I don’t think anyone would go as far as to say that the music Bernardo Devlin makes is gothic, at least not in the strict music genre sense. But if it does have gothic overtones, they are found in a more emotive and real sense, making the album feel haunted, perhaps, dark and full of danger, or at least angsty and full of dread. If not quite otherworldly, then certainly walking a fine line between the real and the imagined, the past and an uncertain future, the earthbound and the enlightened, the delicate and the damned. This is music made on the edge…of everything.
Sonic reference points abound, Tom Waits’ cracked vocals, Nick Cave’s blend of serene and apocalyptic sermonising, The Velvet Underground’s late-night, noirish urban music, and even an occasional post-punk edge that feels like Television heading into the sparser, understated realms of Scott Walker. But those are, as I say, merely reference points, touchstones to give you a taste of Devlin’s sonic world; it is only when you listen to the record that you will fully understand its rich complexities and stunning creativity.
Setting out the sonic stall, “The Observation Car” evokes the perfect feeling of intrigue and isolation that follows you through the music, fractured and fraught, and “An Old Blood Stain” is a broken waltz set to a deft and delicate piano, a funereal groove and the most ancient of harmony vocals.
A feeling of pathos and past regret hangs heavy over “Dome,” the title track is coiled and confused, and “Catch 24,” a timely and yet timeless musing on the abuses and overreach of those in power, feels as if constructed from guitar shards and atmospheric sonics left on the cutting room floor of a modern horror movie soundtrack.
You will find that some of what you hear is reminiscent of a handful of artists, generally those who definitely follow very singular and original musical paths. But, as always, if some of the musical building blocks and creative cement you encounter here are familiar, the sonic architecture that Bernardo Devlin builds with these elements is both stunning and stunningly unique.
