Our Lady of Radium
“Our Lady of Radium…shimmers with horror…an engaging and fiercely original album…such evocative songs make great theater.”
–Anne E. Johnson, Stereophile
released: March 4, 2022 Vinyl | CD | Digital | Lyrics Book | ebook
“Our Lady of Radium is a sad and exquisite celebration of Curie...as Charming Disaster sings, radium turns your bones to dust.” –Rochester City News
Brooklyn-based musical duo Charming Disaster’s new album, Our Lady of Radium, represents a departure from the occult themes the goth-folk duo have become known for on their past releases. On the new album, Charming Disaster’s Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris apply their playfully dark artistic sensibility to the life and discoveries of pioneering scientist Marie Skłodowska Curie, as well as the tragic story of the “Radium Girls” and other consequences of Curie’s work. Our Lady of Radium will be released on CD, 12-inch vinyl LP and via download, simultaneously with a limited edition lyrics and art book that includes Charming Disaster’s research notes and original illustrations by artist Susan Saas.
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Madame Curie, who was awarded two Nobel Prizes for her groundbreaking work in physics and chemistry, is an ongoing source of popular fascination, as evidenced by recent streaming series and films like Radioactive, but Charming Disaster’s concept album is the first of its kind. Our Lady of Radium includes nine songs exploring moments from Curie’s life and research: the ancient folklore of the mountains where radioactive ores were mined; the romance of equals between Marie and Pierre; the famous spirit medium whose séances they attended; Marie’s grief following Pierre’s tragic death; the physical characteristics of radium itself; and the personal scandal that almost destroyed her. The album also depicts the tragedy of the “Radium Girls,” who were poisoned in the course of their employment, painting watch dials with radium-based paint. In addition, Our Lady of Radium deals with duels, alchemy, dwarves, romance, Egyptian mythology, radioactive decay chains, and other secret histories.
This project began in 2017, when Bisker and Morris were awarded an artist residency by Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology in Bellaire, MI. The duo undertook extensive reading and research into Curie and her work, and wrote a cycle of nine interwoven songs telling fragments Curie’s story. The songs then lay dormant while the band toured extensively and recorded another album (2019’s SPELLS + RITUALS).
In early 2020, Charming Disaster were preparing to record their next studio album when the pandemic hit and put those plans on hold. Unable to record in the studio with a backing band, the duo decided to try a new approach, recording every instrument themselves at Ellia’s parents’ home, which was sitting vacant just outside NYC. Working with just two microphones, the pair tracked ukuleles, guitars, vocals, glockenspiel, bass, pots and pans, breath sounds, a drum kit borrowed from Jeff’s brother, and the piano Ellia used to practice on as a child. They let the sounds of the house contribute too: the natural reverb of a long hallway, a ticking clock that became a percussion element, whistling that echoed in a tiled shower. The results are an extraordinary suite of songs that are haunted by the moments and characters they capture.
Charming Disaster was formed by Bisker and Morris in 2012, inspired by the gothic humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the murder ballads of the Americana tradition, and the dramatic flair of the cabaret. Together the duo write songs that tell stories, using two voices to explore dark narratives and characters with a playfully macabre sensibility.
In their critically acclaimed albums Love, Crime & Other Trouble (2015), Cautionary Tales (2017), and SPELLS + RITUALS (2019), Charming Disaster has explored death, crime, myth, magic, folklore, and the occult. In their theatrical live performances, they combine vocal harmonies and clever lyrics with ukulele, guitar, and virtuosic foot percussion, drawing listeners into a spooky, offbeat universe of paranormal romance, con artists, and ancient gods, playing out against a backdrop of nightclubs, car chases, circus tents, the afterlife, and beyond.
Reviews & Media coverage:
“They save the epic title track for the end with its dream-like state of wonder (that you hope never ends). No idea what rock these two crawled out from under but I want to find that rock, crawl under it myself and follow these two to the ends of the earth.” –Dagger Zine
“Poetic and thought-provoking songs in a classic pop vein with an Americana flavor. At times their songs are reminiscent of what the Cramps might have sounded like had they directed their songwriting for a softer dark cabaret vibe or Tav Falco dialing back the rockabilly and emphasizing the folkloric aspect of his work.” –Queen City Sounds and Art
“An oddly warm, compelling, and endearingly twisted goth folk song cycle…Our Lady of Radium is a devilishly crafty work…a parable of perseverance and humanity.” –David Cantrell, Stereo Embers Magazine
“Their harmonies fit hand-in-glove, and their songs are as much cabaret/art rock as they are folk. There is plenty of wry humor afoot as well…The title track…achieves perfection in its simplicity.” –Steve Mecca, Chain D.L.K.
”Haunting harmonies…with a distinctive style of gothic Americana that brings to mind the Handsome Family, Ellia Bisker and Jeff Morris take us on a journey back in time to an eerie moment in history. There is a sweeping poignancy to the way they sing this lyrical tale.” –Glide
“Winning, twinning harmonies, and sharp and timely lyrics…bring the past to life—and entwine it with the present day.” –The Big Takeover
“Bisker and Morris certainly bring an unparalleled amount of creativity…to a truly unique and memorable body of work.” –Tom Haugen, Take Effect Reviews
“Charming Disaster are…two talented people with an unnatural attraction to the dark and mysterious...their sound is neo-cabaret in the vein of The Dresden Dolls." –Ink19
“On Our Lady of Radium, Charming Disaster brings light to life’s darker corners.” –j. poet, Rock & Roll Globe
“This is Gothic folk finery at its minimalist best.” –Lisa Whealy, Independent Clauses
“What do you get when you combine everything cryptic, horror, weird, macabre, showmanship, and pure dedication? You get the duo Charming Disaster.” –Anthony Montalbano, VWMusic
“‘Our Lady of Radium' is…cabaret style folk…with plenty of the spooky vibes we've all come to love from them. It's a very quiet song dripping with intensity.” –If It’s Too Loud
”Our Lady of Radium radiates magic and mystery.” –Brooklyn Roads
“The second best song about Madame Curie ever written.” –Sound Opinions
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