Divine Decadence – Purple Dress (2022)
With their debut single ‘Purple Dress’, Divine Decadence lets us know what they are all about. Packing a punch of darkwave electro-rock, the single wavers through various musical atmospheres using aggressive guitars and soaring musical lines. As they draw us into their sound, the single tells the story of a chameleon woman who is in search of her revelation.
The aggressive and dissonant tones of the band comes from the musical minds of duo Sabrina and Tatiana. They met in the shoegaze and post-rock band Astrolab in 2018 and discovered their shared love of dark and melancholic atmospherics. Taking the best elements of their styles and musical personalities, they formed this project in 2020, expanding the line-up this year to include Chris B (bass) and Chris D (drums).
‘Purple Dress’ draws you into the darkwave vibes of the single from the first note. There is a reaching tendril of darkness that envelops your senses through the opening line, that takes your hand and leads you further into the twilight of the track. With a touch of gothic overtones, the melody is a rich and evocative flow that you can’t help but move through. As this darkwave movement bewitches your senses, there is something in the distance that sparkles and has you meandering toward it. Halfway through the single, the rich darkwave flow gains new texture as the guitars rise from the depths, bringing a rock aggression. It is a wonderful change in tone that has been masterfully handled through a smooth transition that retains the base of darkwave, while undulating with the aggression of the guitars.
While the music bewitches you, the vocals add a further layer of richness to the single. There is an almost otherworldly feeling to the harmonised vocals. It is like they are crawling out from the nether to tell you the story of the lyrics. There is a slightly ominous feeling to the vocal performance at times, but this is tempered with a sense of inner strength. The vocals twirl with the dark tendrils of the music for an amazing listening experience that truly captivates your senses. As you are drawn into the thoughts of the lady in a purple dress, you feel the urge to sway to the movement of the vocals.
Divine Decadence has you sinking into darkwave richness, before rising on the aggression of rock guitars in ‘Purple Dress’. It is a rich and bewitching single that hooks you with dark tendrils from the first note and only pulls you further under its spell as it continues. The touches of rock, darkwave, gothic and shoegaze all come together perfectly for a smooth enveloping sound.
Find out more about Divine Decadence on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
