Ute Lemper. - Review - sound recording review

Punishing Kiss (Universal Classics)

German chanteuse Lemper has often been viewed as heiress apparent to the misty cabaret melancholy conjured by the late Lotte Lenya--mainly because she is one of the only modern divas daring enough to attempt not only difficult Brecht/Weill standards, but forgotten chestnuts from Piaf and Dietrich as well. Now she's tackling some fresher tones: moody, often downright creepy pieces by Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Scott Walker, and Elvis Costello at his most morbid. A couple of slinking duets with the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon (whose pallid trill is a perfect match for Lemper's) really raise the decadentera dead, making cabaret cool again for contemporary cats.

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