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Adrian H and The Wounds CD reviewed by Roberto Alessandro Filippozzi for Italian Darkroom Magazine 8/28/12

For more attentive supporters of fringe more theatrical and cabaret-oriented drift of post-punk is unlikely to be missed, in 2009, the eponymous debut of this quintet of Portland, led by the charismatic Adrian H and The Wounds worthily completed by. And who perhaps was immediately passionate to the fate of this curious American combo, with the broad merits of a debut more than ever over the top, will not play again this anticipated sequel, having already released in Europe via Danse Macabre at the end of last year. Now it's up to Projekt deal to give luster to this jewel in the U.S. market, but we are confident that, given the visibility it enjoys the label of Sam Rosenthal in the Old Continent, in case of necessity will not be difficult to find a copy here as well, although of print signed Danse Macabre would miss a couple of remixes, for the record. Trifles aside, what is most striking in the songwriting of the band is the ability to tell stories smoky, shady and murky pivoting on sung / recited dark and deep dark crooner Adrian, making sounds that leave the most theatrical post-punk cabaret to explore different but always a shady spot, capable of projecting the listener in some seedy nightclub housed in inhospitable basements, between characters and unsavory women that you would trust not ever, in a striking black and white that smells of tobacco smoke , spirits and perfume excessive, with overflowing ashtrays, empty glasses, playing cards, money passing from hand to hand, prostitutes away from the horrors of the road and a pianist reasonably concerned that someone might have missed the famous saying about not the fire on its class ... From the stage dimly lit and shaky this dump the margins of society, where they hide the worst infamous villains and outcasts, the five of Portland sing songs that could not be more suited to such great frame noir, in a macabre cabaret of human misery lets go to the groove dell'istrionica version of "Hoist That Rag (Tom Waits), the passion in three quarters of" Chim Chim Cher-ee "(cover of one of the most famous songs from" Mary Poppins "), to cruel mechanisms of menacing, hypnotic, penetrating and lethal "That Hurts" and "Dog Solitude", the melodious danzabilità the refrain of "What She Wants" (with the sweet voice of Darcy McMullen). Perfectly able to adapt to their theatrical context noir (strengthened and made darker than the debut, but also more rhythmic and richly detailed, well enhanced by substantial production) the most miserable feelings of sadness ("Memory" and the excellent cover of "Border Patrol" Bain Wolfkind To tell the eclecticism that animates the album), as well as a histrionics that they can not leave us indifferent ("Bad Man" and its subtleties, including the ubiquitous - and impeccable - piano and sax), the navigated group of musicians and men of the world continues its staging of existence, with the knowledge of those who have seen the saddest and most shameful miseries and can no longer be surprised at anything, not to feel a shred of remorse for anything, except for those rare moments of humanity that the opposite sex, in the best waves of fragile sensuality, always manages to awaken ... Adrian H and its dirty stories of ill repute, like the versatile Voltaire and his delusions horror-Latin rockabilly , could not be part of a roster like the Projekt, authentic lighthouse when you want to discover reality capable of a strong artistic personality in the round. Apart from the fascinating combinations of formal letters, from Tom Waits to Bauhaus, Nick Cave to Love And Rockets (and maybe a touch of Leonard Cohen, why not?), if you understand what to expect and stuff that makes you prick up their antennas do not miss it for any reason, because they know how to seduce an audience

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Adrian H and The Wounds CD review by
Blurt Magazine 8/21/12


Gothic rock has been so swept up in the last few years by the Twilight zone of radio-friendly pop (thank you, eyeliner-wearing emo bands and H.I.M.) that the second LP by Adrian H and the Wounds sounds positively innovative. The piano-pounding H draws his inspiration less from old school British goth (though there's definitely a touch of Bauhaus in there) than from the creepier end of Tom Waits (a connection made clear by a cover of Waits' "Hoist That Rag.") Rather than revolve around guitars and dance beats, arrangements exist solely in support of H's shock suspenstories and cigs ‘n' absinthe speak/sing, with a few electronic grooves and sampled sounds floating in the mix.

From the sexual predation of "That Hurts" to the sinister incest of "Bad Man" and the cartwheel into madness of "The Night My Mother Screamed," the Texan-bred/Portland-based H's characters don't shy away from depravity - it's like splatterpunk without the gore. Even a cover of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" (from Disney's Mary Poppins) becomes an unsavory seduction tactic in the Wounds' gnarled hands. "Would you like to hear of the things I've seen?" he seethes in the opening cut "Memory," "of the horror and the evil of human beings?" Given his tone, we should politely decline, but we can't turn away from tragedy on display, can we?

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A review of Dog Solitude (2011) new album by ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS
Release on Projekt Records
Reviewed by WickedChannel.com

When listening to this cd you can tell Tom Waits, Skinny Puppy’s Too Dark Park and Nick Cave are big influences. Adrian H is not so much a singer, as he is a storyteller. Songs like That Hurts with the female background vocals and moans, can almost come across as spoken word pieces put to music. When the Wounds with Adrian do a Tom Waits cover ( Hoist that Rag, from the very underrated political Tom Waits cd Real Gone, which for the record the original had Les Claypool on bass as well) it comes across as almost an equal to the original. You feel as though, as it is a cover it comes across as something Adrian makes his own and puts his own touch on it, and just really nails it. Tom Waits, would be proud. They do Chim Chim Cher-ee also that comes across as a spoken word acid trip. With the background saxophone in this song, it just seems like a Clockwork Orange-esque trip.

This almost feels like in an odd way a Dr Seuss narrated cd. Each song is another trip into fairy tale land with Adrian H who seems like a Goth narrator, more than a singer. And for a cd like this it works, and comes across as so fun and odd that you feel compelled to listen more to it. What She Wants is such a headphone track, you have to have this on the iPod and listen to it with all the lights out, to get the full feeling of what this song offers. This song in some odd way is so addictive and catchy, that you will find yourself sinking into the sounds and the story without even realizing you are.

As much as I got into the singer and the songs, it was the lyrics that really stood out. Adrian is quite the poet, and his songs are so well written, that you really feel this is what Murder Ballads would have sounded like if Tom Waits did the cd, instead of Nick Cave. Songs like The Night my Mother Screamed show that the back-up band The Wounds are just as talented as Adrian. The instruments seem to compliment Adrian’s vocals, and the saxophone really brings the songs to an all new level. Dog Solitude show that sometime they think outside of the Tom Waits box and venture into Ogre country. This cd for 2012’s music scene probably has no place, and that is why I love this cd so much. It does not sound like anything I have heard in a very long time. This cd is a must for fans who are into the above mentioned bands, and want to hear something that is more than bubble gum and fake actors who think they are musicians. Great cd and good band, I am dying to hear more from them in the future.

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A review of DOG SOLITUDE (2011) new album by ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS
Released on Danse Macabre Records (European Release)
reviewed by: Brutal Resonance Magazine

Dear boys and girls. Let me tell you a story. It will carry you away from the present and throw you into the depth of dark and gloomy London nights, somewhere around 18th or 19th centuries. Those days were full of strange, even horrible deeds. People try to forget the bloody past, all the sorrow
and atrocity that filled the hearts of the ordinary men and woman. Even a short way back home in the night could become the worst experience ever. Turn around, always stay wide awake; be careful, because the eyes of the ambushing terror are aiming on you. You roll yourself into the long coat, trying to dispose of terrible goosebumps which freeze you into the depth of your miserable heart. Nothing can help you when the creeping death follows your steps trying to hunt you down, seeking to suck the brain out of your bones.

You start to run the slippery pavement, desperately trying to find even the smallest light in the end of the dark lightless street, but nothing is around and nobody will help you. But stop, what is that. Isn't it a crowded pub there in front of you? And yes, finally, the salvage is so close. You run your last breath down and break into that last beckoning hope. Oh dear Lord, you are safe now! All the people around, the warmth of the fireplace and a good pint of a foamy beer. You look around and recognize the scene in the corner of the hall with a band on it. And surely, that is exactly what
you need in order to dive into the atmosphere of the creepy chilling fogy night. The expressive voice of Adrian H guides your every new coming sip as it flows into your stomach. Both passion and strength are woven together in that special voice to bring the relaxation to your heart squeezed with horror. Your mind already filled with alcohol start to drift into the theatrical show casted by the total fusion of styles from the wide ballads and to the crazy cabaret driven songs. Piano and sax layers are mixed together to bring the delight into the suffering soul, erasing the borders between music and poetry. But the deeper you dive into the show, you start to realize that the faces around are nothing more than masks which hide the terror nature of surrounding zombie party, where you are nothing more than the main course and final bloody entertainment. Nowhere to run anymore, eat your "Cookies and Cocaine" and just dance to the rhythms of murder while the last thing that you will hear today and for eternity is the sound of the gentle but cruel voice of Adrian H and his devoted Wounds.

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A review of DOG SOLITUDE (2011) new album by ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS
Released on Danse Macabre Records (European Release)
review by: Mescaline Injection Music Magazine

Saxophone, piano ballads and to murder, pain and morbid charm. Our narrator ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS are the cars on their second album "Dog Solitude," a fascinating balancing act. Adrian sings fractured character of flesh and blood, human tragedies, in which we all must ultimately just waiting for a happy ending (and Adrian does not begrudge it in his lyrics hardly anyone). His narrative style, his hoarse, sonorous voice sometimes very interior of Nick Cave. And if the Wounds accompany him, then fused Cave'scher black humor with post-punk à la BAUHAUS and LOVE AND ROCKETS.

This mixture is put simply and impressive in its effect to just captivating. The album opens with "Memory", a painful ballad about longing and loss succeeds splendidly. The ice breaks later than a few minutes later with "That Hurts": drums and piano to provide each with its tremulous tone and shape into a rhythm, which one can hardly escape. Music for the club or the dance floor, no matter, this song provides movement in the body, just as the title track, a bouncy post-punk goth rock number with a stunning chorus and wonderful quirky arrangements.

Later, the band is on the vaudeville stage, "Chim Chim Cher-ee", with his dark cabaret atmosphere and three-quarter time something incredibly familiar in itself, almost like a music box, the harmless children's song suddenly turned into a furious nightmare. "Bad Man" also indulges in this elegant rhythm. Each piece develops its own character, so Adrian and his colleagues make clear that they hate to let it define her music give maximum freedom. Each song is a little world of its own, sometimes introspective, sometimes very catchy pop rocking like "The Night My Mother Screamed", but always very emotional.

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A review of DOG SOLITUDE (2011) new album by ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS
Released on Danse Macabre Records (European Release)
review by: Reflections Of Darkness Music Magazine


ADRIAN H. AND THE WOUNDS are your post-Goth storytellers. ADRIAN H. emerged from Texas and soon moved to northwest of USA, namely Portland in Oregon, to realise his vision together with THE WOUNDS. The immediate reference of their dark, brooding music with lyrics of great narrative power and poetic bent draw to mind references such as NICK CAVE, LEONARD COHEN, TOM WAITS, LOU REED, but they are eclectic enough to keep on with this referencing further on and it would be better and more exact just to say that they’ve blended and absorbed all and out came their own superb style, or rather a fusion of them. After a self-titled debut their sophomore full-length is here to depict ‘Dog Solitude’.

Let me get the criticism out of the table here on the onset of the review - even if the sound is meant to be dirty and rugged, I would have liked for it to be clearer at times. That’s the only thing that swept a full rating out.

The songs as stories in a film noir style are told in a smoky joint, they are populated by characters at the edge of society, broken and yet more whole than its shining citizens. You might get to think of NICK CAVE’s ‘Murder Ballads’ but these men and women are not shown as sinners but all rounded human beings condemned to life as it is without the need for redemption. More ‘real’ if you like, observed by your modern day and more mature Bukowski who chucked away the excess bullshit and got to the point. ‘Memory’ is a brilliant introductory track, not only because it gives you a flavour of what is to come, but ADRIAN H. unveils it so in his passionate, expressive voice in a way that creates a rapport with the listener. You’re not just listening to an album, but you’re transported to their live show, which in turn is a theatrical show as well.

‘That Hurts’ is one that is a good representative of the film noir feel together with a great eclectic fusion of styles. ‘Chim Chim Cher-ee’ will justifiably take you back to Mary Poppins, you’ll hear a clever twist (both musically and lyrically) on that tune for sure! ‘What She Wants’ is your dark ballad, with a slightly sleepy atmosphere, as if in a backwater Southern town. ‘The Night My Mother Screamed’ is the highlight of the album for me, one that commands returns to it many times over, the cleaner sound of the piano layered with atmosphere, and the intensity in the narrative make it stand out immediately. Another commendable element is the sax in many songs, not given on a ‘show off’ point, but subtly underlining their dark velvety underground nature.

The album closes with two remixes - Crooked Stick (Entium Mix) throws in a Metal riff and underlines heaviness and grit into their unique blend, not to mention its wicked and unusual underlying rhythm. It’s a favourite from the two; the second ‘Cookies and Cocaine (Crackolate Chip Mix)’ is more a clubby remix that with its theme is slightly disorienting, as it should be. ‘Dog Solitude’ is as mesmerising as is their live performance; a damned shame to be missed out on, so please don’t! ADRIAN H. AND THE WOUNDS are to be watched out for!!!

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A review of DOG SOLITUDE (2011) new album by ADRIAN H AND THE WOUNDS
Released on Danse Macabre Records (European Release)
review by: Alternativ Musik (Germany)


Nick Cave once released an album called Murder Ballads. If you would use this as an album title, genre, then not only would the so-titled album to categorize, but also the present work the Portlander by Adrian H. & The Wounds would have to settle definitely there. From the label "alternative / Dark Poetry" titled, it is also exactly what you can find here - the border between music and poetry here is clearly exceeded, because the compositions of the band around Adrian H. are completely on the stories designed. Sparse arrangements with an almost ever-present piano form the bed for the dark stories that are told here.
Adrian H. wants you to let him, he listens to what he is doing. The mood is gloomy through and through, the sonorous voice does the rest to chase the listener shivers down your spine. And it is still quite lively, which you'll hear here. It sounds bad example chansonesque almost a song title like Chim Chim Cher-ee has also been somewhat amusing, what it shows in the implementation. Hoist That Rag is on the other hand you as a song that lives only by his gloom. Musical highlight here is the subtle jazz piano.

Generally, the fascination just is not here just for the dark Murder'n'Crime ballads, but also of all that still resonates subtly what the closer examination of the work is first worthwhile. Who likes Tim Burton films, this album is love.

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A review of DARK CABARET 2 released on Projekt Records by Mick Mercer:

"Winner of the I Wear Kurt Weill’s Old Pants award goes to Adrian H & The Wounds and the pukily pulsating ‘Bad Man’ with sleazy brass investing the sprawl of traipsing drums and rheumatic keys, as the hoary vocal presence unleashes a magnificent burst of story-telling. Marlene Dietrich with a beard, that type of image."

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New music CD review:
Adrian H and The Wounds
(self-titled); Release: 2009
Label: Lest We Forget Records


Adrian H unfolds haunting storylines, reminescent of Rumplestiltskin taking a cracktown walk on the wild side with Lou Reed, in a deep-throated Leonard Cohen style. Original music and lyrical content reflect raw vocalized emotions, the sort of emotions facilitated by waking up alone, unwillingly divorced, and incapacitated by a lingering drunken stupor amid several dozen empty bottles of the cheapest liquer that panhandling can buy; and an unbrazened devotion to the well-crafted stories at hand within each track on this full-length, self-titled debut. The pacing of some song parts on this album also bring to mind the music of Voltaire, a talented dark folk indie music artist with a penchant for heavy handed piano introductions, dry wit, and morbid lyrical themes. Perhaps moody and misunderstood, Adrian H's vocal range initially impresses of an unwashed, swarthy character; the anonymous sort from whom mothers pull away their children, moving hurriedly in any opposite direction. Mothers also say, "Don't judge a book by its cover!" Digging deeper into the album reveals serial, overlapping layers of complexity as each sordid song spins a new tale. Solace for open wounds earned via life's harsh realities may still reverberate deeply once the music stops. Despite these more dynamic audio features developing slowly behind each line of poetry, much of the lyrical content remains simplistic and to-the-point. Ironically, however, some of the lyrical content becomes so metaphical that the mind of any listener may twist and turn in wonder upon the truth lingering still amid the lines of allegorical poetry. Overall, the music immediately provokes imagined visual context to support the creative lyrical storylines. Labour upon piano keys reflects nuances of an exquisite attention toward mood altering audio impacts. As such, each song might easily be paired with sinister cinematic opportunities. The next mission, for those who choose to accept: discover whether Adrian H and The Wounds so profoundly deliver live and on-stage the same enigmatic and provocative music, or whether this band harbours even more horrific new music yet to furtively unveil?

Review by:
Jett Black

www.MusicArtery.com

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Live Show review by Melophobe 1/29/10

http://www.melophobe.com/

The Portland group Adrian H and the Wounds swaggered through swirling stage fog and low green can lights to take the stage. Wrapped in black leather and steel studding from head to toe, Adrian growled through a hypnotizing set of songs from their self-titled CD, released last year. Pursuing the bass lines laid down by Shiggy, he slithered up and down his electric keyboard while Kelby Patterson stayed in the shadows and lent mournful echoes of sax. “The Old Church” is a beautiful example of the group’s ability to blend haunting piano and cigarette-smoke vocals into compelling liturgical alt-rock. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not depressing music. If anything, it gets right to the soul of your darkest thoughts and allows you to let the lyrics in. Broken Heart kept everything right on track, and even Becky came out and “sang” a few lines. - Cathleen Robertson

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Recap: Coflux Festival Review September 25, 2009

Adrian of:  Adrian H and The Wounds

He's a man of style alright. His voice drips with evil. It lingers and carries on in your head, long after his intense performance. Permeating your every pore.
His intense talented keyboard playing makes one feel as if he is playing “you” as well..hard and sure.
The band fully talented and worth every note. - Glampire

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Adrian H writes crime scene songs.

His self titled debut with the Wounds features fairytale murders (on the very first track), dirty sex ("Cookies and Cocaine"), molestation ("Smoke") and, frequently shattered love. To say the stories in these eleven tracks are dark and strange doesn't begin to cover it. They're gutter-beautiful, all the more sexy for their seaminess. These tales are filled with impilied people, "she" smells like smoke, "she" likes cookies and cocaine, "he" lived in a stump with a family of ticks, "he" has a sin to tell. Victims? or the Villians? It's clear that every one is a little of each.

Remember when parents warned kids about the evils and temptations of Rock'n'Roll?
They were talking about bands like Adrian H and the Wounds.

But these aren't just recollections of deeds themselves, there are also those post-coital late evening/very early morning moments of contemplation, need and regret. Songs like "I Only Smile to You" remind you why people start doomed relationships, why they drink even though they know the hangover is inevitable. Of couse ditties like "My House" and "She Won't Leave Me Alone" warn you of the dangers of love and loss... the dangers that often lead to the crimes chronicled in other songs. It's wicked, cyclical trap that we (you, me, the narrator) seem cursed to repeat.

Adrian's voice is perfect for conveying his twisted tales, he has that grave-digger rasp familiar to fans of Tom Waits but with more of a sleazey snarl. He's like the sketchy uncle you don't invite to family dinners anymore because he just doesn't get that somethings are *just not* discussed or DONE at the table.

He's also a hell of a piano player. He knows when to attack with it, catching you off guard or bursting forth with a rollicking barrage that pulls you along with it. He also knows when to pull back or be laid back. He can lull as well as rock. He can be a balladeer or a bally, bluesy bastard.

The rest of the band compliments him well. The bass echoes the dread of Adrian's voice, and drummer Broken Heart knows when to fill, when to accent and when to lead the way. He knows his way around a kit and also knows that the best drummers are those who draw you in, not beat you down. I love the occasional inclusion of the saxophone parts, it gives the music a broken jazz feel that somehow completes it.

The end result is like the Doors recording a new-wave album after making out with Nick Cave and Shriekback. Catchy, creepy and great. - Sepiachord 4/24/09

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Adrian H. and The Wounds out of Portland, Oregon positively hypnotized us. Too tall for his keyboards, Adrian H. takes a wide stance and plays that thing like he riding a Harley, crouching and swaying back and forth as he takes the road playing with a nervous fury that is frightening. Backed by Broken Heart on the drum and Shiggy on bass, we were smitten from the kick-start.

Mr. H as a gravelly deep voice that whispers somewhere between Tom Waits and Lux Interior (R.I.P.) and he looks a lot like the late Goth God too. Magnetic like the North Pole. Songs were wonderful. Chanted simple lines repeated endlessly with a classically influenced cacophonous accompaniment that is part Procol Harum and part Depeche Mode.

We loved “Straight Leg With a Crooked Stick” and “She Won’t Leave Me Alone.” The highly infectious “She Smells Like Smoke” is our new favorite song. Hands down, no contest, jumping up and down on Oprah’s couch crazy. I love this band! - Sugarbuzz Magazine

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Take the sound of a man who drinks too much whiskey and smokes too many cigarettes. Make him sing/talk a little like Nick Cave, and give him a band that has a lounge lizard sound and feel like the soundtrack to Corpse Bride. Give them lyrics that are dark, a little morbid, and twistedly sexy. Have all the hallmarks of good gothic lyricism, like the aforementioned cigarettes, as well as sex, death, and love. Throw in murder, old men, and drugs, and you've got a perfect blend.

Adrian H's whiskey and cigarette voice is never loud, and really kind of stays in the same key through the whole album. If this were any other genre, it would not work at all. But this is goth rock, and for some reason only goths and Bob Dylan can have the same vocal delivery for an entire album. His piano work is wonderful, helping to give the music a sound and feel that would fit well in a dark gin joint with pool tables and drunk cougers looking for a fuck.
Broken Heart's drums are never hurried, never rushed, and always on time. A nice laid back feel with wonderful tones. The opening to "Cookies and Cocaine" is just captivating. I could just listen to that first ten seconds over and over.

This album is cohesive as a whole, and the songs can be listened to individually, too. There's no filler here, it's all thought out and well done. Not only is it something that can be listened to, actively engaging you with it, but this album is also perfect for a background sound too. I made supper to it last night, talking with the wife. Who, incidentally, also loved the CD. We actually both agree on all the points with this disc, and I can say for both myself and my wife, Adrian H and the Wounds' self-titled disc gets an eight out of ten. Super standout tracks for me are "Cookies and Cocaine", "Smoke", and "She Won't Leave Me Alone (The Bug Song)".
I'd recommend this disc to fans of Bauhaus, Joy Division, the Cure, and modern goths 13th Sky. I'd also recommend it to fans of Danny Elfman and Tim Burton's films. -Funeral Rain Zine

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As soon as Portland’s Adrian H. strikes the first piano key on Adrian H and the Wounds’ self-titled debut, you know what you’re getting yourself into. Haunting pianos played in 3/4 time create a waltzlike sound that could very well be mistaken for the soundtrack of an old-school horror flick. Adrian’s voice sounds like Tom Waits with a Transylvanian accent and his lyrics read like horror stories. As I listened, I couldn’t help but think of Jason Segel’s Dracula rock opera in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The album is piano-driven, with the faint sounds of bass and drums humming morosely in the background. And it’s a concept album—the concept being an overwhelming sense of loneliness, confusion and eeriness that would make Bram Stoker (or Jason Segel) proud. KATRINA NATTRESS. - The Willamette Week

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While most musicians who cite Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave and Tom Waits as influences are nothing more than cheap imitators, Adrian H and The Wounds are much more than that. Though Adrian H & The Wounds definitely channel the aforementioned greats, their work remains original and wholly unique. - Hitt Music Group

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After years in the Southwest music scene, Adrian H. relocated to Portland Or. from Austin Tx. to write dark modern songs on instruments usually slapped with a classical label. In light of what he is now doing, Adrian H. cites as influences lost lounge parlor souls like Tom Waits and Nick Cave. On a casual listen, his work is as if Brian Eno, instead of writing soundtracks to imaginary films, set himself to producing morbid lullabies. - The Caller Times

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“Imagine Boris Karloff singing dark lullabies in your ear as you sleep; there you have Adrian H and The Wounds”
Kevin Nettleingham/Nettleingham Audio

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“Adrian H and The Wounds sound like the bastard sons of Nick Cave and Tom Waits”
- Robert Bartleson/Haywire Studios

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Led by a crisp digital piano and a growl that splits the difference between Tom Waits and Cookie Monster, Adrian H and the Wounds' hand-wringing music is claustrophobically melodramatic. There's something cartoonishly gothic about Adrian's songs, like Nick Cave playing the role of Max Schreck in a Broadway musical directed by Tim Burton. It's the ideal soundtrack for reciting Poe and agonizing over which tattoo will piss off Daddy the most. Adrian H and the Wounds celebrate the release of their self-titled CD tonight, and lyrics like, "She likes cookies and cocaine, she likes blowjobs in the rain" indicate the mixture of sweet and skeevy contained therein. NL - The Portland Mercury