A Bad Diana is Diana Rogerson, a figure well-known within the more abstract, leftfield fringes of experimental music, and a musician whose name surfaced within the original waves of the British industrial music scene, alongside the likes of Current 93, Nurse With Wound and Coil. Since the early/mid 80s, Rogerson’s linkage with Current 93 and NWW has been pretty prevalent, with her appearing on numerous releases of both groups, as well as releasing an album of her own way back in 1985 under the pseudonym of Chrystal Belle Scrodd.  Here on her first release since ‘The Inevitable Chrystal Belle Scrodd Record’, Rogerson is joined by husband Steve Stapleton, he of Nurse With Wound, Matt Waldron and Colin Potter, who’s relegated to engineering duty credits but is still present.

With a cover photo that’s reminiscent of Martha Wainwright’s ‘Factory’ single, you’d be forgiven if you thought this was a folky little number.  However, as the textured layers of sounds of ‘Behind the Curtain of the Sun’ unfurl, over which Rogerson delivers her own unique vocals with a delicate passion and intriguing charm, you instantly know that you’re dealing with a intriguingly diverse and highly interesting album.

Before we go any further, I have to say I was surprised with this, the album’s opening track.  I was for some reason or other not too confident that I’d enjoy what this album had to offer but as it slowly unveils itself over the duration of its seven tracks, I was pleasantly surprised time and time again by it.  Whether it be the drone and freeform jazz blasts of ‘Asphalt Kiss’, the lyrics and wooden percussion coupling of ‘Mother’ which comes across like a latter-day incarnation of Psychic TV or the 14-minute long album closer ‘Chant d’Amour/da Mort’ with its dark ambient-like textures and paused instrumentations, the atmosphere the album evokes and the lush textures of sound that it offers are deeply enjoyable.

Musically, the album sits somewhere on the outskirts of dark ambience. However,the inclusion of experimental sound elements add a more avant-garde edge, and once Rogerson’s vocals are layered over the top of everything else, it’s time to stop trying to pigeonhole the styles and sounds of ‘The Lights Are On…’ and just enjoy its wonderfully delivered uniqueness.

Making a definite return to the music scene in her own right after an absence of 20 years or so must have been daunting enough for Diana Rogerson, but with such a polished and impressive album, it’s a very welcome return.  It’ll just be interesting now to see how long the gap between this and the next album is…

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