SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: QUEEN KWONG – COUPLES ONLY

Queen Kwong
Couples Only
Sonic Ritual

The moment The Cure stepped on the scene with their dark, gothic pop rock, that dark sound just kept on going, even when it was not fully in vogue. These days, such dark music seems to be in full favour again, many artists doing it seizing the moment, whether they had the personal reason or not. Of course, those having a full set of reasons sound more authentic and are certainly coming up with better music.

LA artist Queen Kwong (a.k.a. Carré Kwong Callaway), can certainly be listed in the latter category, as a few years ago, she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. A person suffering the disease has episodes when their lungs fill with blood, so they are actually drowning.

But that was not the sole reason Kwong gave her latest album the title Couples Only. It turns out that when she got diagnosed, her husband left her.

So, Kwong channeled all the pain and betrayal into some Cure-like (with Tom Waits shades all around) dark, pop-tinged rock that is able to present all those feelings with hurting accuracy that simply cannot leave any listener indifferent. That good.

Artist Links