PURPLE FOG SIDE: The Discord (SkyQode) — a Russian band who call themselves goth and play trancy techno pop on an industrial label. New album, after the previous collection. This album is all vocal, no instrumentals, showcasing new singer Laly Fox. The melodies keep reminding me of Delerium and Sarah McLachlan “Silence”.
The album opens with “One Night”, a well-constructed trancy pop single with a lovely ’90s-style techno melody, a beautiful sound and a good rhythm. “Your Image Alive” continues along these lines. The ’90s technoness is also the way the structure flows. I really like the bass rhythm on this one. “Moths” and “Ничья” (“Nich’ya”) keep the pace up; they do the evolving techno structure trick, they’re foot-tapping and catchy, and the guitar sound on “Ничья” works really well. “Garden Of Whispers” has a good bass rhythm and a strong chorus. “Take Me Away” doesn’t catch my ear so much, but has a decent rhythm and a nice guitar sound. The record finishes with a spritely techno splurge of “Losing My Religion” by REM.
“Ashen Sleepwalkers” and “When I’m Gone” are not trancy, rather slower and tending a bit lugubrious. “My Faith” and “Breathe In” (a single last year) similarly don’t really do it for me — though the remix of “Breathe In” on the single is excellent when it gets going.
This is a good album with lots of amazingly good songs and you should preview it through. If nothing else, give “One Night” a listen. And the physical CD has two bonus tracks.
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