the Hearse : " Fragments of Mourning"

In recent week we have not had the balance of darkness that I like this blog to have which would represent where my musical tastes lie with one foot in metal and the other in well for lack of a better word "goth". That is changing this week as their are a few releases we are going to catch up on some of the post-punk and other releases sprung from the bat cave. The first of these being the British band the Hearse. For a band that claims to be dark-wave they pack more of a punch and make use of more real instruments than most of the post- Cleopatra records era dark wave of the 2000's , which eventually took on a more edm pop sheen and forgot it's rock roots.  So by the time we get to  "Shadow of Love" holds onto to rock drive it begins to look like they might be influenced by dark wave but aren't dark wave.  From a song writing perspective doesn't feel as fresh or original as the opener. The guitar melody reminds me of a sped up version of "Sweet Dreams".

Their brand of rock takes on more of a stomp on "Melm Lelden" . The vocals are less sung and spit out in more of a monotone punk fashion, giving the song more of a post-punk edge than some of the rocked out melodrama of the songs preceding it. While "Black Out" has some of the post-punk drive of the previous song it also incorporates some of the darker elements introduced early in the album. Their varied influences are mixed together to make "the Rapture" one of the albums strongest songs. It opens with  Cult like guitar set  against  a beat with  a more Sisters of Mercy feel and then is coated with vocals on the verse than drip with the sardonic Ian Curtis baritone in how they punch into the groove. This album was released back in September and is available on their Bandcamp page. It might not be the most original thing to hit the scene , but is well done and touches on some dark corner not as explored by many of the more modern bands of this ilk. These are songs not used on other albums and compiled into album form . It comes across pretty cohesive, with two interludes there are only five real songs. Would like to hear how this band progresses, for now I'll give it an 8.