Gothtober - Lathe of Heaven : "Bound By Naked Skies"

 This Brooklyn band delivers the kind of tense gloom that I want from my post-punk. There is a big spacious organic sound. The vocals are stark but melodic and resonate. But the questions becomes can they maintain this throughout the course of the album? Or are they more about a sound than songs? To know the answer I will have to give this entire album a listen. The second song takes on a brisker punk pace, with the vocals moving to a more exclamative yell. They drive on the same tense road as many of their peers here, though gradually notch up the intensity.  "Genome" works of a similar burly stomp. 

Things change on the fourth song when female vocals take the verses. This provides enough of a swap of texture to keep the midnight march they are on going without becoming a monochromatic blur. "Inertia" finds them following the lead of bands like Alaric and chugging out a more muscular take on post-punk with Killing Joke like guitars clanging down with aggression.  "Moon Driven Sea" has more of an Echo & the Bunny Men styled new wave mood to it. This is one of the more impressive songs on the album as it does show they can back off from the charge that dominates the album and be more thoughtfully melodic as needed. When they return to their surlier punk side it does not feel as impressive. 

 When the taunt guitar takes on more of a jangle for "the Spider" the result work well, though it is not the album's best song. After this things began to run together. I had to go back and give a closer listen. "Entropy' goes for more of an older Killing Joke feel. Which would impress me more if I did not already own all the Killing Joke albums. "the Faithful Image" moves things in a more explosive punk direction while still keeping a deliberate bass line at the core. I am more inclined to view this as dark punk more than post punk due to the heft it carries. The last song is post-punk in the almost dancey vein heard when some one like Cold Cave dips their toe from dark wave into the genre. I will give this album a 9, the occupy a space that is abandoned more often than not .