Recorded in two days at Clay Creek Recording Studio in winter 1997, Complete Fairytales gathers all six songs by Newark, Delaware’s Eldritch Anisette. The band came out of the Enoch Collective, a local network of young punks putting on cheap shows in VFW halls, churches, and community spaces. Guitar, bass, drums, and Courtney Miller’s lead vocals push the songs through the tense, open-ended side of emo, with “Suckerpunch,” “Pessimism Goes To Work,” and “Dissection of Silence” originally issued on a 7-inch before the band fell apart. The remaining three tracks survived on DAT until this collection.
There’s a useful spread of reference points here. Samiam and screamo sit alongside the sharper emotional pull of Samuel and The Sundays, while Miller’s stated admiration for Harriet Wheeler and Tori Amos helps explain why the writing reaches beyond standard punk catharsis. These songs were made for very little money, and they retain that direct, local feel rather than sounding polished into anonymity. “Untitled” and “Secondhanded” broaden the set, while “Japan” closes it without turning the six-song sequence into a grand statement. Complete Fairytales should appeal to anyone digging into pre-internet emo, Delaware punk history, or small-room guitar records with more on their minds than volume.
