Gothtober - The True Faith : "Go to Ground"

This album came out back in January and failed to kick up enough of a buzz for it to come up on our radar, but that is why we do Gothtober so we can catch up on what we might have missed earlier in the year. There is a great deal going on here sonically as this band allows it's influences to wrestle one another. The main contenders in the ring being the Cure and Killing Joke, which makes for strange bedfellows. However this plays in this band's favor as it gives the opening track something that is familiar yet original enough that a passing listen does not find you picking this out. The question becomes , can they maintain this momentum?

Staples of the genre like a driving bass line serving as the backbone is present. The guitars are less riffing and more tense textures of effects. The vocals declarative emotional pouts, that owe more to Robert Smith, rather than when they are more forceful, which might not carry the guts of Jaz Coleman , but comes from a similar place.  It moves more like a Cure song here. It is not until "Down to  the Knees" that I begin to listen past this sound they have created and start listening to how well the songs are constructed. I would say they do a better job of surpassing the status quo on "Feet Held to the Fire" as the vocals have room to breathe on the verses rather than just working off the droning groove of tension most bands like this work off. 

The expand contract formula of the previous song is employed again on " A Cry For Help" making this song less effective since we just heard something similar from them on the previous song. I appreciate the dynamics , but you can not go to the well too many times with the same tricks. "Before Now" highlights the fact the vocals offering more in the way of emotion than the bulk of their peers, which to my ears is this band's secret weapon. There is more of a brooding "Faith" era Cure feel on "Stuck". Ironically things  get more upbeat on "Suffer". The vocals serve less purpose and feel more like an accent on the verses, forcing the chorus to carry most of the song. 

The fact the bass drives "the Picture on the Wall" to close out the album, is little surprise since that has been the way most of these songs have gone. At almost six minutes it is the album's longest song. They make decent use of the time as it progresses into a more sonically intense climax and the vocals are more of an exclamation mark than the previous songs that wallow in a drabness.  I will give this album a 9, though I am unsure how many repeat listens I will get out of it, I enjoyed the time I spent with this album, if you are hungry for more goth flavored post-punk this album is worth your time as well.