Curses – Incarnadine

Curses’ take on body music has never fit in with broader cliches or staunch traditions concerning EBM. An ear for classic disco and giallo sounds has resulted in a style that’s as funky as it is heavy, and much more interested in the chiaroscuro shades of new beat rather than overt rivet culture markers. That shadowy and blurred at the edges approach serves Luca Venezia well on new LP Incarnadine, which taps deeper into post-punk and darkwave sounds than any previous work from Curses. On its own, the darker rock instrumentation which is integrated into Curses’ sound isn’t especially shocking. Neither the bass which acts as the foundation for opener “Miriam” nor its chiming guitar progression is anything post-punk fans haven’t heard dozens of times before. But the lithe synth arpeggios which begin to brighten the corners of the track towards the end, along with some airborne pads, show how Venezia views the different elements he’s bringing together as sitting on a gradient. The album is a dialogue between the inner and outer self, and romance of eternal and immortal existence. The inspiration behind the opening track “Miriam,” which was named after Catherine Deneuve’s character Miriam Blaylock in The Hunger, being a ballad to the Vampiress asking how do we make an emotion timeless?  The idea is of Miriam being this immortal symbol of love contrasting with an edge of fragile existence and ability to destroy anyone against her path. The song and video was the most gothic thing to come out in 2022. No contest.
Penultimate track “Ghost Of Arms” more thoroughly envelops the rock instrumentation in luxurious synth beds and ethereal vocals, effectively landing upon classic darkwave (perhaps with some M83 tossed in) as a mid-point between Curses existing electronic pedigree and new rock ambitions. Incarnadine‘s framing of familiar goth and post-punk sounds benefits from the electronic legacy its creator had already established. There’s novelty in hearing nodding, moody rocker “Coma” just before you’re thrown into the electro-funk breakdowns of “Déjà-vu, Inc.”. Incarnadine offers everything the established listener would want from a Curses release, alongside the sort of forays into different territory the LP format can afford, giving each of Venezia’s tracks the chance to stand out.