Gothtober- Death Doula : "Love Spells"

 

Post-punk has been over-used. During the 90s it was not used a great deal, but many bands influenced by post-punk flourished, though they did not adopt the genre. This can be said of the moody styling of this Portland band. There is a grungy jangle to what they do and a Mazzy Star-like longing, though their singer projects her alto rather than fading into the haze.  There is a jangle to the guitar, as the vocals unfold with a slithering ghost of a purpose. "Poet for hire" works off a groove that leads the melancholy melody into a dynamic tug-of-war as punk tendencies want to explode creating more of a grunge-out tension. 

They weave the atmosphere in and out of the songs in a sometimes surreal manner that always seems to hold sonic depth. The darkness in her clever phrasing lurks in how she restrains the emotions. It's like someone who does not allow themselves to cry but finds music a better outlet to explore their feelings as they are in control of creating it. "Disembark" rolls into the bass line like a storm building in the distance. They might take a great deal of influence from the 90s alternative, but they do not adhere to the radio rock formula of soft verse to loud chorus that most of the bands of that era did.  

"Entanglements" finds the jangle of guitar picking the pace up. They touch on more overt post-punk riffing in this one, but the drummer does not lay on the hi-hat for a disco pattern like most of those bands do. This might be the album's most dynamic song so far. "Insatiable Beings"  carries an even more depressive brooding.     It reminds me a little of Veruca Salt in some ways.  There is an inner struggle in the vocals that is passive-aggressive. It "Dirty Shirt" has a narcotic slur to it. The first song that ambles more than finds its groove. 

There is more of a shoe-gazing shuffle to the expansive "Loom". I like how the vocals flow in this song. The last song slinks around , though it does have some of the album's most interesting lyrics. I will give this album a 9.5, it sounds great , pulls familiar sounds from the past forward in a new way, and has a great deal of heart even in the moments where it wanders a bit. It might not be the darkest album I am reviewing this month but it has great deal of heart when venting it's depressive moments. 

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