As the twilight sets, all shall be revealed...

There is a bottomless sense to melancholy isn't there? Perhaps it is the workings of the darkness at its root. Yet not all melancholia leads the soul into despair, for the bitter taste of black can often give birth to the twinkling lights of truth.

There are moments when joy and solemnity collide, instances when tears traverse their way down smiling cheeks, and it is when that connection occurs that one is enlightened to the beautiful release of the secret that lurks within the shadows of a monolithic gloom...and if you have yet to experience said tinted illumination, KLIMT 1918's "Sentimentale Jugend" is set to bring you closer to the darkened light.

"Sentimentale Jugend" is not really a record that one describes on a song-to-song basis; for this album's flow is that of a singular blueing tide set out to envelop the listener in endless waves of unexplored emotion. As the first reverb-drenched notes echo across the mountains of deep musical ravines the Italian quartet commence their shoegazing symphony of Kafkaesque spiritual movements and let the sounds evaporate into an air of reverent awakening.

Through darkly sparkling metallic layers and stirring, paling strokes of watercolours, the band create a portrait of dormant optimism whilst meditating on solemnity. Their influences are vast and prominent as tracks like "Sentimentale" and "Unemployed & Dreamrunner" bear the Pop-Rock kick of THE STONE ROSES inside the minds of the MANIC STREET PREACHERS whilst the gothic "Fracture" is a pure incarnation of THE CURE. Somewhere in the crevices of the record the band can also be found surfing the Post-Rock tinged New Wave sway of such outfits as DEPECHE MODE (particularly on "Gaza Youth (Exist/Resist)") all whilst saluting PLACEBO with elegantly rebellious Post-Punk Revival gems like "Sant'Angelo (The Sound And The Fury)" and "Juvenile".

The production on "Sentimentale Jugend" is excessive, but justifying so, for the effect-soaked, multi-layered sound creates and almost tactile atmosphere that makes this record soar to conceptual heights. Admittedly, the songs do unfortunately sound a touch too repetitive and uniform - especially across the madly exorbitant length of this opus - yet this stylistic semblance of the tracks also creates an entrancing aura that generates an almost hypnotising effect; nonetheless, however potent the band's genius might have been at the time of recording, the track list could have still benefitted from some extensive editing.

Overall - "Sentimentale Jugend" is not revolutionary but it makes you rise; it is not incendiary, but it burns with passion. KLIMT 1918's latest effort breathes with the dreamlike animation and beats with a beautifully curated rhythm of understated artistry. It is a youthful light that wonders in the mist of aged sorrow, a dawn inspired by the dusk.