Some Ember – Hotel of Lost Light (Crash Symbols)

Musical Content: Hotel of Lost Light is a modern Post Punk album rich with goth images and vintage synth tones. Singer Dylan Travis has a voice that lives somewhere between Mark Hollis and Tilt-era Scott Walker. It is constantly drenched in reverb, floating around and above the music. The lyrics observe the ominous and obscene, vocals detached. It’s an engaging album that gets better with each listen.

Packaging and Sound Quality: The images on this release are fitting: a lonely topography with not a soul in site. Include lyrics and full album credits. The mix is strange, slightly narrowed and flattened. The vocal reverb is overpowering at times, and all that echo can drown out the rest of the mix. That may have been an artistic choice, so perhaps that isn’t important. It certainly doesn’t prevent one from listening.

Available from Crash Symbol. Edition of 200 tapes.