Friday, May 24, 2019

Boy Harsher : "Careful"






The first song is smoky dark wave with more of a hipster cool to it than being melodramatic flowery grave yard music from the 80s. There is a retro element , but it is more of a synth wave sound. Her vocals are in a low alto that is emotive and breathy. I like where she puts her voice on "Fate". The melodies are stronger and more defined than the song before this one. "LA" is more atmospheric and this lead the vocals to wander like a ghost looking for the chorus. "Come Closer" has more groove and the more droning nature of the vocals works pretty well over it.

Some of the song begin to run together until "Tears" which works off the winning formula for her where the vocal lock into the synth riven beats. Sure this is a winning formula for most cold wave / dark wave but since this project is prone to experimentation this is more crucial. Like pop these songs are very compact, stay under the five minute mark. There are some darker sounds on "Crush". Though these never materialize into an actual song. There is more of a new wave pulse to "Lost" . The bass line stays firmly planted in the 80s synth wave thing. But if you turned back the clock it could be the Thompson Twins just without the hooks. There is somewhat of a break down , but it never climaxes.

Th album ends with a atmosphere pieces of samples and noise , like the backdrop from something in Twin Peaks. I will give this album a 7. It never wowed me. There were some songs I like , but none that got stuck in my head and made me want to return to this album. If you are a millennial who missed out on this music the first time around , then you might be more impressed.


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