Darkwave
2023
The overwhelming popularity of 2022's surprise hit 'The Perfect Girl' merited some worry that Mareux's forthcoming full-length would be a crowdsourced, by-the-numbers median of Spotify-friendly darkwave. Blessedly, that is not the case on Lovers from the Past, which leaves behind the grayscale TR/ST worship of the Predestiny EP to deliver a richer, widescreen sound that pulls from Sade, Sisters of Mercy and even a little CHVRCHVS.
The doomed romance of 'Night Vision' knocks it out of the park straight away with a smoky Spanish guitar riff and Arian Ashtani's haunted baritone. The music video is stunning too, a kaleidoscopic rush of colours choreographed in slow motion to let you really marinate in its morose splendour. The title track 'Lovers from the Past' was the first standalone track released from the record, and restores the classic Mareux sound with a downtuned New Order-y guitar riff and muffled, claustrophobic vocals. Another pre-release track 'Killer', features echoing rave-y synths exhumed from the corpse of Crystal Castles.
The biggest surprise on this record comes from a set of melodic ballads. 'Heaven on Earth' is the pick of the bunch, with its refrain of 'Life with you is a holiday' epitomizing the "Romantic Darkwave" description on Mareux's Youtube channel, delivering exactly what it says on the tin. The ethereal synth wash of 'Little Lies' and the Andrew Eldritch-style vocals on the closer 'Hurt' close out the album, both utilizing a combo of dreampop guitar riffs and plinking synths that wouldn't be out of place on a Radio Dept record, sans the all-encompassing gothness Mareux's made its name on. A splendid little 8-track album.
