Gothy- side of post-rock? Count me in. This Swedish band keeps a great balance of brooding tension, mixed with atmosphere and melody, and never jumps on the tired Joy Division tribute bandwagon. At times they remind me a bit of Love & Rockets, but that is not an influence you are hearing every day. "Feel the Cold" could groove the floor well on a goth nite, but there is a uniformity to their sound. I am beginning to hear some Echo and the Bunnymen in their DNA. The female vocals doubling up the lead on"Tears and Cries" works really well, and the song coasts along comfortably.
The poppier punk leanings of "Stay Stange" take a few listens to grow on me. "Siffs" and to a lesser extent" Blind Eye" find the album drifting into a middle-of-the-road direction. There is a smokier darkness underlying the throb of "Blind Eye" which makes it more effective. You can hear that these guys are aware of the current climate of the genre, and aware bands like Beastmilk and A Place to Bury Strangers exist. There are electronic elements to this album but not enough to tilt them into darkwave, but they can be felt on "the Masquerade".I like the darker direction of this song.
"Never Change" feels like it wants to be a Billy Idol song. The drums are a little too upbeat, but the guitar tones are great. "Dead Friend" works for what it is, but feels more like filler when compared to the superior work on "Runners" that follows it. I listened to the last song several times to try to connect with it. It coasts along an 80s-tinged groove but is kinda bland and does not bring anything new to the table. Not a bad song by any means it just does not live up to what they have established as their status quo in this album. I will give this album an 8, perhaps not redefining goth, but it sounds great and you might be able to dance to it in platform boots.
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