False Bliss – Ritual Terrains
While the band should be credited for their sense of invention and imagination, unfortunately, the end result does not carry the cohesiveness they wish to convey
Edinburgh's False Bliss have been around for some time now, formerly known as DTHPDL/Deathpodal (their name change surely being a wise decision), and they've been releasing music since 2010. In that time, they've cemented themselves as pre-eminent lo-fi post-punk/shoegaze masters combining synths and field music to complement their more upbeat numbers.
There are some pleasant enough moments to be found on Ritual Terrains; you can tell the quartet are brimming with ideas to help make them stand out. The cross-pollination of louder tracks such as lead single Am I You? Are You Me? interlaced with more meditative synth-led tracks like To the Forest keeps things from going stale.
Judging by the credits, the band are clearly very DIY-driven, which is admirable, but Ritual Terrains lacks the "wall of sound" that shoegaze properly deserves for its notorious audiophile audience. There's little power in the drums or vocals, and the apparent live recording used means the overall sound blurs into a beige mess. While the band should be credited for their sense of invention and imagination, unfortunately, the end result does not carry the cohesiveness False Bliss wish to convey.
Listen to: Am I You? Are You Me, To the Forest, Witching Party
Scroll on to read our April 2019 interview with False Bliss...