MUSIC REVIEW: AESTHETIC PERFECTION-‘TIL DEATH (2014)

AESTHETIC PERFECTION-‘TIL DEATH (2014)

I was first introduced to Aesthetic Perfection upon seeing them open for The Birthday Massacre, one of my favorite bands, at The Gramercy Theater back in NYC in the fall of 2012 and I really liked the energy and aggressive tone of this goth/industrial/punk outfit’s tunes and performance. Singer/songwriter Daniel Graves is very passionate about his music and it comes across in his vocals, especially when you see them live. The previous album All Beauty Destroyed was a very hard driving and aggressive album with a really solid selection of fist pumping electronic music and I was looking forward to their next disc.

With this new album of songs, Graves changes gears and gives us a somewhat more sedate and perhaps a little more soulful collection of tunes with the subject of love, and the loss of/pursuit of, touched upon in most of the songs such as one of it’s best tunes, Big Bad Wolf. Not that we don’t get some energetic tunes, like the fast paced and slightly whimsical The Dark Half, and Graves’ signature growl is ever present, but ‘Til Death finds the songwriter far more contemplative than angry. I don’t won’t to say mellowed because, I doubt that’s the case, but here he seems more confident in his musings about the mysteries of love and life, than needing to shake his fist at them like on the last album. And that’s fine. If music is truly an extension and expression of how an artist feels then Graves and Co. are being honest with us at the cost of maybe alienating some of their followers, but a band has to stay true to themselves no matter how much they want to please their fans. And when all is said and done, this is still very much an Aesthetic Perfection album. I’ll admit I prefer the harder more aggressive sound of All Beauty Destroyed, but I still really enjoyed this 10 song collection as the band’s edge is still present and the lyrics still convey the same dark POV and cynical humor…as in the song Death Rattle, another song about matters of the heart…but it’s a little less in your face…though, there is still a bit of that, as in one of my favorite songs on the new CD, Antibody. The songs are very keyboard driven as usual and are well produced and Graves’ vocals go from soulfully melodic to sliding into his gravely growl and back again just as we’ve come to expect from AP’s vocalist…no more evident then on Oh, Gloria, a song about a tumultuous and possibly doomed love. With ‘Til Death it’s almost as if Graves has decided that this time he has something to say and he’s not going to get mad or shout at you to get you to listen. If you want to hear what he has going on in his head, fine…but if not, he’s not going to yell to get himself heard. And, to be honest, that’s exactly the type of confident swagger we’ve come to expect from this band. A bit of a different tempo then normally heard from this outfit, but still a solid collection of goth/industrial/punk songs that is ultimately satisfying and shows the band has diversity in it’s songwriting and is confident to do things their way. The more I listened to ‘Til Death, the more I like it.

Track Listing

1.”Happily Ever After”  2:51

2.”Antibody”  4:12

3.”Lights Out (Ready To Go)”  4:16

4.”Death Rattle”  4:14

5.”Big Bad Wolf”  4:26

6.”Showtime”  4:50

7.”Oh, Gloria!”  4:44

8.”The Dark Half”  4:33

9.”The New Black”  4:23

10.”Lovesick”  4:35

A melodic and soulful yet still with an edge 3 guitars