This is the second album by Belgian musician Joachim Liebens under his dream-pop, shoegaze and lo-fi moniker The Haunted Youth, and I confess: I am completely in love with it.
If you grew up devouring The Cure at their most visceral, this record will fit like a glove. It captures the magic of Robert Smith and company building dense, forceful atmospheres, but Liebens refines the formula: less weight, more air and a sophistication you can feel in every guitar layer and every silence. This is dream pop in its purest form. It calms you, puts something inside you back in order and leaves you floating in that strange balance between melancholy and peace.
The album opens with “In My Head” and its short intro puts you right where it wants. It's a statement of intent: ethereal shoegaze mixed with post-punk nerve, melodies that seem broken on purpose and guitars that burn without burning. From there you know that the entire album is going to play on that tight rope between the delicate and the urgent.
Some songs feel permanent, such as “Emo Song” and “Hurt”: beautiful tracks that catch you off guard and live in your head for weeks. Then come the flashes—“Deathwish”, featuring Max Fry, “Wake Up” and “Forget Me”—instant, luminous hits whose fleeting beauty makes them all the more addictive.
When “Murder Me” or “Falling To Pieces” arrive, the guitars sharpen and the album shows its muscle. It's the best contemporary shoegaze: elegant distortion, infinite reverb and that feeling of falling softly while everything sounds like a controlled storm.
The closing track is a gem. “Ghost Girl” lowers the pulse with an acoustic, intimate, almost whispered performance. It is the perfect song for closing your eyes and letting the album carry you to bed, still vibrating.
Eleven songs in all, and none should be missed. From the opening minute they seize you and carry you somewhere else: out to sea, but across calm water, with no storm and no danger. Just you, the echo of the guitars and Liebens' voice pointing the way.
Score: 80/100