At the heart of Mary and The Black Lamb are vocalist Lindz Riot and guitarist/vocalist Nixon Cutz, who formed the band in 2007. The band’s name is a dark twist on the familiar nursery rhyme, "Mary Had A Little Lamb." Only, there is no Mary; just two black sheep who never felt like they fit in anywhere, until they found each other. The duo rounded up the last of their flock with the addition of bassist Jordan Caverly, pianist Matt Kelly, and drummer Scott Brindley. And off they went.

As The City Sleeps offers up mostly straightforward tracks that would be equally at home on a Top 40 radio station or rocking the stage at a metal festival. As one might expect from a band whose inspirations are Evanescence and The Birthday Massacre, the vocals are darkly caressing, the hooks are catchy, the guitar work is tight, and the keyboards, drums, and bass line all have a distinctive voice. Don’t get me wrong -- Mary and The Black Lamb are by no means a clone. Instead, the band distills the brooding gothic rock sensibilities of Evanescence and keyboard-driven yearning of The Birthday Massacre into a sound that is uniquely its own.

My initial exposure to As The City Sleeps was actually a handful of free downloads from ReverbNation (some of which are still available here) instead of the complete album. First out of the gate, the track "She Is." The song starts with a thunderous blast of guitars and drums, but the energy and passion promised in the opening bars never quite materialize. It’s an enjoyable song, but not one that stands out from the pack. The next song, however, caught me completely by surprise. "Gone" opens with a whirr of electronic sound, followed by the gentle pluck of a guitar as Lindz sings, "I finish packing my bag because my arm is numb and sore." Hmmm, sounds like a song about a girl who is wistfully taking one last look around her parents’ house before heading off to college. Then, the lyrics take a sharp turn for the ugly:

Blindsided! What makes "Gone" so chilling is that there are no crashing drums or ominously thrumming bass chords to announce the upcoming struggle. The tempo stays at a placid pace, while the violence of the physical altercation unfolds and the woman’s internal battle rages over sacrificing a sometimes-abusive/sometimes-loving relationship to save herself. Now As The City Sleep has REALLY piqued my interest.

"Emily" is perhaps Mary and The Black Lamb’s most powerful song. Lindz wrote the song as a tribute to a friend who struggled with depression and a series of incorrect diagnoses and medications. To cope, the friend created an alter-ego, Emily, as a scapegoat for her lapses in sanity. The song starts with deceptive simplicity: a few seconds of single notes that have a lilting, almost playful quality. An acoustic guitar chimes in, adding a layer of sonic texture, which lead into Lindz’s vocals. Here, the vocals alternate between crisply emotive and distortion-fogged as the line between ego and alter-ego slides in and out of focus:

The desperation of the music continues to ebb and flow, until the bass and drums come to the forefront and ratchet up the intensity about a hundred notches. The relentless pounding nearly drowns out the one-sided telephone conversation taking place in the background, where Lindz discovers that her 19-year-old friend has been killed in a car accident. Even before learning the back-story on "Emily," the song had a ring of truth and conviction that cannot be fabricated, no matter how technically proficient a band might be. But now, I can’t listen to it without a cold shiver creeping down my spine.

While "Emily" may be Mary and The Black Lamb’s most powerful song, "Stranger" is arguably their most mature. "Stranger" is the only song on As The City Sleeps that Lindz and Matt wrote together. And man oh man, do the keyboards shine on this track in all their dark, rippling glory. Once again, the band delves into somber territory, but the lyrics are more open to interpretation. You gotta love a song that doesn’t reveal itself all at once. The image that "Stranger" calls to mind is that of a leopard lazily stretching in dappled sunlight. There is a languorous quality to the song, but also a sense of coiled menace lurking just below the surface.

Needless to say, I ran out and bought the entire album after having my appetite whetted by the free downloads. Rumor has it that Mary and The Black Lamb are currently writing their second full-length album. I can’t wait to hear what these newcomers will serve up next.

Rating: 8.75 / 10

Favorite Songs: "Emily" & "Stranger"

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