REVIEW: UNKILLABLE ANGEL by Ada Rook released independently
The Black Dresses split was and continues to be ugly. I never reviewed Laughingfish, the duo’s final record, mostly because I didn’t feel it was my place. While there were some strong tracks present, I felt the two’s strained relationship came through quite clearly and it wasn’t up to some music blogger to weigh in on it. Now Ada Rook has released Unkillable Angel, her first solo record since the split and she makes it hard to not weigh in on. When I heard about this record, I saw warning to stay away, citing Rook as being aggressive, toxic and confrontational, which if you’re attempting to read the record in bad faith I could definitely see. She also invites you to hate her on the album several times on both the tracks about this situation and the one’s written two years ago. Still, this didn’t scare me away, in fact I think Unkillable Angel gives us a deeper look into the situation than we’re led to believe.
Rook's music has always been danceable with a sharp edge with her harsh vocal style and fun, but on edge, rave production. On this record in particular it is maybe the purest blend of the two. On the opening track Rook screams so hard it nearly shreds her voice but frankly, with this subject matter, how could she not? The opening verse, and most of the record as a whole, sees Ada talking about feeling strung out and used by a lover she tried so hard to help.
The second track, “Party Time Sexy Disorder” is a more distinct genre mash-up and, though it sounds very much so like groups she's been in, this is undeniably solely Rook's. As if her producer tag, I hate that stupid mouse, wasn't enough it also draws from past projects she has been a part of or adjacent to. Proving, either the size of contribution she has given to those records or the imprint her collaborators have left on her. Either way, it's certainly a statement piece of a track.
In spite of my praises the record isn't totally flawless but only because of one detail. As with any Ada Rook album, Unkillable Angel features good songs front to back, listening to them as a holistic body of work can get a little daunting, especially with it only being around forty minutes. The four-track string of “Yourself” titled songs especially are valuable each in a vacuum, however, to listen to all four in a row feels like sonic reiteration on her part. I am, of course, referring only to the middle section of the record here.
This is also easy to forget when the last three tracks of the record come around. As said above, the lead up to Unkillable Angel was a messy one, and while it is alluded to throughout it is directly called out on “weed store kratom.” Rook goes out of her way to illustrate the pain and anxiety she feels dealing with this entire split while also communicating she truly does want the other person to heal as well. On the following “holding your sleeping body” it's more direct. The track serves as a letter to an ex only they could understand as she does her best to use language which doesn't accuse, doesn't let us in, but draws from experience both before and during the relationship in question. It ends with a calling card we can recognize, a recording from their time together, but we can't understand the weight of. While subtle, for us outside of their lives, it’s all the closure we need.
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