Finland's The Shadowsphere began life as a goth act who were - in the words of their press release - "more sombre than a corpse dug up from its grave". 'Through The Field' is hardly devoid of melancholia - in fact it is laced with it - but Andy Klove's monotone is countered by a medieval folk sound that is noticeably more upbeat. 'Dreadful Infant' follows suit whilst 'The Guilt Is With Him' takes on board some warm keyboard washes to remind us that we are in the 21st Century. Finally, a second version of the title song features the considerably sweeter vocals of Elina Jarvenpaa, calling to mind the dark, ethereal majesty of This Mortal Coil. Ultimately, this is a good gothic EP where the shortfalls in production values are compensated for by a sweetness of heart.
Finland's The Shadowsphere began life as a goth act who were - in the words of their press release - "more sombre than a corpse dug up from its grave". 'Through The Field' is hardly devoid of melancholia - in fact it is laced with it - but Andy Klove's monotone is countered by a medieval folk sound that is noticeably more upbeat. 'Dreadful Infant' follows suit whilst 'The Guilt Is With Him' takes on board some warm keyboard washes to remind us that we are in the 21st Century. Finally, a second version of the title song features the considerably sweeter vocals of Elina Jarvenpaa, calling to mind the dark, ethereal majesty of This Mortal Coil. Ultimately, this is a good gothic EP where the shortfalls in production values are compensated for by a sweetness of heart.
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