SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: A CLOUD OF RAVENS – LOST HYMNS (EXTENDED)

A CLOUD OF RAVENS
LOST HYMNS (EXTENDED)
METROPOLIS RECORDS/NEXILIS

Lost Hymns, the third release by Brooklyn-based Goth duo A Cloud of Ravens, displays their great ability to innovate the genre with a hint of symphony, but fails to escape a sense of uniformity throughout the album.

To their credit, A Cloud of Ravens integrates symphonic tones into their somber music so seamlessly. For instance, “In Winter’s Arms” revolves around an eerie guitar riff for the beginning verse, but then beautifully transitions to a liberating chorus supported by transcended harmonies provided by the strings. They also took deep influence from 80s new wave, and did so with integrity as shown in “Old Ghosts”. Its introductory phrase is occupied by an aggressive bass synth, complemented with a fragile synth playing in a significantly higher octave. This seems to be adopting the timbre of a generic 80s pop song, yet the combination of the composition, the Curt-Smith-style singing with a widened throat, and the more hard rock sounding guitars in the chorus steer the song towards a more gothic feel.

Despite its great musicality, there were many songs that felt like being rejected by someone you really had something going with. The build of suspense is incredible, but the failure of delivery is devastating. The energy plateaus when you expect it to explode and you’re left longing with itchy ears and unsatisfied adrenaline.

The lyrics, on the other hand, are intellectually intriguing. A Cloud of Ravens does not give you their lyrics at face value. Each song is a new poem with such thought provoking lyrics in the most refreshing sense. In “Rite and Ritual”, the singer longingly evokes a philosophical tone rich in imagery. He sings “To an existence that you knew was near/Increments of joy – between the sun and soil/What is the secret still unshared?” These lyrics explore the spectrum of human emotion and the pursuit of bigger meanings to life and the concept of mortality. The language is poetic and abstract, giving the listener an invitation to chew on this food for thought.

With all its greatness, the lack of variety overshadows every positive aspect of the album. Each song bleeds into the other because of their incapability to create unique feels in their songs. This truly makes it difficult for the listener to sit through the album and really absorb all it has to offer.

To put it briefly, A Cloud of Ravens can produce singles that leave their listeners in awe and challenge them cognitively, each one presenting itself as an audibly stunning single, but the inability of the album to stir different emotions results in it being a dull listen.

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