Teenage Poetry

Somehow it seems appropriate for a band like Chandeen, identified with goth as much as any other act thanks to its general approach and label associations over the years, to have an album with a name like Teenage Poetry, a classic shorthand for feelings and sentiments that are seen as melodramatic and overly theatrical. But then again, Chandeen are much more of a quiet, restrained act in general, and on this latest album, the first featuring new singer Julia Beyer, their understatedly moody atmospherics once again reign supreme. Songs like "New Colouring Horizon," with its buried guitar chug under sweeping vocals and a distant electronic chime, shows how much the gap has narrowed between goth-as-such and goth-influenced acts like the Gathering, but the emphasis is much less on feedback and far more on electronic flow. Wordless interlude numbers like "A Last Goodbye" further add to the softly soundtrack-like feel to the album as a whole. A nice touch is a hidden track that's done with Lovespirals vocalist Anji Bee, "Tomorrow," done with just piano and a small touch of electronic textures that ends the album on a gently surprising note.