electronic / darkwave / alternative rock
Some of the albums we receive are a real challenge. For me, many releases are rather easy to write about but once in a while something comes along that seems to challenge and question my musical reference pool. In those cases, I listen closely, try to find something to start with, a certain sound, a similarity with another band, a connection to real life events, anything. Then I look into my ever growing English vocabulary and try to bark out some words that might get people interested in that particular release. If all goes well, several minutes later my opening paragraph is written and I can finally describe the actual music.
Writing about this album by Swedish duo Råhypnos proved to be a challenging task. For the record, that doesn't mean this is a bad album. I tend to simply ignore albums I don't like so if it appears on this website, you can bet your ass that I see potential in it. And yes, I see potential in here, a lot of gloomy, darkwaving, new waver's flavour of the year potential. The only thing is, who exactly to recommend it to? Well, I think I just wrote my own answer: new wavers, dark wavers, old school goths looking for their shot of new audible darkness.
As I mentioned before, Råhypnos is a duo, formed in Gothenburg in 2015 by Pablo Rautenberg and Nadja Virgé. Soon into their career, it became clear that one style was not enough. Initially an alternative rock act, Råhypnos added elements from darkwave, gothic rock, trip hop, intelligent dance music and even (dark) jazz. The result feels like a mix between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Chelsea Wolfe, recorded, mixed and mastered by Portishead.
Now, I have to say that I wasn't immediately blown away by this stuff. Opener 'Pain Shrinks The Heart' is a great song, pretty much comparable to the aforementioned acts. It's downtempo and raw. Interesting yes, but perhaps a bit too much on the experimental side of things. Yet, gradually, the record started growing on me, mainly because of the level of variation. There's electronics but also rough rock music. There's male and female vocals and even those come in a wide array, perfectly fitting in with the music.
Besides, 'Damaged' and 'Insufficient Love' are awesome. 'The Land Of Nowhere' is a brilliant new wave song that will get even Simple Minds fans excited. 'Blood' is a tearjerker and closer 'End Of The Beginning' brings that other amazing darkwave act to mind, namely The KVB. So in all, this is a surprisingly interesting album, one that will definitely end up in my day-to-day playlist. So check it out. I mean, I eventually managed to write a five paragraph review about it so it's definitely worth it.
Serge
Writing about this album by Swedish duo Råhypnos proved to be a challenging task. For the record, that doesn't mean this is a bad album. I tend to simply ignore albums I don't like so if it appears on this website, you can bet your ass that I see potential in it. And yes, I see potential in here, a lot of gloomy, darkwaving, new waver's flavour of the year potential. The only thing is, who exactly to recommend it to? Well, I think I just wrote my own answer: new wavers, dark wavers, old school goths looking for their shot of new audible darkness.
As I mentioned before, Råhypnos is a duo, formed in Gothenburg in 2015 by Pablo Rautenberg and Nadja Virgé. Soon into their career, it became clear that one style was not enough. Initially an alternative rock act, Råhypnos added elements from darkwave, gothic rock, trip hop, intelligent dance music and even (dark) jazz. The result feels like a mix between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Chelsea Wolfe, recorded, mixed and mastered by Portishead.
Now, I have to say that I wasn't immediately blown away by this stuff. Opener 'Pain Shrinks The Heart' is a great song, pretty much comparable to the aforementioned acts. It's downtempo and raw. Interesting yes, but perhaps a bit too much on the experimental side of things. Yet, gradually, the record started growing on me, mainly because of the level of variation. There's electronics but also rough rock music. There's male and female vocals and even those come in a wide array, perfectly fitting in with the music.
Besides, 'Damaged' and 'Insufficient Love' are awesome. 'The Land Of Nowhere' is a brilliant new wave song that will get even Simple Minds fans excited. 'Blood' is a tearjerker and closer 'End Of The Beginning' brings that other amazing darkwave act to mind, namely The KVB. So in all, this is a surprisingly interesting album, one that will definitely end up in my day-to-day playlist. So check it out. I mean, I eventually managed to write a five paragraph review about it so it's definitely worth it.
Serge
