Then Comes Silence : "Trickery"

 Gothy- side of post-rock? Count me in. This Swedish band keeps a great balance of brooding tension, mixed with atmosphere and melody, and never jumps on the tired Joy Division tribute bandwagon. At times they remind me a bit of Love & Rockets, but that is not an influence you are hearing every day. "Feel the Cold" could groove the floor well on a goth nite, but there is a uniformity to their sound. I am beginning to hear some Echo and the Bunnymen in their DNA. The female vocals doubling up the lead on"Tears and Cries" works really well, and the song coasts along comfortably. 

The poppier punk leanings of "Stay Stange" take a few listens to grow on me. "Siffs" and to a lesser extent" Blind Eye" find the album drifting into a middle-of-the-road direction. There is a smokier darkness underlying the throb of "Blind Eye" which makes it more effective. You can hear that these guys are aware of the current climate of the genre, and aware bands like Beastmilk and A Place to Bury Strangers exist. There are electronic elements to this album but not enough to tilt them into darkwave, but they can be felt on "the Masquerade".I like the darker direction of this song. 

"Never Change" feels like it wants to be a Billy Idol song. The drums are a little too upbeat, but the guitar tones are great. "Dead Friend" works for what it is, but feels more like filler when compared to the superior work on "Runners" that follows it. I listened to the last song several times to try to connect with it. It coasts along an 80s-tinged groove but is kinda bland and does not bring anything new to the table. Not a bad song by any means it just does not live up to what they have established as their status quo in this album. I will give this album an 8, perhaps not redefining goth, but it sounds great and you might be able to dance to it in platform boots. 

pst167

Gothtober - Then Comes Silence: " Hunger"

 

This Swedish band bring an industrial strength rock to the table with enough gothic pageantry to satisfy most. There are less aspirations to stalk the Sunset Strip than their Finnish counterparts 69 Eyes. Synths play a much larger roles in the driving crunch of their sound.  Sonically they share a great deal of common ground in the vocal department, with the Alex Svenson, sounding like a cross between Billy Idol and Iggy Pop. Two songs in and he has yet to power out the kind belted growl that Idol is capable of. We pretty much just get his baritone croon. Their formula seems to work of milking the chorus for every bit of hook they can muster from it. 

There is a melodic catchiness to the more dialed back rock of "Cold from Inside".  "Worm" falls into more of an Iggy Pop like take on post-punk. The pulse of "Chain" is more compelling, but the vocals fail to prove they are more than a one trick pony.  They go for another more punk tinged guitar focused number with "Weird Gets Strange". I like how the female vocals double up the lead vocals, but with the lead vocals had more range or power.  They are beginning to give the songs to uniform of a feel. I like the lyrics to "Days and Years", which has a new wave feel, but the vocals continue to stagnate these songs. Not to the point of it being a deal breaker, but I can feel the tedium setting it. 

They get closer to 69 Eyes neighborhood with "Blood Runs Cold".  The guitars to "Pretty Creatures" are more dynamic, but this one picks up where the previous song left off. They have catchy song and are working off of sounds I like, which are typical in goth music, so I am their target audience. At just under six minutes "Close Shot" is the album's longest song. The last song sounds like Dollar Store Fields of the Nephilim. I will give this album an 8, it works for what it is, if you have a high tolerance for less than dynamic vocals, this might work better for you but even in its current state if you like middle of the road goth rock, then you will dig this.    

link to band camp below...

 

Hunger by THEN COMES SILENCE