Carved Souls - Darken Lights

When it comes to engineering elegant and trance-inducing dark electronic music, Californian darkwave/synthpop outfit Carved Souls are definitely ahead of the pack. Here we have a remastered version of their second album, "Darken Lights", initially released in 2006. 

On "Darken Lights", Carved Souls skilfully strike a delightful balance between old-school darkwave and contemporary EBM, as well as between moody minimalism and darkness-laden intricacy. As for the minimalism, and the way it's seamlessly weaved into Darken Lights' overarching musical objectives, I am of the view that very few artists in the synthpop/EBM realm truly understand this term and use it as effectively as Carved Souls. Further, harnessing polished and distilled electro phrases and employing mid-tempo atmospheric techno overtones, Carved Souls inculcate the songs on Darken Lights with boundless emotion and dark romanticism.   

Right from the opening track, Carved Souls' modus operandi becomes evident, and that is to intermingle aquatic, dreamy atmospheres with solid rhythmic foundations. 'I Am' kicks Darken Lights into gear, followed by 'Deception', featuring echoey vocals and intricate synth patterns, while 'In The Silence' fires off a dose of dysphoric dark electro pummelling. Exploding with vintage EBM intensity, 'Lost Sight of Yourself' is undeniably the standout track and a dancefloor force to be reckoned with. 'Don't Pretend' and 'In The Silence' follow not too far behind in that regard.  

All in all, "Darken Lights" is an incredibly consistent album which boasts unrelenting musical momentum, showcasing a proportional mix of slow and mid-tempo compositions and radiating a warm melancholic sentiment throughout. This is a genuine dark synthpop gem that continues to stand the test of time.