Ghostbells has created an interesting blend of dark-wave adjacent sounds on their album “Catacoture” that is both moody and buoyant pop. It owes more to the dream-pop of the nineties than it does modern TikTok Pop, but that is one of the album’s strengths. The vocals offer a childlike sing-song cadence. They are often chanted with a repetition that is king here, while the lead single “Darkness Saves” is not the most dynamic song of the album, it still works for what they are doing in its droning introspection that works best when played loudly.

The best song on the album is the energetic churn of “Immortal Lovers” as her vocals are spat forth in a jaggedly aggressive, higher register, invoking a more European hyper-pop flavor. “The Color” first has perhaps the album’s most punchy beat, but it is also steeped pretty deep in an eighties synth sound while moving like the more atmospheric strains of nineties techno. Her vocals float like a texture of it. She breaks it up in the chorus by going into the higher, more shouted vocal approach used in the previous song. You can hear a slight Grimes influence in some of the vocal phrasing. The last song finds what worked on the previous songs in motion here. Overall, this album fills a gap on the darker left-hand side of what Chvrches does, being more aware that they are purposefully going for a more goth sound, they signal in the imagery surrounding the album’s release. Though even the most diligent gatekeepers of goth will find the sounds appealing, even if they do not meet the letter of the law at all times. After all, the community has accepted artists much further from the mark than what goes down here, on the merits of nostalgia alone.

This album is not overproduced; in fact, underproduced as far as pop goes. But that plays to this album’s favor and helps to give it a more indie charm without any of the pretense that they are trying to be something they are not. As the word “Goth” begins to circulate in the AI marketing algorithms, the music industry is sure to make a version marketed for mass consumption, which makes an album like this even more important. This duo is releasing it without the push of a label, giving them more creative freedom. So this is something they feel and are not, as it holds dear the human element that is required to engage the darkness. The human element is the heart of this album.

Fans of pop music colored with darker shades would be amiss to not give this a listen.

Buy the album here:
https://ghostbells.bandcamp.com/album/catacouture

9 / 10
WIL CIFER
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