As Greenaway embarks on the next chapter in her life, after embarking three studio albums and one EP with Alunah, she’s putting on her platform boots to start on her next project, tackling the forces of the glam rock genre with her own alias, Bobbie Dazzle. This is where she wants to prove to her fans and listeners that she’s more than just a doom goddess, but stepping into the world of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, Bolan’s Zinc Alloy, Jobriath, Suzi Quatro, and Alice Cooper.
It’s sort of similar to where Barbara Gordon needed a change of scenery where she moved into the Gotham neighbourhood Burnside, across the Gotham River where she needed a break from the big city. But with a new Batgirl suit, she can still kick ass. That’s the same thing with Siân, she’s proven to be the newest member of the Birds of Prey as Bobbie Dazzle, handling in the crime duties with not just Batgirl, but with Black Canary and Huntress, leading the charge.
Listening to Fandabidozi, it’s one of the heaviest, metallic, ‘70s pop, and progressive orientations that she’s unleashed. And thank God, she has her flute in handy when she walks into the forest by bringing listeners into the mystic forest that’s waiting for them.
The call-and-response to join the ‘Revolution’ is one of the heaviest compositions that’ll make you raise your fists, chanting ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!’ with its Bay City Rollers attitude, or its arpeggiated organ midsection that goes into some Italian prog wine to sink in before the drums reaches to the milky way to hit the dance floor once more.
I love how the ‘Magic of Music’ gives Sian a chance to tip her top hat to one of her fellow comrades, Rosalie Cunningham where she dives into the oceanic seas with its ascending psychedelic touches and Focus-like guitar arrangements that’ll make Jan Akkerman be in awe of what Bobbie does to continue where ‘Sylvia’ had left off.
Speaking of progressive, Bobbie returns to the glam train station once more by riding off into a Mott the Hoople approach as she heads ‘Back to the City’ with more of its foot-stomping and hand-clapping beats, wearing her black leather outfit, a-la Quatro style to keep in that shuffling vibe. Now, we’re cookin’ with gas!
The proto-punk glam rocker, ‘It’s Electric’, will make you think it’s the years 1973 and 1977 where the genre’s influence grows like an electrical spark. Powder-kegging guitar riffs with brutal shuffling routes, bluesy metallic wail, and Greenaway pouring her soul to keep her band mates, reaching the finish line until one of them wins.
When I think of ‘Antique Time Machine’ it almost reminded me at first the midsection of Rush’s ‘Anthem’ from the Fly By Night album. But then, it switches gears with its sonic synths setting the jump to light-speed. The fast-pace arrangements will make you put on your glam outfits and those Sweet LPs coming in handy.
Why do you think that there’s a Leslie speaker to create double-tracking spacey effect Sian speaks throughout the space station? Because she wants people to have a blast and think of moving forwards, not backwards. ‘Merry-Go-Round’ follows in the Bon Scott-era path of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell-era with its Angus Young-like riffs that speak of ‘Girls Got Rhythm’.
Not to mention bits and pieces of Styx’s Paradise Theatre where the Tommy Shaw textures are thrown in. Bobbie slides through the carousels, one by one until she lands at the right amusement park, at the right time. But its back to the organ-driven attitude where ‘Lady on Fire’ and ‘April Showers’, starts to go from a party-enjoying superheroine, taking over the city. Sian has created a character that would make the people from Marvel shit their pants on. But it is a joyful, metallic proggy-like waltz that’ll make you fit enough space in your record shelves.
The Dazzle’s have proven they have enough magic tricks up their sleeve. The motorcycles rev up with their engines, firing off into the night with its ‘Lightning Fantasy’. It’s very Maiden-like, crossed between the Dark Horse comic books that has these striking images, coming to life, in true 2D animated form!
Then, we head back home for a mission accomplished piece, ‘Flowers On Mars.’ Sian has detailed the lifeforms on the red planet with enough research she’s located on her monthly investigation. Greenaway has the bassist going into a fuzz-tone ‘60s rocking hand-clapping arrangement, followed by more intensive guitar work-out as the blaring organ makes more jumps to light-speed, even better!
Bobbie Dazzle is a good introduction. But I imagine there’s more to come in the years that follow in the roaring ‘20s. I hope that Sian has enough compositions that’ll get listeners an earful of heavy, proggy, glammed-up, punk music that’s waiting around the corner.
But here, and now, it is a unique rockin’ release Rise Above Records have unleashed for 2024. And let’s just say that the Children of the Revolution are in for a big surprise to see Greenaway, bursting the door down and saying, “Alright, we’re here, let’s see how we can get you on your feet once more”.
