Here we have the second concept album about a famous female historical figure for review today by Charming Disaster, this one about the discoverer of radium. Brooklyn-based musical duo Charming Disaster was formed in 2012 by Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris. Inspired by the gothic humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the noir storytelling of Raymond Chandler, the murder ballads of the Americana tradition, and the dramatic flair of the cabaret, they write songs that tell stories, using two voices to explore dark narratives and characters with a playfully macabre sensibility. Their fourth album, 'Our Lady of Radium,' represents a departure from the occult themes the goth-folk duo have become known for on their past releases. On the new album, Charming Disaster’s Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris apply their playfully dark artistic sensibility to the life and discoveries of pioneering scientist Marie Curie, as well as the tragic story of the “Radium Girls” and other consequences of Curie’s work.

Although they've been on my radar for some time now, this is the first chance I've gotten to sit down and really listen to these folks. 'Our Lady of Radium' is 9 tracks in 38 minutes of nicely arranged tuneful songs with memorable melodies with a melancholy lilt, so if you were thinking of just a guy and girl with a guitar or two, you'd be dead wrong. Ellia and Jeff trade vocal leads on songs and their harmonies fit hand-in-glove, and their songs are as much cabaret/art rock as they are folk. There is plenty of wry humor afoot as well. The closest act I can equate Charming Disaster with is Voltaire, who I think is from the same neck of the woods.

Kicking off with the kinda spooky "Bad Luck Hard Rock" Bisker and Morris sing about buried treasure...or burying bodies...or more likely, mining radioactive materials. Certainly not your Belle and Sebastian style duo. There's a hint of familiarity on "Forces of Nature" and I'm reminded of Suzanne Vega, and someone else I can't put my finger on; maybe a number of someones. A different kind of radiation drives the slightly convoluted story in "Power of the Sun," exploring science and mythology in a way only a nerd could love, and I LOVE IT! Also love the way Ellia's voice slides up and down at the end. "Eat Drink Sleep" is a song about what there is left to do when your lover dies, obviously made more poignant in this era of the pandemic, but more personally, addressing Marie Curie's grief following Pierre’s tragic death. Sweetly melancholy, it could have been much sadder, but thankfully was just right in its sentiment. "Darkened Room" is an upbeat, amusing number about mediums, spiritualism, and the ghosts they allegedly interact with, and in context, the famous spirit medium whose séances the Curies attended. Of course, "Radium Girls" pays tribute to the female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with self-luminous paint; a splendid salute to the women who gave their lives so we could tell time in the dark. The enigmatic "A Glow About Her" is sung in rounds adding to the murkiness of complex relationship problems and complicated social situations.

Charming Disaster save the best for last on the title track ("Our Lady of Radium") with a chorus hook that will stick in your head like oatmeal sticks to your ribs on a winter's day. It's one of the most instrumentally minimal tracks on the album but achieves perfection in its simplicity. When I first listened to this album I thought, "hmmm...pretty good for a couple of Brooklyn hipsters." Now after spending more time with it, I realize this is not a good album, this is a GREAT album! Nice to know that it will be available on vinyl too (release date March 4, 2022). Plenty charming, no disaster.