AP Track Review
When I watched Chrysta Bell's Official Video for the title track of her new album "Feels Like Love" I thought of William S. Burroughs, David Lynch and Philip K. Dick all at once. I mean the imagery feels alternate, universe speaking, film nourish in maybe a futuristic time with past tropes with doses of feral sexuality, hyper reality and oddness. Musically, with the electronically driven beat and percussion and lush dance wave tones, I thought of old school outfits like the Human League, Kate Bush pushed through a Giorgio Moroder filters. The art rock, baroque pop and glam spidey senses are firing and I love that. Bell's vocal performance is complexly sultry and, to me, is poised always in a sort of artistic frame, organic of course, but made to have stage lights cast on it (if you know what I mean). It is an artistic motif and aesthetic in that Bowie sort of way.
The avant garde elements and connection is strong and she met David Lynch at age 21 forging a musical partnership. Lynch has described Bell as "the most beautiful alien ever" and I would never question that man. The evocative video dripping with questions was directed by Archon and filmed in the Polish village of Syweco.
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Robb Donker
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Chrysta Bell is a performing artist, recording artist and actress who incorporates dynamic theatrical and multimedia elements into unforgettable performance experiences.
By 18 she had become lead vocalist for the popular Austin, Texas- based continental swing act, 8 ½ Souvenirs. During a four year run with the band she was signed to RCA Victor, featured on Austin City Limits, and shared the stage with the likes of Willie Nelson and Brian Setzer.
At age 21 she had a fateful meeting with legendary artist David Lynch, and the two began a lasting musical partnership which yielded the dream pop album This Train(2011), the song “Polish Poem” from the sound track to INLAND EMPIRE(2006), and the eerie and ethereal EP Somewhere in the Nowhere(2016).
Her most recent collaboration with Lynch was on set of the internationally acclaimed Twin Peaks: The Return. In her television acting debut, Lynch cast Chrysta Bell in a leading role of FBI Agent Tammy Preston, acting alongside Lynch himself, Laura Dern and Miguel Ferrer.
In June of 2017, Chrysta Bell released her sophomore album with Mercury Prize- winning producer John Parish, long time P.J. Harvey collaborator and producer. We Dissolve was met with critical acclaim worldwide.
On April 5th of 2019, she released her 4th studio album, titled FEELS LIKE LOVE. The new album finds Chrysta Bell delving in darker territory, with influences of new wave, post punk and disco. As always, her powerful, distinctive contralto deliveries are seamless.
Chrysta Bell was recently featured for an in- depth artist profile in the award-winning magazine, Texas Monthly. The article includes quotes from director David Lynch and Robert Rodriguez, as well as from producer John Parish. [Read the article “Otherworldly Singer-Songwriter Retruns to Texas” here] https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/otherworldly-singer-songwriter-chrysta-bell-returns-texas/
Her 19-date Feels Like Love Tour of Europe in the spring of 2019 featured sold out gigs in Paris, London and Kosovo.
Her 15th international tour is coming in November 2019. The #TimeNeverDiesTour features dates in Moscow, Athens, St. Petersburg and Warsaw. Visit
https://chrystabell.com
for details.
As a headlining act across 34 countries in North America, UK, Europe and Australia in the last 7 years, her enigmatic presence and soulful performance has captivated audiences and media.
Acknowledgement for Chrysta Bell:
"Chrysta Bell looks like a dream and Chrysta Bell sings like a dream. And the dream is coming true." — David Lynch.
“The first time I saw Chrysta Bell perform, I thought she was like an alien. The most beautiful alien ever.” –David Lynch
“The Texan singer seems to have one foot in another world” – The Telegraph
“Chrysta Bell is the most rapturous embodiment of Lynch’s surrealism, guiding us beyond the physical world to an elevated state where fear and love are equally welcome and death is a journey you’re excited to take. Her show is the best thing I’ve seen at The Carlyle, transforming the space into the kind of haunt I never want to leave.” – Theater Pizzazz
“Like Lana Del Rey singing the songs of Serge Gainsbourg.” – NME
“Sensual, ethereal… like a nightclub act from a shadow dimension, one that’s glamorous and sexy but also on the cusp of cosmic chaos.” – Wall Street Journal
“The Queen of extravagant pop noir…sensual, dramatic and more than a little mysterious“
Samir Köck, Die Presse
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