A gargantuan-sounding and, frankly, ghoulish entrant for this year’s ultimate Spooky SZN album, Candy Coffins’ Once Do It With Feeling is a rollicking romp through the graveyard that’s filled with an abundance of timeless tracks that’ll leave a lasting impression well after the last candle in your Jack-o’-lantern has burned through its’ wick.
“Seaside Girls” is a tone setter and then some with an overall haunting demeanor that’s not quite Post-Punk, kinda Rawk and a little like The Zombies jamming with The Raveonettes. “The Falling Man” further complicates matters with a Justin Mabrey low end-driven rumbler that conjures both The Cure and Eldridge Rodriguez with shimmering synths from Justin Purdy and lively percussion from Jonathan Bradley that, when coupled with Jame Lathren’s distinct vocal approach, sets Candy Coffins apart from any sonic peers they may have by leaps and bounds.
“Every Day A Fresh Atrocity” is filled with tantalizing tales and another journey along that Robert Smith-inspired path while later, “Tangled Up In Teacups” presents listeners with the best soundtrack to their next psychedelic fever dream as Tom Alewine and Lathren’s guitars intertwine and create a fusion of sound that’s equally spacey, serene, and scorching. “French Exit” is a sobering soliloquy with “Another Kiss” entering next like the anti-“Bitter Sweet Symphony” that soars to some epic new heights thanks to Lathren and Alewine’s screaming guitars combined with the rhythmic strength of Bradley and Mabrey as Purdy’s soundscapes envelopes all.
“A Victory Like This” is practically a Darkwave blueprint and a masterclass in proper Post-Punk as is “Cold Crypts” which is a driving ditty built on big Grooves and Lathren’s impassioned vocals that eventually paves the way for a fitting finale in “Peel Off The Stars” which is delightfully droning and grand from start to finish.
Once Do It With Feeling drops on October 21st and can be pre-ordered now by heading here or by clicking on the stream below. For more on Candy Coffins, follow the trail of socials by clicking here, here, or here.