Record Label: S/R
Genre: Lo-Fi
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

Bastard Fairies have a lo-fi and scary sound with layered sound effects, bouncy and repetitive rhythms, and unnerving female vocals that range from sickly sweet to sweetly sick. It’s the kind of sound that brings to mind demented clowns and possessed children.

Ironically, the problem with the Bastard Fairies is that they’re not creepy enough. The vocals are decent, but nearly hauntingly cutesy and macabre enough to put a chill down your spine and a tent in your pants. Oftentimes the vocals are distorted, which is a cheap way out.

A lot of the songs are good, but thanks to the interesting instrumentation and arrangements. The vocals, which should be the point of interest, tend to distract or come off as silly. And if there’s one lesson of goth that can apply to this type of outsider lo-fi, it’s that once you sound silly it all falls apart.

Bottom Line: Vox fail to carry what could’ve been enchanting lo-fi weirdness.
Notable Tracks: A Venomous Tale
Overall Rating: