End of November, 2019 saw the release of goth rockers, Her Despair’s latest EP, Exorcisms of Eroticism. This 6 piece band are based in London and currently not signed to any label, though I wonder how long that will last.
“Pandaemonium” is a banger of a number to start off with. Those crystal clear vocals that draw you into the heart and heat of song. Author, John Milton, wrote the novel, Paradise Lost and created a capital of Hell called Pandaemonium, city of fallen angels and daemons. This builds in its terrible beauty of a soul left bereft and shunning heaven’s God .
A single off the EP is “The Exorcism“. Again you hear the wonderfully crafted lyrics with the musical sensibilities of Ville Valo (HIM). A few goth girls are going to melt with this and I can see why. The guitar riff in this is a killer.
Third track, “In That Moment”, has the orchestration wooing you whilst giving you a sense of wonder at how they manage to make this sound so grand and polished. The electronic aspect is spectacular.
For such a darkly named song “Like A Crucifixion“, it feels so light and up beat with a great, catchy chorus. If this is the next single, I would hardly be surprised.
I think English icons, Paradise Lost might have misplaced a track in “Beyond The Veil” as it really reminds me of their goth phase. This is a slightly slower number and I’m not sure if the reference is a veil of mourning or the distance between death and life, though no matter as it all works.
Of course all this commentary of passing to the land of the dead leads well into the final track, “Final Rest”. The sentiment is beautiful as the music swells with the acknowledgment of going to a place of peace… their heaven.
For Her Despair, this is the second EP since the band first released Mournography in 2018. There is great wealth of literary expression and the use of poetic English language is lovely to see.
The band cites influences like The Sisters of Mercy, My Dying Bride and Karl McCoy’s wonderful, Fields of the Nephilim and honestly you can hear touchs of these 80’s iconic goth bands but also more recent acts like The 69 Eyes, Lacrimosa Profundere and more than a passing nod to tragic love hero’s, HIM.
Goth rock needs shots in the arm like this every once in a while because what the world doesn’t need is another Sisters of Mercy clone, yet this is a classic example of love lost, longing and dwelling in darkness, set to a backdrop of heaven and hell. Beauty is in the darkness and in the music of Her Despair.
https://herdespair.bandcamp.com/
Onyx Music Reviews 