‘There was a merriment, in the ways we laugh, And the times we cry, Taste the happiness before it runs out, Be well, beware, be well, beware it’s a flaw’ (Passions Like Tar)

Post-punk, almost by definition, is a function of its competing inspirations and influences.  And Louse, who hail from Cincinnati and feature members of both Crime Of Passing and Cruelster, have honed an interpretation that feeds hungrily on the dynamics of gothic rock and darkwave pop, while staying firmly rooted in the surging intensity of punk.

Their debut album, Passions Like Tar, is defined by its lush instrumentation and lavishly detailed compositions as warm, shimmering guitars are underpinned with a bracingly sonorous rhythm section and flourishes of glimmering synths.  Meanwhile, powerfully melodic yet utterly forlorn vocals conjure a richly evocative portrait of isolation, sorrow, and the unrequited.

The result is an album that sweeps seamlessly from surging anthems (Joy In Pain) to mournfully ethereal laments (A Potter’s Field and Human Remains) by way of tightly honed eruptions of melancholy (Bed Of Knives), the latter of which disconsolately reminds us that ‘in these hopeful moments, the caged bird dies’.