Die By Light, War Strings’ fourth album coming October 11, is a collection of pop excursions skewed by Andrew Stogel’s reserved delivery and eerie arrangements. It’s an unsettled picture of searching for intimacy. Uncertainty, captured through polar opposite entries; elated and despairing, wavering then devoted. Fast fluttery tempos, angelic string lines and a dreary sheen help to blur intense sentiments that hurry listeners through the 37-minute installment. Los Angeles-based Stogel has fronted several bands like indie-psych rock band Dreamers Dose and the shoegazed-tinged LOVEYOU. Stogel’s newest installment is not as gloomy and brooding as Prelude to Nothing or as starry-eyed as Of Aether, both released in 2023.
Many of the entries capture moments of joyous love. However, Stogel’s eye remains on that creeping, undefined, inevitable end. The album’s ambiguous conclusions and non-sequitur excerpts leave us without a clear message. Instead, Stogel dives in and out of love quickly and with an unnerving buoyancy. Advance singles “”Love You One Way,” “Pure of Heart,” and “Enough” are at radio now.
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