You always know something good is going to happen when you drop the needle and are greeted by a bass line that is all treble and guitars that sound like they are plotting to kill you. Throw in a violin that feels like it stepped out of the most troubled dreams, and that majestic, cinematic vocal of Lisa Wood, and you have everything that made that darkwave-gothic corner of the post-punk landscape so potent in the first place.
‘Kissing Lions’ muses on the idea of trying to capture those times when you can truly feel alive, on the edge, in the moment, fleeting thrills and adventurous escape from an otherwise routine and ordinary life. It also reminds us that chasing such excitement usually ends in failure and disappointment. As the title suggests, attempting to kiss lions would certainly be a thrill, but it probably wouldn’t end well.
‘Ghost Painted Sky’ also tips its hat to older ways of doing things by releasing ‘Kissing Lions’ as a maxi-single (remember those kids?), with not only the Effervescent version of the song, a reimagining which heightens, deepens and broadens everything, but also giving us the squelchy beats and shimmering sonics of ‘My Words Are Not My Own’, which owes itself to a more 80s alternative and chart-viable synth-pop vibe.
Goth-tinged alt-pop? Darkwave for the modern age? Shadow synth? Call it what you want, but this is definitely the sound of sonic torches being passed on, lighting the way to a bright…well, not bright, but you know what I mean…new future.
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