Karen Elson - The GhostWho Walks

Wed 30th Jun, 2010 in Music Reviews

Genius, indie music all-rounder Jack White’s wife? Check. Unique, yet still utterly gorgeous supermodel? Check.

Karen Elson sits in that strange, undefined genre of moody, sexy, sensuous vocals, smooth guitars, soft, atmospheric drums and the sometime blissful inclusion of organ, accordion and fiddle.

From the very first strains of title and lead track The Ghost Who Walks, this album has etched itself as a killer listen. The lyrics and feel of the album have been likened to “murder ballads”, short carbaret-tinged death whisperings.

Although a very established and well-known model in the fashion world, Karen has quite a background in the music industry, founding New York City cabaret The Citizens Band, not to mention guesting for Robert Plant and Cat Power.

Elson wrote in secret, inspired by artsy music-makers Nick Cave, PJ Harvey and Opal, before she finally succuming to pressure from her husband to reveal her songs. Luckily, he herded her straight into the studio, assisted in pulling together a star-studded band line-up and produced and drummed on her debut release.

There are so many gorgeous pieces of art on this twelve track LP, from the luscious “la, la, la”s of Pretty Babies, to the very deep, defiantly Nick Cave tune Stolen Roses, to the comfortable slow and perfectly drawled A Thief At My Door.

While The Ghost Who Walks has a good injection of The White Stripes – with The Truth Is In The Dirt owing some influence to classic Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground – Karen’s music is very much her own and this album is one of the most elegant, theatrical and haunting you’ll hear this year.