This review was originally published on April 17th, 2024 before the Blackout.

Well, ain’t this quite a fun little bop of a goth / darkwave track? Ceremony Shadows describes themselves as making ritual darkwave, but this is not to be confused as a fusion of what typical ritualistic music includes. The tribal drums and ethereal ambiance that permeates what is usually construed as ritualistic in our darkened scene is not there; rather, we get a rhythmic electronic track with the trappings of your typical darkwave dance single, but one that’s also quite catchy.

This three-and-a-half minute banger begins off with the primary bassline we’ll be hearing throughout the track; a good, four-on-the-floor rhythm that’s not too bass-y, but something rather chill in atmosphere. Bouncy yet relaxing, like something I’d listen to on a long night drive. The structure of the song is the standard; chorus-verse-chorus-verse, so-on-and-so-forth. This is broken up with two sets of vocals: smokey vox like a dealer sitting at a vignetted table, more of a robotic voice somewhere in between, and sometimes a combination of the two. The effect is great matched with the background beat. Something eerily near-future about the whole shebang, as well.

I’m not really sure where Ceremony Shadows are headed next, but I’ll likely be following right behind them as they’ve caught my attention.