The cover for Årabrot‘s latest album Of Darkness and Light depicts band members, Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park, standing in a field. Dressed in period clothing and their hands joined, Nernes raises a cross to the sky. The gesture is mysterious. Is this in praise or is this in damnation? Are these two part of a community or are they exiles? It’s a dramatic image that immediately sets the tone for this album. Årabrot’s music has a dramatic sound here as well as a gothic feel but gothic both musically and in a literary sense. But it’s only a look. There’s no deeper meaning to the image which suits this album. This is an album of aesthetics that could use more substance behind it.   

Like the cover, the most remarkable and immediate element on this album is the pair of Nernes and Parks, specifically when they harmonize. Vocally they couldn’t be more dissimilar to each other. The constrasting vocal styles give the songs a gothic edge though. Nernes preaches with a possessed wail while Park’s ghostly vocals simply drift out of the background on a song like “We Want Blood.” When Park takes the lead on “Swan Killer,” she sounds like a wraith with Nernes voice becoming a bellow. The married couple intimately know where the other’s voice fits and exactly when to use it. Yet when they sing together on “You Cast Long Shadows” or harmonizing on ooo-la-las on “Love Under Will,” that’s when the album really shines. 

This vocal interplay anchors the stylistic diversity on Of Darkness and Light. Nernes and Park are fearless on drawing inspiration from such a wide range of styles. Nothing feels out of bounds. The band feels comfortable sequencing the uptempo jangly rock of “Horrors of the Past” between the bluesy dirge “You Cast Long Shadows” and the industrial influenced rocker “Madness.” Thanks to the duo’s vocal interplay, all of the songs get a gothic sheen that marries the song choices. Alain Johannes’ production gives the album the energy and bombast of radio friendly alternative rock. All of the songs on this album sound huge and occasionally catchy. 

That’s what is so disappointing about this album though. The various styles are interesting but never sound more than an aesthetic exploration. When it’s really good, it’s just really good. The songs threaten to explode without really going boom. The shifts in styles are interesting but in a “this is nice” way and not a “they’re really going somewhere” kind of way. The Gothic jangle pop of “Horrors of the Past” is fun but sounds like an ironic exercise than a sincere statement. There are a couple songs like “Madness,” “We Want Blood,” and “Fire” that probably sound great with Nernes and Park commanding the performance live. On the album though, there’s something missing. 

Årabrot clearly put lot of care and love into making Of Darkness and Light. Kjetil Nernes and Karin Park are both in fine form vocally and musically. The band have fun interpreting song styles through a gothic lens. Sometimes those practically beg you to sing along with them. Unfortunately, all of this sounds very surface level. Most of these sounds, while well performed, come across more like exercises in genre rather than deeper exploration of those genres. It’s a very good album that with one more push could have been a really great album.

— D. Morris

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Of Darkness and Light will be available October 13 on Pelagic Reoords.  For more information on Årabrot, visit their official website, Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram.