I find myself working backwards through Nicki Jaine’s oeuvre; I first became acquainted with her Dietrich-esque voice and cabaret stylings from her work with Revue Noir, when I learned that she had a solo album all to herself I knew I would simply have to hear it. Suffice to say, I am not disappointed. Jaine’s music is comprised mostly of piano, acoustic guitar, sizzling cymbals, and her own smoldering torch of a voice. Her songs call to mind a forgotten Wiemar decadence that is more richly authentic than the Dresden Dolls‘ pomo art excess, yet Jaine is afraid to mix a few new influences into cocktail either. The song “Antarctica” is a fine example: witness the advent of cabaret-metal! Of Pigeons and Other Curiosities calls to mind a hazy, darkly-tinted world of broken-down attractions and disreputable nightclubs…Prague burning the candle at both ends, so to speak. Even if you lose your soul, the price of admission was none too steep.

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