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An Autumn for Crippled Children > Hearts of Light / Blossoms > Reviews
An Autumn for Crippled Children - Hearts of Light / Blossoms

Equal parts dark BM and summer dream pop - 78%

NausikaDalazBlindaz, May 28th, 2014

This Dutch band's name was certainly an attention-grabber as was the acidly pink-hued landscape photograph on the cover of this EP. This recording could certainly qualify as a single as there are only two songs. First up, "Hearts of Light" is a song of bittersweet quality, equal parts rough-edged BM-noise lite guitar, plaintive piano melody and shimmering late-summer background synth wash, all over which a grim wraith vocal rages. The magic is in the contrasts of fuzzy texture, smooth keyboards, the dreamy trance-like ambience that the instruments generate and the gentle music. As the song develops, it reveals more of its charms and moods which might run from longing and nostalgia to hope and optimism.

What would be the B-side song on a single, "Bliss", starts as a happier, pop-oriented instrumental piece with just enough black metal influence to stop anything resembling a sugar coating from forming within the track's bones. Glowing tremolo guitar shower forms a bower over a series of melodies played by sparkly guitar raindrop tones and a mournful violin. Guitar feedback howl adds another complicating element to a short study that begins in a beguiling way and turns out duplicitous and ambivalent in mood and intention.

There's certainly some lovely music of a complicated nature here and I only wish that both songs had been longer. It seems a shame that their full potential as either black metal pop pieces or something more melodramatic and passionate remains unrealised.