Published by Alessandro Violante on July 31, 2024
The Italian artist Velvet May started releasing music with this project in 2019, with its EPs released on its own label Tears On Waves. The sound of these three releases was fascinating dark/goth-tinged techno EBM with a post-punk soul. It’s not by chance that its label name nicely described its decadent approach to music.
Four years have passed since the release of the Phoebe’s White Skin EP and, after this long hiatus, the artist has done its comeback with its first proper album on Veyl, an eclectic and kaleidoscopic label with which Velvet May has had the chance to express its artistic vision without any restriction.
What we immediately perceive while listening to Enchanted By The Muse, released on vinyl on 26th July, is the impressive maturation reached by an artist who is now freed from any music grid, exploring different sonic territories in each song.
Here we find obvious post-punk and industrial rock influences mixed with the wide range of sounds being a trademark of ’90-ish electronica. Among the most representative outputs embodying its hybrid nature, there’s Broken Ballad, fusing breakbeats, industrial rock distortions and post-punk decadent vocals, with atmospheric synths and a slightly rough production.
In Haven of Thrill we find another homage to ’90-ish electronica (has someone else thought about mid-nineties Front Line Assembly‘ futuristic sounds?) fused with Skinny Puppy‘ish obscure synth melodies.
The LP couldn’t close without a dark-tinged techno EBM song like Scales of Gold, reminiscent of the artist previous releases.
Songs such as the title track and the last song Illusion in Control sound very good as well, and in the whole LP there aren’t any fillers.
Hands down, Enchanted By The Muse is the most complex, articulated and engaging Velvet May’ release so far, and that’s what any reviewer would like to think when listening to a new artist release.
Label: Veyl
Rating: 8,5