Review by Nathan GDL on November 19, 2021.

AAFCC is one of my favorite bands of all time. I gave their album Try Not to Destroy Everything You Love a 10/10. It's one of my favorite black metal albums ever actually and this is a band I've been following religiously since Lost. I really really appreciate and stan the hybrid blackgaze and post punk goth whatever mix that they do. True, they have yet to top TNTDEYL, and every subsequent release has felt ever more lacking in the things that I love the aforementioned for. The clusterphobic and spastic bright and warm sonic soundscapes have since been pushed further and further away for a more streamlined sound, and ultimately, the band has severely suffered as a result.

With the new signing to Prosthetic I was a little worried. I remember reading that they thought this was their best release yet, so I had high hopes. They released a few teaser tracks, which were abysmal, save 'Water's Edge', which was tolerable and good in some places. I decided to wait until release to make any final decisions, as any sane person would, and holy hell, I'm disappointed.

Starting things off, we have 'I Became You', which is to date the most uninspiring opener the band has ever done. AAFCC often has super good and energetic opening tracks, 'Autum Again', 'Past Tense', 'The Long Goodbye' etc. They a feel like openers and they're often the best tracks on the album. Unfortunately, the opener feels anything but here, and is almost indistinguishable from the other snoozefests here. Each track bleeds into the next, aimlessly going nowhere. A melody would be introduced, it'll play behind some sterile post punk drums, and suddenly, if it's one of the few good tracks on the album, like 'Water's Edge', the title track, or 'Distance', it'll introduce some aspect of layering and substance, reminding me of earlier and objectively better works.

The main issue is the band is rehashing the same trite formula with every release since The Long Goodbye. This one is the worst offender with it's sparse and very uninspiring melodies, directionless songwriting and almost, dare I say, amateur level production. The vocals are the same on every single release and offer nothing of value anymore, the songs feel half assed and thrown together. It's like I'm listening to a bad cover band.

I understand that AAFCC is a mid-paced blackgaze band, so blasts, and slow parts don't happen really that often, but my god, give me some variety. You'd think after 4 albums, a band would grow tired of literally writing songs that are actually indistinguishable from the next. The song 'Distance' on this album, the closer, is the only song that I'd see myself listening to again, the melodies are emotional, and they have purpose, and it feels like a closer. Lastly, the production hear is as thin as it gets, which makes every experience that much less striking

All in all, I'm severely disappointed in this band. The lack of direction, ambition, and innovation bit then on the ass hard on this album, and it's something I was quietly fearing since The Long Goodbye. Avoid.

Rating: 3 out of 10