(2020) Well Yells  - We Mirror the Dead


Review:
After the crepuscular sprawl of the second side of Skunk, Patrick Holbrook’s second record as Well Yells, it was fair to wonder how much further down that semi-proverbial well Holbrook’s project could go. Having moved further into the shadows from the goth songcraft of debut Waves in the Woods to the almost inhuman climes of the end of Skunk, it wouldn’t have been impossible for any follow up to have pulled the same kind of manoeuvre Robert Hampson did going from Loop to the increasingly abstracted sounds of Main. But while the impressive We Mirror the Dead makes clear that the increased range and inscrutability of Skunk were valuable lessons (and now firmly parts of Holbrook’s repetoire), it also makes clear that this is where Well Yells brings that experience to bear on more conventionally darkwave tunes again. While all three Well Yells records have followed roughly the same format, eight songs ranging from 32 to 37 minutes, clearly divided even in digital form into two sides (this time each side ending with one of two “Crying Ghost Dimension” instrumentals), and all three have clearly and happily occupied the same genre niche, so far the work of Well Yells is among other things proof of how much genuine variety you can create within those kinds of bounds. Foregrounding his drum machine and a higher vocal register, these are the Well Yells songs that are most straightforwardly aimed for the Goth Night dance floor, even as the strange, off-kilter ways each song (and Holbrook’s vocals) approach they can feel downright otherworldly as well. Whether it’s the distortion into squealing as the synthesizers overwhelm the track on the chorus of “Form” or somehow forbiddingly lilting “Orion,” these songs combine the dour catchiness of Holbrook’s inspirations with the increasingly far out muse he’s been chasing. The result, even on less rhythmic tracks like the gracefully, eternally sinking “Illusion” and the gentle drones of the “Crying Ghost Dimension” interludes, make for another impressive progression in Well Yells’ work. Tipping slightly towards the slightly industrial/EBM side of the genre, We Mirror the Dead gains a kind of gloomy propulsion without losing any of the atmosphere or intensity of Holbrook’s prior work. It all comes together on the opening “Kill the King,” simultaneously one of the creepiest and one of the grooviest songs Well Yells has released. Three albums make for a pattern, not just a lucky coincidence; if any of the many things you might describe with “darkwave” are appealing to you, at this point anything Holbrook does as Well Yells is well worth a listen.





Tracklist:
01 - Kill the King
02 - Form
03 - When
04 - Crying Ghost Dimension, Pt. 1
05 - Sand
06 - Orion
07 - Illusion
08 - Crying Ghost Dimension, Pt. 2


Media Report:
Genre: electronic, post-punk
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits