Corlyx : "Together Apart"

The duo's first album for Negative Grain finds them making a conscious shift from the more electro industrial stylings of their last album to making a goth album. By goth it leans more toward the post -punk side of the equation on the first song rather than darkwave or death rock. What I like about this is how they are not emulating any one band. They are not going lo-fi and soaking everything in reverb to capture the sound of 1983. Production wise everything that was working for them is still in place, the vocals might have gotten more love. Caitlin's vocal preformance has improved it is more nuanced on the softer sections. Yes, their is some Siouxsie influence, but they are not trying to sound like Siouxsie and the Banshees, which is refreshing. On "Find the Killer" they nailed that guitar tone the Cure made famous, but where I complain that most bands focus on a sound rather than songs, they hit the perfect balance of both.

"Porcelain Skin" delves into a surreal exploration of mental health. True to goth the bass line drives the song allowing the guitar to stick the more ghostly garnishment. This formula also works in the more hypnotic "When the Witch Comes Out" . A song that will likely make my Halloween mix for Cvlt Nation this year. "Jump In' works more of the upbeat tension of post rock. Though it is still dancey. Caitlin stays in the more sultry alto side of her range, though adding more steam to it. This album is not as overtly sexual as the previous one and a good bit darker. "Stitches From California" has more of a new wave bounce in it's step. "Black Wind" is another bass driven song, it keeps up the albums momentunm as  her vocals slither over the beat .

There is more of a pop hook to "Your Love is a Curse". It is subtle, not sugar added radio one like say Katy Perry would use. The album closes with the atmosphere of "Cold". This sonically invoke more of what they did on the previous album. Their last album ended up at number 6 on last year's top goth album's of 2019, so it raised the bar what I expect from this band. They have exceeded my expectations. It is an album I can leave on and just let play, so with this in mind I am giving it a 10. If you are looking for new goth music for this ominous year , this album is a must.