Katarzyna Draconina Górnisiewicz | Detailed or mini-review submissions: song, EP/album | Suggest an artist

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Gene Gorski - Nowhere To Hide (song review) |self-released, single, 2016|

Gene Gorski has been writing songs for the last thirty years, recording music at his home studio. He has released three albums so far, donating all his income to various charities. Gene follows his heart – the main reason why he has been more interested in providing original pieces of music instead of trying to fit in mainstream trends.

This time, he re-interpreted a classic theme - passing to the other side of the mirror - as found in the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In Gene's version of the story, Alice lands in a dystopian, twisted world. It is not full of wonders but rather includes many aspects found in our reality. Suffice it to say that the protagonist of the story becomes a stripper involved in sado-masochistic activities.

The tempo of this rather short (3:15) song is very lethargic, comparable to a slowly rocking boat stuck on a still ocean with a sole survivor on board. The composition consists of several verses and a chorus, repeating a few times. The lyrics are poetic and they rhyme well. They are short and lack in meaningful details, since they are written for those already familiar with Carroll's original tale.

Acoustically, the song has a story-telling motif with random guitar play which adds tones to the vocal line and supports the overall vibe. One could relate this to Johnny Cash's spoken word songs. Gene also focused on building an atmosphere of minimalism and isolation, equipped only with a microphone, an open body Gretch guitar and a Swart Atomic Space Tone amp. His voice is definitely memorable for its masculine strength, tremble, vibration, pride, nasal tone, and a touch of decadence. It is clear he perfectly knows how to control these elements to build up tension when necessary, but also bring the song down again.

It's pleasing to listen to the entirety of 'Nowhere To Hide' for both the distinctive vocals and the random, accompanying guitar arrangements. Those of you who search for rather intellectual than simply rhythmic music will surely enjoy it.

(Reviewer: Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, Fabryka Industrial Rock & Metal Encyclopedia, January 30th, 2018. Proofreading: Mike 'Vesper' Dziewoński)

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