Right in time for the approaching season of withering and decay comes Mond, the new album by French post punk/goth rock/cold wave band Soror Dolorosa (Engl.: sister pain), to provide you with just the right music for a twitchy dance beneath the cold light of Earth’s faithful satellite.
Founded in Toulouse a long time ago, Soror Dolorosa now forge music from somewhere in the catacombs of Paris. The band’s current line-up includes vocalist Andy Julia and bass player Hervé Carles, both founding members, and two guitarists, Jean-Baptiste Marquet and Xavier Pinel – and then there is, of course, the infallible drum machine.
Inspired by the post punk and new wave sound of the 1980s, which had bands like The Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode and Joy Division mixing electronics with guitars, Soror Dolorosa have been creating music for more than two decades now. Their output has gathered a respectable following and is appealing primarily because of its familiarity, but also because it includes an element of nostalgia and a feeling of something irretrievably lost. The latter is a feature that characterizes all of recent goth rock and it speaks to a lot of people alive today – on the cusp of a new era.
While Mond’s tunes have a well-known, recognizable ring to them, the sound quality of the album’s songs is very up-to date and new. Mixing and mastering have been done by James Kent (Perturbator) who has herby proven once more his feeling for electronics. Mond’s accomplished, icy-cold and crystal-clear sound places the album, despite its connection to the 1980s, firmly in the here and now. Maybe one can even hear a bit of a not-so-distant future where the noise of organics has been eliminated and sterile places under the governance of technology have become the new norm. There is definitely an AI future lurking in the perfection of the sound.
Lyrically, the band remains inspired by the exploration of emotions romantic as well as dark, writing musings that follow the work of poets and authors like William Blake and Edgar Allan Poe. This continuation of a centuries-old tradition of melancholic thought creates an intriguing contrast to the cold electronic beats and might even give rise to some hope that a certain quality of human feeling will endure, no matter how far we advance technologically.
Goth rock and post punk fans won’t have to be persuaded into liking the album’s nine tracks. They will probably be hooked from the very first listen. Everyone else, even if they are not fans of the genre, might want to pay attention to how skilful musical past and future have been entwined here. In any case, you are sure to impress your fellow creatures of the night choosing Mond as the soundtrack for your upcoming goth-themed Halloween event.
(7.5/10 Slavica)
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