Review Summary: I don't know what to say to that, but I have to agree with Johnny that, yeah, we do touch upon things that most men would rather not admit: That we feel pain, we cry, get sad and sometimes don't deal well with disappointment.
Death of Lovers is a terrific collaborative effort between members of Whirr and Nothing. Whirr and Nothing are bands that I can appreciate, but I never found them truly compelling which is surprising since I consider shoegaze to be one of my favorite genres. So, of course it came as a total surprise when I became addicted to their latest musical incarnation Death of Lovers. Their Uniform Recording released debut Buried Under A World of Roses is a charmingly depressive mix of shoegaze and goth tinged post-punk, bringing to mind the beautiful gloominess of 80's Cure being fused with the ethereal, spaced out sounds of 90's shoegaze.
The recording is simultaneously both dreary and lively thanks in part to the stellar synchronicity between the desolate atmosphere and the inspired musicianship. On paper it might seem like these "opposing forces" might not work but Death of Lovers are terrific at creating dark, moody music with a pulse. A strong rhythm section allows the music to rock and lurch forward with momentum while the vocals, synth and guitars do everything in their power to counteract against the commanding drums and bass. The baritone male vocals sound cold and lifeless but pleasant sounding. Lyrics are hard to decipher but the delivery and higher pitched tone fit in well with the spacey synthesizers and twinkly guitar lines. The Cure's influence can be significantly felt in the synth and guitar department yet despite that prominent influence it never feels overbearing or like idol worship. Death of Lovers do enough things in the songwriting department to distinguish themselves as their own independent identity. They are great at mixing up tempos and songwriting styles as evidenced by the roaring opener Cold Heaven. The "noisiest" and most "aggressive" track of the EP, Cold Heaven features a reoccurring melodramatic motif in the chorus that evolves into a blistering noise rock segment before descending back into post-punk melancholy for the remaining three tracks. The final three tracks are much more oppressive than the opener but the dynamism is still there. The strong degree of musical chemistry from the members of Death of Lovers allow this EP to flourish from start to finish. Simply put, there are no weak points.
I haven't heard a lot of music from 2014 but Buried Under A World of Roses is by far one of the most engaging releases that Ive heard so far. This is a band I would recommend to human beings. I would also recommend Death of Lovers to all the chronically depressed talking donkey's out there in the world today in addition to every single lonely Magikarp who's just down on their luck constantly getting zapped by the Tentacruel.
