Kids today use the term gatekeeping like it's a bad word. That is because they have grown up being able to stream entire albums without paying for them, so will never know the frustration of buying an album and then getting home to play it and only the one song you heard on the radio is decent or it's not what you thought it was going to be. Even at the high price of free, I am investing time to listen to an album that could be invested in working on a review for something better, so there is always a price. With that said going into this album knowing that no matter what their press says or how this band identifies they are not a dark wave band. It's pop, future pop perhaps. Darker than the pop you hear on the radio? Sure but that is a low bar.
There is an upbeat happiness to this, it has a very video game feel to me, so cyber-pop might be a sub-genre that works to set better expectations for what you might be heading into here. The first song is the most aggressive moment, then things go in a more new wave direction at times. They have more similarities with Duran Duran than Depeche Mode sonically. There are hooks, but you would have to be a very desperate DJ to try to work this into a "goth nite" set. There is an element to what they do that makes me think more of Panic at the Disco than the Cure. The only post-punk adjacent artist they remind me of is the Killers.
They do manage to get a little darker on "Blindfolds and Magic Bullets" but one dark song does not make you goth. It just means your album has at least one song I like. Even then it's a good example of how music becomes diluted, rather than listening to the Cure themselves, these guys sound like they have listened to bands who were influenced by the Cure. It feels as if Chuck Mosely joined an industrial band after Faith No More. "Right Time of Night" wants to be punk-influenced new-wave with the attitude they posture for here. The chorus is oddly more melodic. "Say the Words" feels like Joji remixing Sleep Token, with its atmospheric take on a pop ballad. The song gains a groove more in line with the sleepy feel of bedroom pop.
"Seven Safe Places" we are back in the Killers' Sonic zip code. The album closes with "Addicted to the Sounds", which must mean the sound they are addicted to is synth wave wanting to Depeche Mode.I will give this album an 8.5, which is fair enough as they care about writing songs, despite often wearing their influences on their sleeves, we just need to be clear about what they are doing here, as the band itself is often not. This is not something I would really give a great deal of repeat listens to just because I prefer to skip the chase and listen to something darker, but there is an audience for this. Artofact Records is releasing this August 16th.
No comments:
Post a Comment