Betty X - Genre

Genre

Betty X's earlier sound with Salon Betty has been described as gothabilly, death lounge, dark cabaret, punk cabaret, new wave, or, most commonly, art rock. Jamie Hook, a reviewer for The Stranger, described the music as, "Neu-Wavo Ranchero" and referred to the fans as "Bettephiles". Salon Betty was the first band to spearhead the dark cabaret movement in Seattle in the early 1990s.

Salon Betty had a large local cult following. Many of the fans would dress as Betty or other colorful characters from her songs such as "Courtney Hate" and bring food such as whipped cream, sausages and jello to throw during cues in songs. The shows were three quarter in the round and interactive. Live shows were often compared to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Rocky Horror Picture Show meets GWAR by reviewers and critics.

After Salon Betty disbanded, Betty started to experiment with darker themes, more experimental vocalizations, and a heavier sound in general. The side-project turned into a full time pursuit.

Her current self-titled solo project is much heavier and darker than previous material; with heavy, loud and grinding guitars, breakneck tempos, apocalyptic distortion and noise, moody sound-scapes and extremely aggressive, distorted vocals, the music is best described as industrial metal, art metal and noise. Betty coined the term Apocalyptica Noir to better describe her punk "torch singer" style in stark contrast of apocalyptic punk/industrial/metal/experimental/noize fusion in 2000. The newer songs cover a range of genres, however: "Human Disease" has the totalitarian/Orwellian flavor of Marilyn Manson, "Dystopia" is a poppy, bass-driven tune à la Nine Inch Nails, "Mons Venus" is a dark and sultry rock piece akin to P.J. Harvey, and most of Memoirs of a Pain Junkie could be considered straightforward alternative metal in the style of Ministry's Psalm 69.