Bright Black Heaven

About

Being in more than one band isn’t easy; just ask Davey Havok and Jade Puget. With their main band, AFI, demanding most of their time, it took years before they could finish the debut album from their side project Blaqk Audio. Their sophomore album, <i>Bright Black Heaven</i>, took another five years. But the opening song, “Cold War,” shows it was worth the wait. Puget takes on synthesizer, drum programming, and guitar duties—creating a dark and glistening soundscape for Havok’s icy inflections to soar over. Fans of Erasure and '80s goth-pop will find an immediate familiarity with this song. If not for the slightly anachronistic drum and bass rhythms, the pulsing “Fade to White” would fit snugly on an ‘80s club–themed mix between Soft Cell and New Order. Harking back to the days when industrial music prompted young men to wear eyeliner and dance around in black eight-hole Doc Martens boots, the standout cut “Faith Healer” throbs with beats that sound imported from Wax Trax! Records’ heyday, save for singing that has more in common with Depeche Mode.

via Apple Music