November 8, 2024 by A.S. Van Dorston

Psych queen doubles down on her theatrical trip with a cinematic blend of dark cabaret, glam and psych prog.

Everything Rosalie Cunningham is involved with promises music that evokes delightfully colorful imagery. Such is the nature of the psychedelic rock background she came out of, from Sky Diamonds, the Beatles cover band she did with her dad, to Ipso Facto, Purson and her three solo albums. As she hones her songwriting, musicianship and production skills, she’s also expanded her scope to encompass a wider palate. In line with the double meaning of the title To Shoot Another Day and the cover art, her third album is a wild carnival ride that takes James Bond out of his comfort zone of elegant Swiss chalets into a gleefully depraved Rocky Horror Cabaret music hall production. The title track most definitely deserves serious consideration for the next bond theme starring, say, Cillian Murphy. Yeah, I’d see that.

“Timothy Martin’s Conditioning School” contains the kind of satirical cheek that suggests she heard some Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band band in formative years, as well as Soap Opera (1975) era Kinks. The relatively lengthy “Heavy Pencil” is packed with all kinds of changes, with Jethro Tull flute and the jazzy psych prog weirdness of Gong. The flute, as well as clarinet and sax were played by Gong’s Ian East, so let’s call it Gong flute. “In the Shade of the Shadows” gives visuals of Cunningham in a smoky 1930s Parisian jazz club in between burlesque and vaudeville acts. She flexes her vocal chops with sublime range and control, a smoldering chanteuse.

With lesser talents this could be a mess, but Cunningham is at the peak of her powers in writing arrangements that flow between the elements naturally in aid of storytelling that should win over the considerable fanbase of Dresden Dolls/Amanda Palmer. And while Two Piece Puzzle (2022) revealed some growing pains as she and her partner Rosco Wilson pieced together the album in isolation, this one sounds more organic and rocks. While Cunningham did handle many of the instruments, with Wilson adding some guitar, and co-production and songwriting, they have help from five guest musicians, including a bark from Barkley Woodcock, and Raphael Mura, her drummer from Purson.

A standout example of their production prowess is the one-two punch of “Denim Eyes” and “Spook Racket,” that revisit that special post-Abbey Road era where everyone has been inspired to elevate their production game, from The Pretty Things’ Parachute (1970) to 10cc, and sound warm, clean and bouncy. Trust me, that’s a good thing. And the dark and groovy tune is a good as Alice Cooper and T. Rex engaged in a snake dance tussle.

“Stepped Out of Time,” with some nice piano playing from David Woodcock, feels like an elaborately arranged Laurel Canyon production with just a hint of Country-Western flavor. This leads into the climax of “The Premiere,” that features a guitar lick with fangs, as the mid section features some heavy King Crimson/Van Der Graaf Generator flavored prog. I can imagine them really letting loose on this live.

Two bonus tracks are included from a single released before the album that concludes the “Donovan Ellington” arc from the last album on “Return of the Ellington” with a playfully fuzzed out guitar and enough changes and organs for prog fans to chew on. “Home” returns to the American West Coast, and is almost too lightweight for my tastes, though it indicates the vast range of what Cunningham might be destined to cover in her next dozen albums. I’ll just be grateful if she keeps it weird like this album for as long as possible.