Venn
Runes
Release Date: Mar 10, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Record label: Full Time Hobby
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Album Review: Runes by Venn
Great, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8.5/10
While the top end of European post punk is inhabited by mainstream, doom by numbers acts such as Editors or White Lies , bands such as VENN are given the space to go down a more creative route. In Runes, they've produced a thrilling debut which shapeshifts throughout. Over nine tracks, they use early 80s moody modernism as a template, but veer into other areas; at times they act much like a techno artist would, using monotony and layers of sound to paint the picture.
Based on rating 7/10
The debut full-length outing from the English indie rock trio, Runes is a slow-building amalgam of inexorable Motorik beats, staccato guitar licks, and brooding synths that should please fans of post-punk revivalists like Editors, the Horrors, and Future Islands. Hypnotic opener "Legacy Project" unfolds slowly -- the first vocals don't arrive until nearly four minutes in -- patiently setting the table for vocalist/drummer Ben Leverock's even-tempered delivery. Both "Slowly Sinking" and "A Smaller Part" dip into moody Alt-J territory, albeit with a distinct '80s pop vibe, as does the atmospheric -- and far more dynamic -- closer "Waxen Palm".
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