Thursday, October 2, 2025

Gothtober- Carrellee : "s/t"

 





One of the tags on this artist's Bandcamp page is "disco noir," which is appropriate. The vocals are sensual and ethereal, sitting back in the reverb without hiding.  The bass line and the beat are lo-fiwith synth adding accents and mood, more than driving everything. Not minimalist in the arrangement, but a great balance of songs to keep it song-focused rather than just checking off all the boxes of what she is supposed to sound like to seamlessly fall into a DJ's set. Her light, breathy voice floats easily up into her head register. While it is more grounded than the Cocateau Twins and not as Halloween-inspired as Switch Blade Symphony, I can hear how fans of both acts might appreciate this. 

When this sort of thing is done without putting the effort into songwriting, she is displaying that I would normally begin to grow bored and want more in the way of dynamics or guitars. She employs a hushed puss that flirts with you amid the sense of desperation prevailing in the scene she is describing here. The shifting way the song breaks down delivers those dynamics I mentioned earlier. There is a poppier feel to music bubbling under "Bonnie and Clyde".This gives more credence to the disco noir claims.  "Not Here Fro Fun" is a little more focused on making your hips grind it out on the dance floor as her vocals haunt the song further back in the mix. "

Hope" has a more focused pop structure. We also get some guitar sounds I normally want from even this sort of thing. The atmosphere floats in with heavier clouds on "Your Touch Kills Me". This falls closer to dream pop. "When I Come Home" is less urgent and more pop-oriented. She gets back in a darker mood for " You Win."  A slinky post-punky guitar fades into the synths of " Seeds" to make for some effective dream pop, which shows her more sensual purr. I appreciate that the last song is more organic; it feels like it floats in a linear direction, similar to Julee Cruise. Not my favorite song on the album, but it works for what it is. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me. Some excellent dream pop that cares about the songs. 




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