ALBUM REVIEW: The Back Of Beyond – Dry Wedding
Dark post-punk band, DRY WEDDING, have put out their newest record, The Back Of Beyond. With the Portland quartet, what you see is what you get, which in this case is a take on 80s post-punk sounds blended with elements of goth rock, horror punk and just overall haunting noises to create, ideally, unsettling but stunning soundscapes. A feat that is somewhat achieved yet somewhat falls flat.
Setting the stage is opening track Arrowhead that we are introduced to via bleak guitar strumming with sounds that scream out that 80s post-punk meets goth influence. It’s melancholic, yet enchanting, perfectly suited for any classic black and white horror film that has you unsettled as you wait for what comes next. On the surface, it has everything that it needs to be incredible, yet it falls into the simple trap of a song outstaying it’s welcome by the track length being too long. Don’t get us wrong, long songs can end up working out and having your attention grasped during the entire composition, yet it’s also easy for it end up losing the original impact and instead you start to zone out.
Luckily our attention is brought back by following track The Serpent Box which is more on the energetic punk side that once again screams out that 80s influence of horror punk and goth rock with names like THE DAMNED coming to mind. Yet once again our attention dissipates once we move on to Sure As A Gun that is a slow, sultry number with elements of smooth jazz bought in, placing you in a lounge where you’re sat on a soft couch, drinking fancy cocktails as the band plays in the background. But once again, that impact is lost with the song going on longer than it really needs to.
This record is a somewhat frustrating experience. It can go between songs that are just brilliant, with names like Blood Red Vengeance coming to mind with the opening low drums and sounds elevating over the course of track and leaving you feeling empowered; and Once Last Strand that is a sultry take on horror punk that gets more intense as things progress with heavy emphasis on the drums.
Yet on that very same record we have songs that open strong and end with you likely zoned out due to the long lengths as shown with the closing two songs. Moths has everything set up to be sultry and dramatic, and Shifting Wilderness has everything to be solid moody goth focused songs. But, we repeat, they lose their impact with going on too long. Granted the latter track does break the pattern with things going down an interesting route towards the end, but our point still stands.
A record that has everything on paper to be a solid time but ends up being a little disappointing. It’s a shame really.
Rating: 5/10
The Back Of Beyond is out now via Vesperian.
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