Tuesday, October 31, 2023

The Waning Moon : "A Dream or a Vision"

 





The opening track has an atmosphere that sets a cool, mood, but the song itself drones to the point of dragging. Feels like a cool idea that never developed into a song. The drums have more purpose on "Quiet Room". They could have stood to have taken notes from Bauhaus, on how to let the bass line drive the song, as the elements are in place, the chorus even has purpose, but things are being weighed down with melodrama and no clear direction. "Scars" proves they can pick up the pace and do it when they need to. The singer's voice feels like he is just doing the obligatory goth baritone, I am not sure he is selling me on it. His knack for melody could use more inspiration. 

"Another Bit, Another Bite" feels more like a Billy Idol. This works better than what went down on the first three songs, as I found myself having to power through and force myself through the previous. That is a problem if you are a goth band, as I am devoted to searching out new goth music, so I am your target audience. I am still not sold on the singer, but this is heading in a better direction. "Die Caroline" is a little awkward, it feels like they are trying too hard rather than this being the music that comes from them organically. 

The way the vocals are produced on 'Annabel' feels better. They need to juice this guy's voice up in post-production. The song has more of a punk drive that works way better for them. The guitar is going for more of a Sisters of Mercy thing. The rest of the band attempts to fall in line with this style, and have varying levels of success. "Babel" works better than the tedious "Towards the Night". They gain some momentum and bang out a more commanding chord progression. "Nada" has a functioning chorus, but the rest of the song kind of wanders. Arrangements are not their strong suit. I will give this album a 7.5, I appreciate the mood they set, but the songwriting could have a better flow. The fact they play actual instruments rather than clicking a mouse, puts them ahead of most darkwave bands these days. They generally get the sounds right, this album could use more momentum, though if you are someone who likes to languish in melodrama when it comes to goth, this might be more your thing. 


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