Shadows Hold – Bound In Chains (Digital/CD/Vinyl/Cassette Album – Cold Transmission Music)
With the American solo project Shadows Hold, Cold Transmission Music welcomes a promising new artist who has released a slew of singles and several EPs over the past few years, with a number of those tracks now appearing on this debut album.
The record opens with a compelling Dark-Wave sound in which the guitar occasionally evokes The Cure, while shimmering synths add an extra layer of darkness. The deep, cavernous vocal delivery perfectly complements the album’s brooding atmosphere. During the second half, the music shifts towards a more pronounced Electro-oriented sound, with the guitar moving into the background to make way for melodic synth textures. This side of the album is equally rewarding, offering several standout tracks. The only minor drawback is the brevity of the songs; on more than one occasion, I found myself wishing they had been allowed to develop further.
“Bound In Chains” is an album with two distinct faces, yet despite that contrast, it ultimately proves to be a highly successful debut for this project. (Rating:7½).
Listen to “Nosebleed”:
About Shadows Hold
Shadows Hold is a solo Dark-Wave and Post-Punk project based in Los Angeles, California. Before releasing a debut album, the project built up a catalog of standalone singles, including “Nexum”, “Divine”, “Your Lips Against Mine”, “Glass”, “Faceless”, “Fog” and “Visceral”, several of which resurface in reworked form on the debut. “Bound In Chains” collects that run of singles alongside new material and is released by Cold Transmission Music.
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