One Album Brings Miranda Sex Garden Together
Miranda Sex Garden is a band that, like Fleetwood Mac before them, was rich with drama. There always seem to be band members leaving and joining and in fact, only two of their five albums have the same group of people playing instruments and singing on it. The band broke up for a five-year period in 1995 but reunited for one last album titled Carnival of Souls in 2002. Although it looked somewhat hopeful that the members would decide to stay with the group, it disbanded once again. However, there is now an album out that has brought many, even if it’s not all, members out. That album is Midnight Flower by Miranda Sex Garden’s former member and founder, Katharine Blake.
Donna McKevitt, who sang vocals for Miranda Sex Garden from 1992 – 1994, also performed vocals for many of the songs on Midnight Flower. And she wasn’t the only former Miranda Sex Garden member that wanted to see her old friend do well. She was joined by Mike Servent. Mike was once also a part of Miranda Sex Garden however, he was only part of the band long enough to make one album, which was Fairytales of Slavery. He also appears on Katharine’s new album playing keyboards.
Katharine wrote all of the music for her solo album just as she did when she was part of Miranda Sex Garden. Because it fits in so well with the music of her past and because Miranda Sex Garden’s music was so important to their fans, it also greatly keeps within the same theme of the band’s older style of music. The music also pays a tribute of sorts to the type of music played by Mediaeval Baebes, a band which Katharine also founded. Fans of Miranda Sex Garden are also often fans of Mediaeval Baebes so to say that one group of fans would like the album generally indicates that the other would as well.
Katharine was pregnant at the time the album was being made. The birth of her daughter, Ava Sophia Marsh and the birth of this album occurred at approximately the same time. Katharine wanted a picture of her pregnant with Ava for the album and she also dedicated the album to her, making the album an extremely personal journey, just as all of the Miranda Sex Garden albums were. Perhaps Ben Golomstock, former Miranda Sex Garden guitarist, new this as he helped collaborate on the album after Katharine had helped him with his own solo album.