Right from the start these guys are getting a great deal right. The album is crisp. It pays tribute to the era this music evolved from without being a straight-up tribute band to it. There is a hopeful brightness to the shimmer of their sound and the vocals are not totally despondent. The vocals have a starker yearning to their Morrison-like baritone. Things stay dynamic and they are not trying to drone you to death with tension. Things get more spacious and more depressing for "Potter's Field" Amazingly, this is the band's debut album, they should be opening for bands like Interpol already or if they can pull all this off live.
The Cure is an undeniable influence when it comes to songs like "Bed of Knieves" though they temper this with a more rock feel most of the time. Here that manifests more as aggression in the dynamics. There is a more atmospheric feel to "Feral Hound". It is not unlike the soaring atmosphere that prevails "Disintegration". "Human Remains" packs more punch sonically with its expansive dynamics. "Bernadette" finds him taking on a more belted croon. This gives things a little more of a Smith-like feel. The melodies are hookier though these guys are not trying to write pop songs, not unlike Vision Video in this vein.
'From the Swarm" continues things along the lines of the moody Brit-pop sounds they captured in the previous song. There is more of an 80s college radio feel to the last song. The guitars are well layered and the vocals fit perfectly over them. I will give this album a 9.5, it marries the sound of two of my favorite bands, the Smiths and the Cure, so how can I complain about that, These guys released this album back in September so don't let it fly under your radar or you will regret not hearing this.
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