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.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
