On their debut album, Death and The Maiden craft a shadowy sound world, filled with drowsy mechanical drums, melancholic synth arpeggios, reverb-drenched guitars, and sighing vocal melodies. The combination is both hypnotic and devastating, as Lucinda explores themes of love, loss, and decay, wrapped in tactile electro-acoustic languor that sets teeth on edge.
It is fitting that the group recorded the album in the cavernous rooms of Dunedin’s None Gallery, a spiritual home to many of New Zealand’s expe­rimental and electronic upstarts.
Despite the sense of loss and darkness on this record, there is a bittersweet hopefulness at the core. On Dear ____, Lucinda sings of the irreducible distance between the self and desire, with a lyric penned on her flight back from Berlin. Yet Danny and Hope counterpoint this sombre subject matter with soaring sonic beauty, crafting a party record for heartbroken romantics. These striking juxtapositions are evidence that Death and the Maiden are seeking to create a feeling, something that lasts. The result of this effort is a stunning record, one which haunts the listener and demands repeated listens.