KRATE - It's The Hope That Kills You

‘And All The Prayers Lost’ begins with what sounds like a can of spray paint being shook. Fortunately, the song doesn’t dive into samples of the spray paint can being sprayed for four-minutes and thirty-six seconds. Instead, we dive into a track that has a ton of samples as electro-industrial should – such as a pane of glass that breaks multiple times (I feel bad for whoever got thrown through that pane of glass over and over again). We’re also delivered guitar build-ups that fade after only a second or two, drum work from The Burying Kind / The Joy Thieves alumni Dan Milligan, a mid-paced beat, and further collaboration with Anatoly “Tokee” Grinberg of Dead Voices On Air.

‘Horizon Sinking’ brings in industrial rock driven tones with crunchy guitars courtesy of Frederik Vorderhake of Liquid Black Goo. I can’t help but think that the mixing could have been better on this track, however, or that a different choice of vocals could have been better. As often times I find that Terry Cooke’s whispered voice is lost in the void of the album. Any emotion or feeling that he tried to inject into ‘Horizon Sinking’ was lost to the wind. 

Krate shows off their softer, ambient side with ‘But Us’. It’s a windy fever dream of warm electronics and slight pulses. Thoughts are filtered through Numbered Men’s Jan Van Coppenolle’s vocal collaboration which echoes alongside the track’s heartbeat. A devilishly good choice and one that I’d be willing to come back to on more than one occasion.

‘The Needle’ sinks directly into dark industrial territory with a very different vocal take from Colin Cameron, known for Slighter, HeatSync, and Gr^ve. Dark beats and sinister electronics take us on a nightmarish journey, while Cameron’s quiet delivery matches the ominous tone. The final track on the album ‘Where From Here’ is a final testament to Krate’s production. Crunchy industrial beats meet an ambient playground as Kimberly of Bow Ever Down nails her performance with a powerful, almost spoken word lyrical delivery.  

Though I do have a bunch of praise for Krate on this release, I also have to admit that I’m a tad bit disappointed. When I first discovered Krate it was with their debut album “Swarm of Voices”. That album contained hit after hit after hit with the same modus operandi – collaboration upon collaboration. However, whereas “Swarm of Voices” became (and still is) utterly addicting and fascinating to me, I do not find the songs on “It’s The Hope That Kills You” as appealing. There’s a certain oomph, a certain degree of experimental nature found on “Swarm of Voices” that’s missing from “It’s The Hope That Kills You". I feel as if that’s hit on ‘The Needle’, but other songs such as ‘And All The Prayers Lost’ and the title track fail to hit. While those songs are GOOD, they do not stack in comparison. 

Either way, Krate is still a worthy project and is worth your time and attention. Perhaps you’ll find something more to enjoy out of “It’s The Hope That Kills You”. Seven out of ten.