The members of Oakland-based post-punk Otzi formed a new project that leans more toward dark wave Timing is everything, as it seems so far this year all I have had to review has been death metal, so since this is one of the first albums of this sort I am reviewing this year it feels fresher than it might if I was reviewing this album in October. The second song follows more of the color-by-numbers approach to the modern take on dark wave. They shine on moments like "Shatter" where groove and punchy vocal hooks create something memorable. \
When they add a punk edge to the familiar dark wave sounds, things click into place with greater ease. Lyrically things need to be as mature as the mood their instruments create. In pondering where in the genre lyrics are handled in the most pristine manner, the first two names that came to mind were Chelsea Wolfe and Grave Pleasures. Not everyone has a way with words nor does every band invest the same ear for detail, but that is what creates the greatest acts, which I do not think at this point such an honor would be rightly bestowed upon this band, who are Are they better than the bulk of their peers? Yes, but that is a low bar. To their credit this is not total Siouxsie worship, in fact, they remind me more of Switchblade Symphony.
There are some moments of morose musing that wallow too deeply into a drone. The guitar seeks to follow more of an early Cure path in this regard, so it is less riff-oriented. The saxophone on "Isolation" leans into more of an 80s sound, but at least breaks away from just being confined to the approved goth sounds. Somewhere around "Laura" the album started to fade into the background for me and I had to go back and give the second half another listen. "Laura" has more drive, but sonically stays in a small black box. This carries over until; the album ends with the last being the track that stands out the most, that to more purposeful vocals. I will give this album an 8, as they do care about song writing, even when mired down into the genre's more predictable tropes.
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