Clare Hubbard demands attention right away. The opening track, “Ask The Fox” is a hermewtic, industrial hum of almost childlike dread. Given that this cacophany of brutal and brittle sounds are made by a woman, the inevitable reference points are probably PJ Harvey, Diamanda Galas, maybe Lydiz Lunch. But that would be to limit the box Ceathua has freed herself from. Think Tom Waits, Michael Gira, Jandek; Hubbard is an artist completely and nakedly free, and this is a fearles record. Her work with both SPORTS and DBH do not prepare you for her solo work.

The jagged guitar and hermetic lyrics of suicide and memory drive “The Frozen Ground of Upstate New York” into uncomfortable revelation. “Queen of the Ice” is another industrial, “Eraserhead”-esque snippet that seems to ground the set in a present of suspended animation. The acoustic and vocal tracks always are framed by a dull noise, a constant reminder of claustrophobia.

Drunken horns give an eerie carnival feel to “Beneath The Rock and Bone,” while the grinding, digestive metallic, “leave all of us” ends in a harrowing, brittle guitar. Her haunting, jittery vocals sound as if she were sitting in a vibrating chair. A quiet, spare, plastic ono band-like “She’s Out The Moon” ends the record on a majestic, but low, note.

There were a lot of names dropped in this review, but this cassette-only release (along with her other records) places Ceathua in the unique pantheon of artists with a singular vision. She has created her own world, with its own symbols and magic. Yes, “Queenly Women Crowned and Uncrowned” is that good. 9/10 -- Mike Wood (26 November, 2008)