ALBUM REVIEW: Soft Hell – Closure In Moscow
That fact that CLOSURE IN MOSCOW haven’t released an album since 2014 and can still whip up such furore with the announcement of a new record is testament to the sheer quality of their output. With only two full-length albums and an EP released to date in a career spanning seventeen years, it is safe to say that new material feels like something of a fine delicacy to the cult following they have garnered, a fandom that continues to worship the very ground the Australians walk upon to this day.
Their discography may be small, but it is one of the highest quality, especially the aforementioned 2014 release Pink Lemonade, a record widely regarded as being a true icon within the prog scene. No pressure then, when it comes to unveiling a follow up, almost a decade later.
Such an attempt comes in the form of Soft Hell, a fifty-minute long, twelve track behemoth that aims to be a culmination of the vast array of skills CLOSURE IN MOSCOW have acquired throughout their existence. It is as wacky and experimental as Pink Lemonade, while also harking back to the gritter, post-hardcore charged sound of the preceding First Temple. Of course, all carefully marinated for nine years along with ever-more concise ideas and lyrical expansiveness. The stage is set for something special; another unique addition to an exceedingly unique career.
Our first taste of the band’s current manifestation is Jaeger Bomb, its huge shifts in tempo portraying a dynamic, shapeshifting energy. It immediately feels like a natural progression from where the band left off. The same can be said of Primal Sinister which runs with the same pulsating vigour and electricity. The playing is of the highest order (which will come as no shock to anyone familiar with the band) as towering solos weave around a solid spine of intricate musicianship. Better Way was the album’s lead single and serves as another fantastic example of envelope-pushing prog. Vocal hooks reign supreme, lodged in huge choruses amidst a backdrop of First Temple-esq riffs.
Perhaps the greatest example of their evolution is Holy Rush, a track so deeply evocative of the 1970s you can practically envisage the flared jeans as it drips with the same kind of funk that litters the rest of the album, yet here it becomes a real focal point. It exposes CLOSURE IN MOSCOW at their most fluid, and leads perfectly into Keeper Of The Lake which continues to challenge boundaries with its groovy choruses and guitar-solo outro. The album does arguably suffer from a mid-album dip, but the ante is well and truly upped once more with Fine, a wildly intriguing track that offers a walloping bassline actually reminiscent of Them Crooked Vultures as well as more groovy solos and genuine brightness. We haven’t even mentioned those drums yet. Spectacular.
Lovelash feels like a classic rock / synth rock epic; sonnet-like, yet with a constant sprinkle of that ever-present CLOSURE IN MOSCOW pizazz. We can never quite be sure which way the band are about to twist, resulting in an unpredictable album that will realistically take multiple listens to fully unravel. Finally the record concludes with the almost acapella track (save for some hastily strummed guitar) My Dearest Kate, drawing the curtain on an album every bit as enigmatic and versatile as its predecessors.
Time will tell whether it will achieve the same critical acclaim and longevity, but rest assured SOFT HELL was very much worth the wait. Let’s just hope it isn’t as long until the next one!
Rating: 8/10
Soft Hell is out now via Bird’s Robe Records.
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