A little less than two years after the debut album “In The Night”, Bay Area-based duo Widdendream, made up of Mei-Lee Chen on vocals and Alex Clark on synthesizers, return with a new 5-track EP, entitled “Wave of Silence”, on 12″ vinyl, via German label Kernkrach Schallplatten.
Purveyors of sinuous and seductive nocturne synthpop, as much catchy and danceable, as it is introspective and brooding, the duet create somber immersive ethereal realms drenched in neon-lit noir esthetic, where velvety melody and dreary atmosphere whirl seamlessly simmering with sheer dark emotional energy.
‘Inspired by 1980s underground music and bands like Kirlian Camera, New Order and The Cure and artists that were on the 4AD and Projekt record labels’ according to the band.
While the magnetic and poignant “Requiem” and the final elegiac “The Lonely Hour” recall distant echoes of the Ultravox ‘Vienna’ period, and the rhythmically bouncing “Thunderclouds” is charged by disco pulsations and New Order percussive breaks, are the darkest and achingly evocative pair of “Swimming Into The Dark” and “Everlasting”, inspired by the new wave of the early 80s, the ones that stand out, encapsulating the profound mournful, anxious and dramatic mood that emphasizes the whole album.
“Everlasting” sways along with sinuously deep pulsing gloomy bassline, dry whipping snare beats and lilting double claps to fuel infectious dismal-soaked glistening moody melodies, layered in icy cold wandering airy synths, that dazzle and swirl tragically over numb, dismayed vocals, both nostalgic and sensual, breaking into helpless cries and forlorn harmonies drowning in a bitter sea of hopeless regret.
Keep up with Widdendream:
