Georgia Mooney : "Full of Moon"

 

 Australian singer Georgia Mooney feels like she fell from the cosmos of another time. There is a 60s pop feel combined with a dream pop-like atmosphere. Her delicate melodies are supple with each note gracefully ringing out.  Folk is also shown to be at the least an influence with the more soul-baring balladry of " I am Not in a Hurry". She continues to throw her voice around here. The airy nature of what she is doing with the song does not provide as much to sink your ears into and weaves more with sound than hooks. The Cocteau Twins might be a fair point of reference in this regard. "Break it Off" wanders into a piano-pop piece that sounds like it was written for Broadway with retro synths caressing it. But this also reminds me of where country music went in the 1970s. 

"Consider it a Gift" is the first song that brings Kate Bush to mind, though it's a more subtle lilt to the melodies that I keyed in on here, think more of "Lionheart" era. It's a high compliment for me to compare any singer to Kate Bush. Mooney is nowhere near as adventurous, though she clearly is able to convert a great span of stylistic ground. "What an Inconvenience" is a more emotionally invested exploration of her songwriting, as her voice lays more reflectively over the strum of acoustic guitar. While it is impressive that she can do more I think these more stripped-down moments prove that less is more. 

She marries the more theatrical Kate Bush moods with the 60's pop feel, which reminds me a little of the song "Them Heavy People".  Impressive as that is I feel " Winter Island" is a more authentic representation of who she is as a singer. "Nothing is Forever" finds her continuing to embrace folk, but with the odd vocal colors that make her approach to it more unique. The more fragile gleam of twilight is heard on "What'll I Do".  Her melodies do what the song requires, even if it does not ask her to go heavy on the hooks.  The closing song is another piano ballad that creates an effective mood but is not the strongest song. I will give this album a 9, as it is impressive what she does, and want to hear where her musical journey goes from this point. 

Gothtober - Scarlet Dorn : "Queen of Broken Dreams"

 This German bands makes the kind of music that is very European, yet somehow sounds like it could be the soundtrack of the newest Netflix anime series. It is certainly goth on the outside and being marketed as such, but how goth is it, well you know you can rely on us to give you that answer. The first song bounces with too much of an upbeat vibe but is well done for what it is. Things not only have more darkness to to them, though at the happier end of the spectrum for what I consider goth. The title track has a ton of keyboards layered over the metal of the song. While she singings in a dramatic manner that is not unlike what she has done on the first two songs.  It feels a little like when Within Temptation went in more of a nu-metal direction. 

Things feel more organic on the sultry crunch of  "Your Highness". The first song I notice sexuality expressed in her voice.  They use some restrain on the chorus though that is still where the pop influence continues to lie. " A Light That Blinds the Truth" is a little heavy handed on the chorus, but still well done for what this is, fans of Nightwish, looking for something with less opera to it will certainly like this. "Meteor" sounds like a less guitar focused Pretty Reckless ballad, if Taylor used her head register at all. There is also a late 90s feel to it.   

There is still a ghost of pop balladry haunting " Unstill Life". This leaves the song on the Nightwish side of flowery, though what is going down over the course of this album is much less metal than Nightwish.  Aside from a crunchy guitar here and there makes it not very metal at all, because let's face it even Nightwish is less metal than they once were. They get to a Sarah Mclaughlin level of piano ballads on "When You See Me Again". It does however have one of the album's best written choruses. "Love Wasn't Made For Me" is a lesser continuation of this theme. They work harder at crafting a better song with "What Are We to Do" the overly romantic emoting is giving a more interesting sonic back drop. The album ends with a few soaring moments that work off of the flowing melodies dressed in an abundance of pageantry It also cements the fact that this is more fluff than metal Goth in the longing romance being swept over, but not dark by any means. I will give this album a 7. 

GGGOLDDD : " This Shame Should Be Mine"

 

The spelling of this band's name is not all that has changed. A great deal of this might hinge on how this album is mixed much differently than the others. Electronic elements play a greater role, the first track is more of an intro that foreshadows the shift of direction. This is a concept album of sorts as the lyrical theme of sexual assault singer Milena Eva experienced at the age of 19 is the pervading theme. It reflects upon the long-term effects, judging from the track "Spring" it seems to explore how this unfold in a linear fashion. "Strawberry Supper" is dark but not in the manner we think of when it comes to defining something as goth. It is more of a stark empty reflection of melancholy. As far as the story goes this clues you in on their existing relationship and her thoughts on the aftermath. Sonically it does build heavier though the guitar is not used in the more blunt chord assault that have struck you with in the past. 

"Like Magic"  explores the dissociation  and disconnect from the physical body one can experience . Art here is being used as the catharsis, perhaps this process of getting it out  is what leads to the coat of armor we see her wearing on the album cover. There is more tension to the buzz of guitar here, though it sticks back behind the vocals rather than the vocals sitting in the wall of guitars as we have more commonly heard from this band. Milena is reaching into her more fragile upper register on this album though her voice is more confident as an alto. It works to convey the kind of vulnerability reflected in the lyrics. They do launch into some closer to black metal in the stormy speed the song simmer in. The is a electronic pulse bubbling under the vocals of "Spring".  The phrasing of the vocals is not as melodic and hooky as what we heard in the past from her. The storm cloud converge around the builds of this song. The strength her is oddly lying in the more subtle layers . This is due to in someway the best production this band has had , that also deconstructs the more defining elements of what they do.

"Invisible" shows more of the progression and how trauma is integrated into moving forward into the new normal of daily life. While I appreciate this reflection on a deeper level, when it comes to music at the end of the day the question that has to be asked is how good are the songs and are we rocking out ?  The guitar is more intricate rather than the barrage of post hard core chords they have charge at your ears with in the past. It is almost like a tug of war from being Milena's solo album and working in the context of the band as she is given the bulk of the focus. Perhaps this being a more band focused effort could have avoided moments like when the ambiance consumes the song. They charge back in a more effective fashion with "Notes on How to Trust" that give the vocals room to breathe without allowing them to meander too far from course. The title track fully dives into a more electronic direction that had more in common with Bjork than rock music. I think a band like the Gathering fused these two sounds better as there is not a great deal to keep you hooked in. 

While I am fine with change, perhaps this is indeed a solo album. You could say if they were going to do this they should have changed the name of the band, but they already did that so no complaints there. Instead we are getting depressive Imogen Heap. I do think this is handled better on the last song which blends the more electronic elements with vocals that click into place with the song and more intense dynamics. It finds the guitar going and locking in with things to create a more organic medium. I will give this album a 9 which is better than most bands can achieve however I feel this album falls a little short of when they worked as a machine , granted this had a greater emotional range, but is a case where the singer takes up more space,. Healing from trauma is about learning how to let people in again and becoming part of a greater hole rather than self isolating with pain which is what this album does perhaps consciously.