Album Review: Ötzi – Storm

There’s a very precise signature bass sound – growly high tone with a twist of chorus – that belongs to no other genre than this: shoegazey post-punk goth dark wave. Think of The Cure‘s 17 Seconds or Faith albums. That is the sonic blueprint from which Ötzi have built this, their modern interpretation. Throw in a heavy vocal nod to Siouxsie and a sprinkling of X-Ray Spex‘s braying sax and you have a heady recipe for some anachronistic and doom-laden soundtracks. And yet, the Oakland, California band have managed to make this very recognisable mixture sound contemporary again. Swathes of sweeping analogue synths, heavily chorused guitar and impassioned twin vocals add detail to a highly textured backdrop. Ötzi, by the way, can also rock when they want to. It’s not all slow to mid-tempo soundscapes for goths to sway languidly to in dank metropolitan cellars. Hardly at all, in fact. In places, it’s nothing less than exhilarating.

Storm is the band’s second full-length outing and it showcases a band fully on top of their chosen method. There’s more than enough musical variety in this album, which is surprising given the genre they’re operating in. Tracks like Contagious and Hold Still are almost jaunty and this is the tone for the album. Goths on speed. There are deep, gloomy moments though to meet your introspective desires, should you need them. Mostly though, it’s beautifully executed, well-crafted post-punk that’s thoughtful and full of a kind of dark energy that isn’t morose but curiously uplifting. Nostalgic but modern and, if you weren’t there when this was the new kind of thing, thrillingly different. A refreshingly endearing take on a scene that hasn’t had its moment in the spotlight for decades. A fine album. I was going to add ‘if you like that kind of thing’, but that wouldn’t be fair. A fine album, without reservation.

Storm by Ötzi can be streamed via Artoffact Records here