This album came out under the radar earlier this year, so glad some digging around on the inner web allowed me to discover it.. The opening track captures a darkly honest misery I have not heard done this well since Planesmistakenforstars was a band. The song finds the raspy baritone vocals entertaining a marginally more upbeat melody. His grainy vocals reach up higher on what might be the chorus. While their Bandcamp keywords label this as goth, they are more like if Tom Waits fronted Interpol, so closer to post-punk. There is something closer to a more new wave-styled beat under "Lipstick With No Lips" The vocals are relegated to the back of the mix for this one. More experimental than conforming to traditional songwriting placing more emphasis on the songs than the song.
"Ottessa" has more anger influencing it. Synths come in to add atmosphere to soften the emotional outburst that turns to reflection. The piano line floating over the silky chaos keeps things interesting. It is almost like a more textured Grinderman album in some respects. "Liquid Jesus" is one of the stronger songs with a vocal melody that carries smart lyrics, even in the face of some of the outbursts it builds up to. If Mike Patton wrote a song for a David Lynch film the result might not be far from what happens in "Evil Has a Babyface" with its reverbed-out guitar and cool crooning. They get a little darker on "Sav" as the vocals begin to sound like they are falling into a well. I am getting Afghan Whigs vibes at this point in the album
"Rough Sleepers" is clouded in an even thicker atmosphere. The vocals hover in the more Nick Cave-influenced musing. Midway into the song, it breaks down into a discordantly odd-timed jam. The drummer is obviously really into this section. You begin to hear the band's past as a heavier band that evolved into this more atmospheric post-punk entity, which I appreciate. "Feather Weight Kid" finds the vocals still reverberating in the backend of the mix, despite this being lyrically more of a story. There is more of a ghostly Tom Waits mood lurking in this haunted bar stool of a ballad. These odd production choices add to the band's charm.
With the title "Satan is the One" I would hope this would be the album's best song. The lyrics are muttered in a drunken slur, though I can make out something about hating this human body and Jesus being a cunt so it might take a few listens to soak these lyrics in. The verse gives the vocals a little more breathing room, as earlier in the album, the ambiance sometimes buries the vocals. "Templeton" comes closer to conforming, to what you might expect from a mix with more mainstream aspirations, without compromising who they are. Perhaps the most Cure-influenced moments of the album lie in the closing guitar riffs. The last song might not be as effective at blending the hard-core kids they once were with who they are now, but it's still a fun listen. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me.
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