For the 10th time WHISPERS IN THE SHADOW step out of the shadows into the light with a new studio album. Their fourth on the Berlin-based renowned label SOLAR LODGE. Even the chaos year 2020 doesn’t take the wind out of the Viennese band’s sails. Their answer is the same as to all crises of the last 24 years of the band’s existence: good music and humor. Stagnation and repetition are foreign words in the ever-evolving band cosmos.
With the 12-string acoustic guitar, a new dark folk sound mixes with the classic WHISPERS Goth Rock, held together by the unmistakable voice of singer Ashley Dayour. With FOREVER 1985, a punchy rock number opens the album that can best be described as classic WHISPERS. Afterwards, the five-piece band proves that a three-minute pop number also suits them well, but with the typical twist that you always have to expect from them.
WALK ON THE MIRROR leads into a black-psychedelic wonderland, which turns into a homey, dystopian nightmare in THE FUTURIST, before it’s full steam ahead again “on our way to excess” into rock heaven with TOXIC EXPRESS. The subsequent rhythmic drum madness of A WAR THAT NEVER WAS finally destroys any illusion of having seen through the album. Finally, THE I IN THE VOID goes deep into the darkness of personal shadows once again.
YESTERDAY IS FOREVER is full of surprises, a black kaleidoscope that sends colorful flashes across your retina while listening. Each song is a planeter in its own right, together they form a big universe, whose catchy melodies won’t let you go so quickly. Thus, despite all the diversity, there is never any doubt about which band it is, which is due not only to the vocals but also to the detailed, self-contained, transparent and powerful production by Ashley Dayour and Martin Gutmann for MASH Productions.
Lyrically, Ashley Dayour has not subjected himself to a superordinate concept this time, but has given his unconscious more free rein in the form of chains of thoughts and associations. The result are concise lyrics, which partly connect to the previous album THE URGENCY OF NOW.
