In my experience darkwave bands can be very repetitive. With many it seems like after a couple of albums they are just recycling the same old ideas and sounds over and over. However, "Diary of Dreams" doesn't fall into this category, their new album is something quite different from earlier works. As the cover might suggest, it's an entirely acoustic album centred around guitars and pianos.
The opening track is a classical piano piece. It is intricate and beautiful, in the same spirit as the well known "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven. The entire album follows this path with nine more tracks to immerse the listener in an intimate atmosphere of melancholy.
Every
note in the crepuscular melodies maps out the dark side of human emotion
without being that depressing. It is melancholic in a reflective, beautiful and
inspiring way.
If the intimate interaction between the piano and acoustic guitar wasn't enough, the subtle cellos push the emotion of the music that bit further so it could penetrate the hardest of hearts.
The only downside is that I really think this album could do with some ethereal female vocals. At times the male vocals here are great, but at other times I don’t think they work and I would rather listen to the instrumental without being distracted by them.
As this is a purely acoustic album it could appeal to listeners far beyond the limits of the band’s usual darkwave audience.
In summary, ten tracks of atmospheric melancholy that live up to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, though ruined at times by ill fitting vocals.
8/10