Sonic apocalyptic orchestral vibrations cut through Inside the Rose, the new nine-track album by experimental duo These New Puritans. There fourth studio album to date, that follows from their eerie cinematic album Field of Reeds; saw a shift in the band's musical style shifting from heavy drum pounding to a more hypnotic orchestral flow.
The new album was recorded between Berlin and London, with mixing in LA. The majority of the album was recorded in a former Soviet Union broadcasting studio in Berlin’s industrial suburbs. The release also follows the band having produced the music for a theatrical adaptation of Aldous Huxley’s novel, A Brave New World. The grimy industrial tones from Cold War Berlin and dystopian chills of Huxley’s novel form a harrowing atmosphere for the album.
The duo achieves this through release pulsating drums, sonic strings and wailing vocals that echoing throughout. The allusive lyrics and tone featured often in the work of These New Puritans are embraced once again. Found in tracks such as the standout track ‘A—R—P’ with lyrics such as “this is not a dream/ this is really happening”, and on ‘Inside the Rose’, with lyrics expressing that “nobody knows.” The album serves as an expansion and development of the style of their music exploring new, but good, nightmarish sounds. They certainly succeed in expanding their style and claim in ‘A—R—P’ “Let this music be paradise”.The album certainly acts as a brilliantly bizarre paradise.