Turn Off The Light: A Brief Review Of The Reissue Of Sleep Now Forever From Sorrow (Rose McDowall Of Strawberry Switchblade)

Markedly different than her music in Strawberry Switchblade, Rose McDowall's efforts in Sorrow in the Nineties yielded albums with a real timeless appeal. Sleep Now Forever, the second Sorrow record, has been reissued this week via Night School Records, and the release is significant as it brings this beautiful material to a wider audience again.

Numbers here like "Turn Off the Light" and "October Faul" are likely going to earn comparisons to work from Virginia Astley. There's a similar pastoral English-vibe going on here, though Rose is coming from a more morose POV. Inspired by the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh in a way, Sleep Now Forever has a lot in common with some solo records from Nico in terms of sonic sensibility, though the melodies are a good deal brighter in Rose's work. Some tracks here, like the shimmering "Epiphany", find the vocals just one layer of many in music that retains a certain folk-flavored elegance.

Rose McDowall brings precision to this kind of thing, and it's hard to imagine that this is the same musician who gifted us with so much lively material in Strawberry Switchblade. However, this record, as somber as it seems on outward appearances, is a rather warm one, with the proto-goth trappings of the cover and overall presentation offset by how much emotion and heart McDowall pours into the tunes. For a release ostensibly about a death, this is a lively, and lovely record still.

Sleep Now Forever by Sorrow is out now via Night School Records. Details via Bandcamp below.

[Photo by Gilbert Blecken, 1989]