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CASTING SHADOWS
(Metropolis)
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One of the year’s least-cliché-dominated goth-rock CDs comes from Wolfsheim, a German duo who put a gentle spin on the often wiry genre. Their vocals, sung in English and German, sound less Depeche Mode than David Bowie, warmer than Trent Reznor, and not cryptic at all. The pictures they paint are gray rather than midnight black — dark, but not deathly. Melody, too, makes its way into "Care for You," "I Won’t Believe," and "Everyone Who Casts a Shadow," along with soft percussion and tiny, teaspoon-sized beats. Ballad tempos and limpid orchestrations understate the mood and quiet instrumental solos and beat breaks temper the texture as the duo’s two baritones sing close harmony verging on unison. Wolfsheim aren’t teddy bears: they sing with strength and pressure. Indeed, with the gloomy airs and the æthereal orchestrations give Casting Shadows a touch of Europop gloss. And the band are free of the campy costumery and arch enunciations (not to mention the crypt odors) that can make goth such a suffocating steam bath.
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