Gothtober- Lathe of Heaven : "Aurora"

This Brooklyn-based second album is rather unique in the sounds it combines, as it balances an airy, ringing, atmospheric guitar tone with driving post-punk drumming, and an emotive new wave croon flows over it. They are not one-trick ponies, as the second song has a more Smiths-like flow to it. The touch on what Vision Video once did in their more inspired earlier work, and give it a more poetic grace. The nail the 80s sounds without being obsessed by them. "Portrait of a Scorched Earth" has an angrier punk tone to the vocals. You can hear more Killing Joke creeping into what they do, as it becomes clearer they are less about darkness and more about the tension.

The lean back into the more Smiths-like side of what they do with the introspective vocals, offering a pondering lyrical exploration with a slight emotive tremble.  I like how the vocal melody dances around the ambiance the band creates with the spacious arrangement. "Oblivion" finds them commanding a more sonic impact, which they recoil into a more Cure-like guitar riff. The bass is lower in the mix than you expect from this sort of thing. I don't hear it punch until they build things up for the chorus. With bands like the Cure and the Smiths, the bass is the backbone. When you really crank the album, it comes through a little more, but with a song like "Fascination Street" it doesn't matter the volume it's played at.  But I do admire their willingness to put some balls in their sound and dig in when they do give it more of a punch. 

These guys are also good at nailing the more new wave side of the era; in some ways, they remind me of the Twilight Sad in this regard. Though they are less impassioned than the Twilight Sad, who, from touring with the Cure for the past decade, are the superior band. "Matrix of Control" finds them back in a stormier Killing Joke-style punk. "Catatonia" takes that into a darker place thanks to the bass stepping up in the mix. "Infinity Kiss" finds them on a similar path, but it is also taking a more uniform formula to get to that place. A more present thump of bass drives "Automation Bias," though it is odd how the second half of the album has leaned more in this punk direction, with the lower shout of the vocals becoming the main voice. By the time it gets to the last, which is plodding along the same brand of punk, it makes me go back to the beginning of the album to see if I heard the vocals right the first time. I did the lower punk vocals are just a backing accent. I prefer the more melodic vocals, but overall, this album is a fun listen, even though it turns into more of a punk album than expected, so I will give it a 9.  

pst491