Fairytales of Slavery
This string-driven British quartet once specialized in Dead Can Dance-style reveries. Here they move into full-throttle sonic overdrive in collaboration with producer Alex Hacke of Einstürzende Neubauten. Bleak and harrowing European artistry abounds, though a faint resemblance to the Cure circaDisintegrationmake "Cut and Peep Show" passingly accessible.--Jeff Bateman