The fall of 2021 sees a new album release of this German-American Electro Wave-project consisting of Patrick Georg Kasperski and Haether Wayward. This is their second mutual effort after their last release “Cautionary Tales” (also out on darkSIGN-music), although this project exists already since 2014 with Patrick as being the founding member. In the years 2015 to 2019 Zattna Uhm was a part-time member and has brought in the lighter component to the deep-dark, almost spoken-word vocal performance of Patrick. This “job” now belongs to the US-based female member Haether Wayward - but actually it is more than this. Haether meanwhile is completely integrated, co-composes and arranges the musically outfit of this project. It looks a bit that two minds on the same wavelength have finally found together.

To sort in Cyanbaal musically is at least a bit challenging because the chosen sounds out of Patrick's dark laboratory and his preference to experiment a lot with different moods, leads and sounds turn it out to be complicated. It is to me at least an experimental form of Electronic-driven Dark Wave music often accomplished with cold Synthpop notes. Not at all a continuation of the classic Puppy-an Dark Electro formula lately often discovered, although the “Maestro” Arnte of Pyrroline has given his best studio talent to thicken the haunting and unusual undertone of this album. It was a wise decision of Haether and Patrick to give this album into the hands of the “Maestro” for the production and mastering process.

Compared to earlier recordings of this project I must say that this one sounds more clean and polished than ever before while it hasn't lost its dark and dense note. The older Cyanbaal tracks often came out infected with an intense lo-fi, bombastic- and with a deep-dark sounding Avantgarde-like influence. At least it isn't surely not only Haether who brings in verbally a lighter and more accessible form of the general outfit.

Well fitting to this ominous sound content are the often scary and hauting lyrics thrown in. At times the content nibbles a bit too much and too obviously out of the Goth-like honey pot (“Seance (Vers. 2021)” or the teddy-bear story taken out of “Dead Doll in a Basement (Vers. 2021)”) to my taste, but yes, it fits. A bit haunting, cold-minded, eerie and with some hints into esoteric and mysterious themes, but also here and there romantic oriented as well as some of the lyrics have to be taken with a smile too.

This album kicks off with “Swallowed Light” and this one demonstrates already the black-and-white-symbiosis of this dynamic duo. While Patrick remains in his typically deep spoken words-like performance, Haether sets up the contrast as being the light into the darkness. But don't be too euphoric about her beauty of her voice as she can be able to sound nasty and / or mysterious the same time within the continuation of the album.

A favorite of mine is the ominous “Dead Forest” which can be seen as a cold form of a Synth-/Electropop tune with Haether smoothly installed vocals. This one is to me the perfect example where the both protagonists blend excellently all of their skills into one brilliant tune. “Black Neon Life” follows and this one has already seen some nicely reactions after the upload of a snowy video clip on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvV-MmSgPtU).

“Beasty Angels” is an instrumental tune and starts smooth with lots of bell-like sounds and some underlining voice samples – until it suddenly turns into a spooky and ominous sounding Industrial storm. A perfect example out of Patrick's laboratory.

“Dark Reflections” finally unites both, new compositions as well as revamped versions out of the past discography of this project. It's a Synth-Electronica release driven by the unusual and a bit out-of-place kind in compositions, chosen sounds and lyrics too. Generally it needs a bit more spins to gain fully satisfaction and it is the question if people in our rushing times do invest this instead to jump on the next Spotify playlist – but yes, it's a valuable contribution to the music scene worth to discover and to invest the needed time.