I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness

I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness

Fear Is On Our Side

[4/5] I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness hail from Austin, Texas–which is just about the last place on Earth you might expect, given the cloudy atmospheres and the Interpol-esque textures that pervade the quintet’s full-length debut. But Fear Is On Our Side is as grayscale as a rock album gets, its songs filled with dour synths, drilling guitars and funereal strings that sound beamed in straight from an ’80s goth club (for further reference points, ask your parents about the Chameleons and the Church). Instrumentals “The Owl” and “Today,” both as dank and chilly as abandoned buildings, weigh down the album’s midsection, but the disc’s more danceable songs–especially “According To Plan,” with its sunnier synths–are just waiting to become zombie prom themes. Unlike other retro-goth groups, ILYBICD have a deep sense of humanity within their vintage darkness, and that’s just one of the many reasons Side is such a compelling spin.
(SECRETLY CANADIAN) Annie Zaleski

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