The impactful debut album from Houston-based duo Raudiver, Leave Before Dark stirs in its emotive songwriting and stylish productions — steeped in shoegaze, post-punk, and dream-pop inclinations, with a goth-friendly darkness pervading throughout. The project comprises wife/husband team Lauren Villareal Eddy and Charles Eddy, who fully embraced the wonderfully dark soundscapes within in recording the album in a Victorian age studio and releasing it on Friday the 13th.
Invigorating in its calls to depart a toxic relationship, “Leave” opens the album with strong atmospheric immersion. Grumbling guitar distortion and twinkling keys complement a haunting vocal lead, with its “if you love her,” drive sending chills. A nocturnal ’80s nostalgia consumes via the guitar/synth cohesion and stylish vocal charisma. Ensuing track “Mary Tombs” continues the dark pop intrigue; the “inspired by personal pain after former relationships/projects fell apart,” per the duo, with the moody production artfully capturing a state of depression following the dissolution.
A variety of highlights continue throughout, from the goth-forward debonair unveiling within “Cold Calling” — invoking a sort of industrial darkness — to the memorable finale “Bleach,” echoing a dream-pop beauty in its beautiful vocal work and calming guitars. Leave Before Dark is a fully memorable, atmospheric success from Raudiver, describing the release as presenting “an encouragement to shake off unhealthy situations and commit to your dreams before the hourglass runs empty.”
—
“Leave” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
