Shadow Age – Ours (EP)
Release Date: 1st December 2023
Label: Play Alone Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Synthwave, Post-Punk.
FFO: Depeche Mode, The Cure, Q Lazzarus.
Review By: Andy Spoon
I generally liken certain subgenres to metal, hence, the reason that I’m wanting to tread the waters with Shadow Age, a self-proclaimed “post-punk” act that seeks to release a single album that is based around the title track Ours. The EP is set to be released on December 1st, 2023 on Play Alone Records. Generally, I think that there is quite a bit to be learned about our favorite genres by exploring some of the alternative selections that can shed light on what it is that we really can experience as music-lovers. One of my go-to examples of this is the cross-over between extreme metal fans and people who love artists like Emma Ruth Rundle or Lingua Ignota. There is an element of the same “atmosphere” that is sought by the fans, which is stimulated by an alternative style.
Shadow Age is a synthwave-y, electronic project that seems to really follow in the steps of the Depeche Mode, Nothing, or even Joy Division. There is a 80s-type of programmed beat that is followed by a shoegaze-type or drone bassline (think about The Cure) with heavily-filtered clean guitar lines and synth keys. You can expect some heavily reverb’d vocals that reek of dark and lonely themes. There is a general tone of melancholy that pervades the overall musical quality. It would help to think of a much darker, sadder version of Joy Division or The Cure; perhaps you might even imagine that you are listening to a shoegaze track with soft and clean guitars and programmed drums.
As an outsider to the genre, I am intrigued by the melancholy and emotive nature of the atmosphere. I ultimately wanted to try and get a parallel to the extreme metal that I usually review or listen to. I think that the similar vein from which the art comes is the same one which motivates or stimulates the extremity of artists like Cattle Decapitation or Lingua Ignota. There exists a direness, a sickness, maybe even a desperation in the need for expression. In the post-punk world, there is a need to create an intense loneliness, while also being fast enough to bob one’s head. The overall message of the music is the same: Feel Something.
Ours is a collection of an original mix and 3 remixes of the band’s single, Ours. The original subject matter is extremely-typical of the genre, following most of the traditional tropes. The vocals and instruments are extremely atmospheric and “moody”, something that I really liked. The remixes were different-enough to show some of the range that the track could have, including adding a heavier bass mix, or changing the drum beats up enough to dance to. The overall mood of the song is deep and dark, provoking a great deal of introspection and stillness in the listener’s mind, at least in my experience.
Frankly, this EP was enough to pique my interest in the genre. I didn’t waste any time before I wanted to deep-dive into the connections between the melancholic, the melodramatic, and the blend of ideas that often results in the same moods and temperaments as we see in the extreme metal world. I think that this might be one of the types of music that reaches people on an identical level as depressive black metal, or doom metal. We should never be hasty to deny the fact that our shared experiences in art often speak different languages, but come from the same place down in the spirit.
I would absolutely love to hear a full album from Shadow Age, so I could crawl deeper into the moods and hollow-ness that bridges the gap between the things that I love to listen to so-often.
(3 / 5)
