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Buy this album at ProxisCD OF THE WEEK (April 2000) :

Zita Swoon
"Life=A Sexy Sanctuary"
2001, WEA, 8573 87154-2

Songs (click on the -icons for a small audio-sample)
cover, sleeve 1. Fun for free
2. Hot hotter hottest
3. People are like slamming doors
4. My heart belongs to someone else (i wish it was mine)
5. Teacher
6. The bananaqueen
7. The quiet place in my city mind
8. Nice
9. Josiewitchgirl
10. Moving through life as prey

Songs :
Stef Kamil Carlens, Bjorn Eriksson, Tom Pintens, Tomas de Smet, Aarich Jespers
Lyrics :
Stef Kamil Carlens

Musicians:
- Stef Kamil Carlens (vocals, piano, guitars, midi programming)
- Tomas de Smet (bass, upright bass, percussion, synth, drums, vocals)
- Aarich Jespers (drums, precussions, sampling, organ)
- Tom Pintens (grand piano, guitar, synths, programming, bass, clarinet, vocals)
- Bjorn Eriksson (guitars, keyboards, vocals)
gasten:
- Bart Maris & Eric Morel (horns - on track 2)
- Tine Reymer (vocals - on track 4)
- Ilse neeka Govaerts (vocals - on track 7)
- Lol B (vocals - on track 10)

Produced : Zita Swoon
Recorded at Ringtheater Borgerhout (Antwerp), Studio Rat & Kabel (Aalst)

Artwork : Bjorn Eriksson & Tom Hautekiet
Coverconcept: Sarah van de Put
 

My opinion

The key sentence on "Life is a Sexy Sanctuary" is for me in the song "The Quiet Place in My Mind" : "It's like an aspirine for blues, like an umbrella for dark moods". Too bad, but this describes exactly why this 5th Moondog JR/Zita Swoon CD hasn't become a high in their career.
The difference between "Life=A Sexy Sanctuary" and the fantastic "Everyday I paint Pictures on a Wedding Dress", is not that the title is so much shorter, or that the band is looking more whore-like to a continuation of the success that "D.I.S.C.O." brought them, nor that Stef Kamil was so much nicer looking when he had his long hair instead of a Bowie-hairdo, nor that Zita Swoon has suddenly become "clueless in Antwerp". No, for me the difference is that the previous CD brought me three or four pieces of pure unadulterated goosebumps. And on "Life=a sexy sanctuary" that doesn't happen. Not even close.
THe main suspect in my eyes is the (over)production. Of course, this is a matter of taste and feeling, so it's easy to hold a different opinion. Maybe an example can clarify my stand: during the promocampaign that came with the release of this CD, the band streamed a concert in the FNAC. One of the songs being played was an almost acoustic version of "My Heart Belongs To Someone Else". And I was thinking: "I can't wait to get a hold on this CD, this is magic". But when I did get the CD a couple of days later, I didn't even notice the song, as if it wasn't there. The emotion -what I was looking for- wasn't there.
And so "Life = a Sexy Sanctuary" finds itself somewhat too full with songs that "don't do anything" (even though there's only a meagre 10 songs on it). "Teacher", "People are like slamming doors", "Fun For Free", "Josie Witch Girl". If Zita Swoon really had the intention of making a poppy album, why didn't they choose resolutely to go for the playful disco of "Bananaqueen" and "Hot hotter hottest": at least that would have become a partyrecord that would've been so much more difficult to neglect.
Only towards the end of the album, there are some songs that didn't get such an overintensive production and do manage to carry across some emotion: "The Quiet place in my Mind", "Nice" and the wonderful "Moving through life as prey".
"Hey, My Life is OK", it had the possibility of becoming a sort of mantra for a new conquest of the low countries (and far beyond), but that LSP-ish stuff certainly didn't work on me.
Don't get me wrong: on a scale of "ridiculous - sucks - bad - waste-of-time- fine - good - great", Zita Swoon still finds itself comfortably in the category "good" with this "Life=a sexy sanctuary". So what. Ain't good enough, for a band that has a masterpiece in it.

And your opinion?
Did I get it all wrong, or was I spot-on ? Do you want to share your opinion about this cd ? Send it in ...
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This Album in the Press

- Jub in Humo : "De opzet was ‘een popplaat maken’, en daar knelt het schoentje. Niet alle tien songs op ‘Life = A sexy Sanctuary’ zijn namelijk ongehavend uit de suikerspinbehandeling gekomen. Maar bij de eerste beluistering zal aan uw enthousiasme niet getornd worden: de eerste dip volgt pas na vier nummers, en tegen die tijd bent u in zulke hoge sferen dat u er ongetwijfeld niets van merkt. ... Laat u dus vooral niets wijsmaken: ‘Life = A sexy Sanctuary’ is wel degelijk de moeite waard. Het is alleen nog niet de absolute klassieker geworden die we van Zita Swoon zeker nog mogen verwachten."
- Oor : "The whole album seems to be aimed at elevating SKC’s melodramatically vibrating voice. If this had happened against the background of a darker sound decorage, it would’ve certainly provided a more emotional result. But now you just sit around, waiting for the moment for Zita Swoon to grab you by the throat or even by your bollocks. ... It is by no means a bad album, you must chew through the superficial layers to understand the meaning of the album. The album aims to give the listener aspirin for the blues, but if the "patient" had just been a bit more feverish, the cure would’ve been "better"."
- NetParque (Portugal) : ""Life = A Sexy Sanctuary"vai servindo para matar saudades dos tempos em que o projecto se chamava Moondog Jr. e para acalmar a espera por um novo álbum de dEUS (anunciado pelos próprios para 2002). ... "Life = A Sexy Sanctuary" é um pequeno e modesto álbum que se ouve sem complexos, com momentos altos em boas histórias como "My Heart Belongs To Someone Else (I Wish It Was Mine)", "Teacher"ou "The Quiet Place In My City Mind".
- lg in Rif-Raf (ed.fr) : "Si l'on prend Zita Swoon au sérieux, ils sont pratiquement inaudibles. Par contre (ils sont les premiers à le faire) si l'on considère la part de second degré et d'absurde que leur musique contient, ils font apparaître la figure improbable et réjouissante d'un Beck né à Borgerhout."
- Reinout Vangeel voor Uptomusic : "... De muzikale basis van de groep wordt nog steeds gevormd door fijne rock- en poptextuurtjes in functie van Stef Kamil Carlens' uit de duizend herkenbare neusvocalen, maar er mag ook al eens uitgewaaierd worden naar verdere horizonten. ... 'Life = A Sexy Sanctuary' is een nieuw pareltje aan de kroon van Koning Belpop, wiens troon tot nader order nog steeds in Antwerpen staat."
- RamDam : "Le nouveau Zita Swoon est donc différent des opus précédents mais l'essentiel est malgré tout préservé: les arrangements sont toujours aussi riches et recherchés. Cependant, Zita Swoon devra s'attendre à voir ses anciens fans déçus et à connaître la substitution de son public par un nouveau, sans doute moins attiré par la recherche musicale permanente et par les albums que l'on ne découvre vraiment qu'après quelques dizaines d'écoutes mais que l'on apprécie toute la vie."
- Paris Première : "L'identité de Zita Swoon est assez troublante : véritable collectif qui semble aujourd’hui s’être trouvé, ce groupe anversois privilégie la confrontation musicale et l’improvisation avec le souci permanent de voir le visuel venir soutenir le propos musical. Un ensemble en perpétuelle évolution, y compris sur scène".
- Dirk Steenhaut in De Morgen : "De muziek van Zita Swoon blijft rijk aan details en is minder eenduidig dan je op het eerste gehoor zou vermoeden. Ze balanceert voortdurend op de scheidingslijn tussen uitbundig en ingetogen, en verliest veel van haar lichtvoetigheid zodra je je op de teksten concentreert. ... conclusie: deze cd is voor Zita Swoon wat The Ideal Crash was voor dEUS. Wantrouw dus je aanvankelijke teleurstelling en blijf vooral luisteren. Nadat je weerstand is gebroken, zullen tien prachtsongs je deel zijn."
- Zicline : "La célèbre richesse de compositions et d'interprétation est toujours omni-présente, avec une multitude de facettes sonores passant par pop, rock, jazz… imprégnée de beaucoup de sensibilité. Chaque titre a sa propre identité comme Hot hotter hottest, The bananaqueen, Josiewitchgirl.Sita Zwoon est un groupe atypique qui continue à élargir son horizon ..."
- ow in Rif-Raf (ned.editie) : "Op zoek naar een groter publiek heeft Zita Swoon geopteerd om een popplaat uit te brengen. En dan hou je je hart vast. ... Net als de vorige is ook deze cd een groeiplaat. Niet zo straf als de vorige, wat ook niet kan want dat is de strafste plaat die in België ooit is gemaakt. Maar pop of niet, er staat op "life = a sexy sanctuary" genoeg om voor te vallen."
- Le Monde : "Stef Kamil Carlens, Zita Swoon en chef, a préféré cette fois à la fragmentation dadaïste des structures et des mélodies plus classiquement pop, perverties par des arrangements hérétiques ne s'interdisant aucun territoire : reggae avec des rythmiques sautillantes, latino avec des cuivres rutilants (Hot Hotter Hottest), new wave avec des synthés sortis des années 1980, rock avec des guitares nerveuses et un piano étincelant. Aussi charnels que cérébraux, les plaisirs dispensés par Zita Swoon en font un héritier caché et très spirituel de David Bowie."
- Peter van Dyck in Focus (Knack) : "Op basis van de heerlijke single Hot Hotter Hottest had ik een sexy plaat verwacht, die resoluut de popkaart zou trekken ... Het dilemma van de Antwerpse groep is dat hij goed is in funky, aanstekelijke nummer, én in hoekig, donker spul. SKC komt in de problemen wanneer hij, zoals op deze cd, de middenweg probeert te vinden."

Did you see a good (or bad) review of this album ? Tell me about it !

 

Where to buy this CD ?

You can order this CD from a number of locations (prices researched on September 20, 2001, but nothing guarantees they still are the same when you read this).

Shop
Price of the CD
Shipping + other expenses
Total
Direct Link
Frontstage
779
0
779 Bef.
Frontstage
Azur
861
20
881 Bef.
Proxis
793
0
793 Bef.
Proxis
Atrecordings
--
3$
--
Netbeat
--
2,77 euro
--

The lowest price is in yellow, the highest in red. This price comparison doesn't take things into account like deduction of shipping expenses when ordering more than 1 cd, bonus points, differences in guarantees ... Shipping prices are those for customers in Belgium.

Have you seen this record elsewhere on the net, do you own an online-CD-shop with Belgian products in it, or if there's something wrong with my calculations : let me know.
 

More about this group :

- The official site that was revealed for this cd = zitaswoon.com
- Zita Swoon is of course represented in The Belgian Pop & Rock Archives
- Other Zita Swoon reviews here: "Plage Tattoo", "Disco Adventures"
- Interview in Oor about Life=A Sexy Sanctuary
- Interview at Cucamonga about it
- Mini-site at Wanadoo to release the CD
- Booking : alice@helterskelter.com
 

 

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