The Double Doghouse

this week for the weekly review, we’re checking out Sisters of Mercy’s 1987 record, Floodland. this’ll be my first experience with the band, so let’s dig in!

Dominion, the first half of the opener, goes fucking hard. really dig this track. Mother Russia, the back half, is p good but def feels like a step down on the back half. Flood I is uh. p grim. i really appreciate the punchy drums on this track, ngl. fuck dude the bass at the start of Lucretia My Reflection fucking rocks (which… is fitting given that the song is about the bassist, lol). plus the bombast on the choruses, yeah i can get on board with this song. 1959’s piano segment is very pretty but the track doesn’t impact me much. okay look – the hook in This Corrosion slaps hard, and does exactly what it is setting out to do, but man i think this song overstays its welcome. i enjoy it but after a point it gets a little tedious, and while i would wager that’s part of the intention here, given what Andrew Eldritch has said this song is about, it doesn’t sway me much on the track. when it comes to the two Floods, i kinda like this half better – both in terms of where it’s placed on the record and the track itself. Driven Like the Snow is another one that doesn’t really stick with me. Never Land – A Fragment rounds out the tracklist, and is the shortest track on the record, but it still takes its time slowly unfolding over its runtime.

faves – Dominion / Mother Russia, Lucretia My Reflection
dislikes –

i don’t know what it was, but this one wasn’t for me. and i’m having a hard time pinpointing it – i do like quite a bit of music that’s sonically in close proximity to this kinda sound, so i don’t think it’s that, so much. some segments of this were really catchy or really moving, and there’s a lot to dig into here lyrically and enjoy, but like… it didn’t catch me. doing some reading into the record, it looks like quite a bit of it here is tied up in the history of the band, in frontman Andrew Eldritch’s relationship to the other two former members of the band. i gotta say, i do respect the way they cultivate mood on this record – gothic feels like an understatement after spending some time with the record. its possible i’m just not really in the mood for a record that takes its time in developing a vibe in the way this record does – perhaps something to ponder on a future visit to the Floodland.

Floodland – 4/10

next week, i’ll be taking a trip back into my own personal listening history, and checking out Paranoid, by Black Sabbath.  i’ll be back next Friday, April 7th with that review and to pick another weekly record, and in the meantime, let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then one pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)