The Soft Moon

The dead-of-night eeriness of 's singles suggested was the dark horse in the stable, and this self-titled full-length confirms it. 's whispery vocals, lumbering basslines, shimmering guitars, and claustrophobic synths plunge into the ominous territory that the label's founder, , only suggests with his work as ; it's also of a piece with the post-punk/coldwave revival spearheaded by France's . opens with the most striking example of 's modus operandi, the previous single : all serpentine vocals and rhythmic undertow, it's very nearly as dark and nasty as the punk and post-punk death wishes that inspired him. From there, the album gets surprisingly abstract -- 's sonic palette is so firmly defined that at first it's hard to recognize how misty some of these songs actually are. Above all, he prizes sinister atmospheres, and a significant chunk of is comprised of instrumentals made all the more relentless by Krautrock-inspired lock grooves, as on the evocatively named and meanwhile, boast electronics that would fit right in on a soundtrack. knows his style and sticks to it, but whenever it feels like things might be getting too samey, tracks like add more melody to the album's black hole density. And indeed, takes listeners to some pretty scary places along its journey, from 's wailing anguish to the doomy Though has mastered murky instrumentals, his protean pop songs feel the most promising. Along with ' blend of driving rhythms with haunting distortion and 's almost industrial grind bring more form to his musical apparitions. While there's no doubt knows exactly what he's doing, some more shape and balance would take to another level. ~ Heather Phares