Victorian-romantic flavor, and quite frankly that combination is something I wish there was more of. Her voice is also very lovely and versatile: she can sound punky, angelic, or low and powerful. And her lyrics and poems are very evocative and atmospheric ("But would you tear my castle down/Stone by stone/And let the wind run through my windows/'Til there is nothing left but a battered rose"), and tinged with a sense of bittersweet romance. While it explores various musical styles, "Enchant" has a distinctive flavor that shows off Emilie Autumn's talents -- and leaves you wanting to see whatever else she's produced.