Walter the Lifeless has made his eponymous debut, main listeners down a darkish hall of post-punk, the place portraits of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, and Pleasure Division hold alongside his best influences: She Previous Away, Depeche Mode, and The Remedy. Walter the Lifeless conjures the previous with darkish reverence and cinematic weight, delivering a launch that doesn’t breathe nostalgia however exhales necromantic devotion.
The analogue synths, moody oscillations of reverb, and strong pulsive percussion go away no timestamps, no illusions that Walter the Lifeless belongs to any single period. As an alternative, it swarms with the seduction of the spectral vitality, echoing the artists who gave us vessels to pour our ennui and lament into within the 80s. There’s one thing intensely sacred in the best way this observe was delivered—not as a revival, however as a darkish providing on an altar constructed from a long time of post-punk heartbreak.
Put collectively by Eric Smith, who has spent over 20 years shaping sound, the undertaking captures the essence of his favorite 80s icons with out slipping into imitation. It’s not at all times straightforward to attract a line between pastiche and panache, however Walter the Lifeless did it with razor-sharp precision. This debut will go away you stressed in your watch for what would possibly come subsequent.
Walter the Lifeless is now obtainable on all main streaming platforms, together with Spotify.
Assessment by Amelia Vandergast
