I went in listening to Arkham Sunset’s newest album with only a vague idea of what to expect. Based in Portland, OR, Gerry Hathaway is the founder and artist behind the music project and classifies his sound within the industrial, darkwave and synthpop genres. When I played Failure Analysis, my ears were met with an interesting blend of electronic sounds that spanned the entire album.
Hathaway started releasing music in 2019 and Failure Analysis marks his third full-length album. It consists of seven tracks that serve up layer upon layer of dark electro goodness. The songs take you from retrowave to synthpop to industrial with hints of darkwave sprinkled in. The title track, “Failure Analysis” leans into a heavier, industrial sound, while “ADSR” and “Departure Point” gave me 80s video game, Blade Runner and Tron vibes.
I also noticed the album is light on lyrics; the emphasis is more on the beat and melodies as opposed to vocals and I think that really works with a project like this. The magic lies in the way Hathaway experiments with hardware instruments and genres. And while Arkham Sunset is a solo endeavor, the album credits showcase that Gerry Hathaway collaborated with other musical artists to bring his vision to fruition, which explains the variety his music delivers.
As a whole, Failure Analysis strikes a nice balance between dark and heavy and light and upbeat. If you have a penchant for electronic music artists who aren’t afraid to experiment, then you’ll want to check out Arkham Sunset.
Vamp Jenn's Corner 