CITY BURIALS

Swedish rockers Katatonia deliver a striking collection of melancholic and atmospheric art rock songs on their eleventh studio release - 2020's 'City Burials', the band's first album after their short 2018-19 hiatus. The brainchild of band leader Jonas Renkse, this haunting album has to be not only one of their most experimental and sonically enticing outputs, but also one of the most finely produced and modern-sounding offerings from Katatonia's already broad catalogue. Each of the eleven songs on this excellent studio album contribute to the overall gripping darkness that encapsulates 'City Burials', also solidifying the impressions one might get from the starkly unsettling but absolutely gorgeous album art photography, which happens to be the work of the very talented Lasse Hoile, known for his work with Steven Wilson over the years.

Quite elegant in its sound, 'City Burials' impresses with the majestic use of the keyboards, the prevalent (and occasionally exotic) ambience and the unnerving electronic sensibility, all of these aspects contributing to the very gloomy but enticing audio treat that is unfolding before the listener. A drastic departure from the more stripped-down rock attitude of its predecessor, 2016's 'The Fall of Hearts', it seems like Katatonia have really taken their time to reflect upon what the band could do more in terms of songwriting, and how they could expand the scope of their music, making 'City Burials' a very bold move that signifies how truly progressive the Swedes still are.

Not a single poor composition here, each one of the forty-eight minutes of this record is wisely used, resulting in one of the most focused rock albums of the year. Opener 'Heart Set to Divide' is a very strong rocker that might serve as a link between the band's previous release and this new one, as it sets a grim tone for the rest of the album. 'Behind the Blood', on the other hand, impresses with the swiveling guitars and the almost-tribal drum sounds. The band follow this up with 'Lacquer', another phenomenal song, that almost has an art-pop edge, then comes 'Rein', one of the heavier songs on 'City Burials' and one of the strongest choruses, too. Just four songs in, and the album is already severely impressive - the atmosphere, the variety, the lyrics, and the songwriting, all on a very high level. Other highlights are certainly 'The Winter of Our Passing', 'Flicker' and 'Neon Epitaph', but as it was mentioned before, each song on this album is just too good.

'City Burials' is very innovative, very far-reaching and forward-thinking, very emotional and quite well-written, or in a word, excellent. It might a couple of years, or maybe even a decade or so, for this album to truly be appreciated for what it is, but Katatonia have certainly achieved something special here, as this should rank among their best works, as this beautiful dark record is highly recommended!