Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - Atavism

This review was commissioned. However, it bears no weight on the score or decision. All reviews are written from an unbiased standpoint.

Usually when I read the description of a band with humorous intent it can mean one of two things: Number A is that they’re trying to blast off their mediocrity with humor and when someone criticizes them, they laugh at it and say with a shit-eating grin, “Yeah, I know.” As if their art isn’t worth the time and attention that it truly deserves. Number B is that whoever is behind the project has a solid understanding of their craft and are able to inject some comedy into it as to denote that, yeah, they’re good, but no, they won’t be taking themselves so seriously. So, when I read the bio on Brighter Than A Thousand Suns bio on Bandcamp that reads, “Industrial disco for goth yuppies,” I swallowed deeply before hitting that play button. 

My nerves swiftly evaporated as soon as I hit the play button, however. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns graft the punchy beats of industrial music into a pop structure. Like reminiscing Janet Jackson’s earlier discography does this duo play around with rougher electronic elements spanning from EBM to synthwave straight back into the brighter structures of synthpop. Never light enough to become bubblegum yet never rough enough to dive into the depths of obscure experimental hell. It’s a wonderfully crafted duet featuring clean vocals and a roaring depth of monstrous rebellion. It’s beautiful yet scary; video gamey in a sense yet powerful enough to invoke retro nostalgia. It’s a song best described through feeling, and when a song makes me feel it’s fucking great. 

Nine out of ten. One hell of a way to start 2023. I’ll be diving through the rest of Brighter Than a Thousand Suns discography for the next while. These are some goth yuppies I'll be keeping my eye on for years to come.