Black Doldrums: In Limerence (Fuzz Club)

Defined as “the experience of having an uncontrollable desire for someone” which usually goes unreciprocated, In Limerance is an apt title for the doomed romance of Black Doldrums’ second LP. Amping up the gothic atmospheres of their sterling debut Dead Awake, the outfit move further away from the psych / noise rock aspects of their early EPs to a sound redolent of alternative titans New Order, Depeche Mode, the Bunnymen and particularly, The Cure.

Co-produced alongside Mercury Prize winner Theo Verney (English Teacher) In Limerance displays the London indie rock mavens’ confidence in their less-is-more approach. Painting Smiles wrings the maximum out of spare elements of guitar figure, low-level synth patina rumbling floor tom rhythms, while the slower paced Dying For You is compellingly gloomy, the gothic melodrama underlined by its Wuthering Heights red dress meets Brighton Rock themed video.

Elements of the ‘Doldrums earlier style remain with the buzzsaw guitars of Hideaway and the thrumming In Silence, given additional heft by newly arrived bassist Daniel Armstrong. Based around cascading guitar arpeggios Summer Breeze is as uplifting as its title suggests, its playfulness underlined by its Goths FC vs More Goths FC promo.

Panned wide across the speakers, Need is powered by Sophie Landers’ She’s Lost Control style drum pattern, its twinkling synth patinas and all-pervading air of gloom evoking late 1970s Berlin. The album saves its strongest moments for the closing stretch, as the unison guitar and basslines of the excellent Changing Of A Season (an ideal third single), gives way to the acoustic guitar underscored New Moon. Dovetailing with its chorus refrain of “Something ain’t right with modern times”, the industrial tinged Modern Times pairs the lyric with an upbeat musical backdrop.

A splendid second offering and suiting the season ideally, the LP beams as brightly as a supermoon on a clear night. 4/5