After Dark

Essenger's debut album "After Dark" kind of just came along and revolutionized the entire darksynth scene — ironically, it's also about a revolution.

Well, to say it's about a revolution would be to put it crudely. In actuality, it's a deep exploration of existential dread, the complexity of relationships, and the nature of humanity's evolution, all written to the oddly pessimistic beat of a science fiction dystopia. You interested? I bet you are. Don't expect philosophical meanderings, though, because "After Dark" is largely based on a first-person perspective, relying on simplistic, personal lyricism to convey its message. And it does so with surprisingly good execution — Essenger's voice is remarkably good and his songwriting is nuanced enough to be simplistic whilst also having a measure of depth to it, and even if it might seem a tad cheesy at times, it does its job well enough. And the production — how could I forget the production? — is equally phenomenal. Once again opting for rawness over technicality, "After Dark" adopts a stance poised upon low, brooding basslines, and a brilliantly designed synth with a certain 'neon' quality to it — bright, but not enough to be called bright — with the occasional interjections of a guitar solo or a robotic vocal effect. And on top of the lyricism, and the vocals, and the production style, Essenger carefully balances a sci-fi narrative with cinematic elements as the cherry on top. Perhaps best orchestrated in tracks like "Empire of Steel" or "Blood Moon", Essenger presents a lone character, a rogue, fighting against the corporate sickness that seems to have taken over his world, allowing him to pose questions about our future, and the handling of the inevitable dread that comes with it. Final note: I've put the deluxe edition as the Spotify link, since the original version is not on there, I believe — but for the purposes of this review I've ignored the instrumentals.

There isn't as much wild experimentation and genre switching on "After Dark", nor are there crazy production twists, but, truth to be told, there doesn't need to be any. The atmosphere is consistent and really good, and though it feels a little edgy at times and on-the-nose at others, the emotion is well-directed and well-placed. And so whilst it may not be the flashiest of albums, Essenger's debut LP is a very strong one. Side note: yes, I have included the bonus track "Silence", even if it was released years after the actual album.

Listen on Spotify here.