I’m not sure what “Gothic” is supposed to mean exactly as a genre. What I heard on this album by the “Handgothband” as the UK band’s web site name goes, is some distance from the image I have of Camden Town and an alternative scene. The light and airy female vocals and the occasional moodiness fall into that category, I suppose, but cerebral Post Rock rhythms do not. It doesn’t matter of course. My point is don’t be misled by the “Goth” tag, because there’s much more to “Breathing” than that.
We start with smooth acoustic work, building gently into lightweight electric Rock. The lady has a silky voice, but intriguingly there’s something shadowy and sinister about it. That was “Song Number B”. As we progress into “The Pier”, there’s a mellow melancholy which is not dissimilar to Bossk. The vocalist is not pure, in fact there’s a discordance which doesn’t seem to be deliberate and for this track isn’t entirely pleasant. The track rumbles on quite nicely and melodically but so far the fare on offer has been Progressive Post Rock of a fairly unchallenging kind. The album picks up with “Mimicry”. I like this track. The atmosphere is expansive, there’s a nice beat and it has good melodies. The singer has got her voice back and her voice floats along like the lady from Ava Inferi. “Mimicry” is Progressive and pleasantly ambient with a punchy bass line. A moodier front comes in with “Flee”, in which the piano accompanies the vocalist’s warblings. It gets going with a guitar serenade. Then, incongruously, the ending takes on an above average energy – I cannot call it frantic. I must have been missing something here, because it just didn’t seem right. My doubts were again dispelled by the following track “The Neon Hero”. The guitar work is lovely and the atmosphere builds up magnificently. It’s mellow and ambient. The long passage which results is divine. It gets better still as the track suddenly transforms into a magnificent entrancingly exotic instrumental section. I really switched on to “The Neon Hero”. There are no words but a colourful statement is made over its eight and a half minutes. The vocalist returns on the moody “Supersonic”. The backing is exotic and there’s a dreamy ambiance, bordering on heaviness but concentrating on atmosphere. An electronic start develops into an avant-garde, meandering Rock track on “Fate Sewn On”, before the floating tones of “DB Blue” take over. The background is technically driven. Then it stops, not the first time, changes direction and gets going again. The exotic rhythm gives way to a dark and funky passage. I couldn’t see the point of the change, which was less smooth more than a traditional “break”, but at least what followed was good and the track has a great ending. Pattering drums and acoustic accompaniment are the backbone of “Re-animation”, the final soulful and dreamy track. I was vaguely reminded of “Shattered Dreams” by Johnny Hates Jazz. It’s a nice track to finish with delicate touches to create a soft mood.
Overall I liked “Breathing” and appreciated its general ambiance and the many ideas which have clearly been had in its creation. It has many nice touches, but felt that it was a bit rough at the edges. Parts of it were entrancing while others were lost on me, leading to a loss of direction and power. My conclusion was that there was work to be done in the mixing department. This said, it did not detract too much from my overall enjoyment, and whether one describes it as Goth, Alternative, Progressive or anything else, it’s a nice album to listen to and one to be enjoyed.
http://www.myspace.com/handgothicband
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