Bleached Cross and The True Faith are both bands that relish the darker shades of post-punk.  And while their shared inspirations provide this split full-length with an undeniable sonic unity, their distinctive interpretations also ensure a thoroughly satisfying contrast.

‘You’ll carry these chains, As the devil leads you down into the flames, You’ll carry these chains, Forged in your life, Burning your flesh, Now there’s no one left to blame’ (Grief’s Eternal Wound, Bleached Cross)

Bleached Cross, a five-piece that features all three members of Frail Body, hail from Chicago and Columns Of Impenetrable Light represents the follow-up to their 2022 self-titled debut.  Their sound emerges from an icy maelstrom of dark wave and post-punk, darkly pulsing synths intertwined with bleakly soaring guitar and powerfully melodic vocals.  A further intriguing dimension is introduced as the band call upon their pedigree to introduce elements more readily associated with heavier music to the mix, from industrial fuelled percussion to blackened backing vocals, a blend that proves impressively organic.

The band themselves have adopted the tag oppressive post-punk, which certainly captures the haunting claustrophobia that permeates their music.  Yet at the same time there is an anthemic quality – the chorus to the brilliant opening track Grief’s Eternal Wound is quite simply absolutely banging – that suggests a rich pop sensibility nestling amongst the darker inspirations.  Lyrically, there is no doubting its relevance as their four tracks, from the sombrely infectious Rain Of Tears (‘Numbness takes hold of me, Everywhere I go you should be’) to the juddering sorrow of Litany (‘I try to fall asleep, but I’m punished by memories of your pale eyes’), evocatively explore the evolving stages of grief.

‘Dreams of virtue enter slow decline, when we justify the means, broken pictures left inside our mind, one hand takes while one receives’ (The Means, The True Faith)

The flipside sees Boston’s The True Faith assuredly take the reins.  With three full-lengths already under their belt, including last year’s Go To Ground, the band call on a more restrained, more sparingly applied palette to conjure a darkly alluring, gothically charged atmosphere.

The strident yet melancholy imbued vocals poignantly render mournfully allusive imagery.  Meanwhile, infectiously crystalline guitars and throbbingly resonant bass lines are intertwined with swells of arctic synth and pounding drums, most notably, perhaps, on the urgent opener What If (I Could Tell You) and the eerily enticing Life Awaits Us.