Deafheaven – Lonely People with Power (Review)

This is the sixth album from US post-black metal/blackgaze band Deafheaven.

Lonely People with Power contains 62 minutes of music, and finds Deafhaven in masterful form. If you’re familiar with Deafheaven at all, as you hopefully are, this new record is essentially a culmination of everything they have done so far, resulting in an album that’s well-rounded, affecting, and quite brilliant.

On Lonely People with Power Deafheaven manage to pull off something very difficult – a true blending of blackened ferocity and shoegaze beauty. Blackgaze is a style that’s remarkably easy to play poorly, but of course, Deafheaven are experts in the subject matter.

I’ve long been a fan of Deafheaven, and although I liked 2021’s shoegaze excursion Infinite Granite, it wasn’t a direction I favoured for the band. On Lonely People with Power, Deafheaven have taken what they have learned from that record, applied its strengths to the rest of their heavier musical skillset, and have produced a simply scorching collection of new tracks. I like that Infinite Granite‘s influence can be felt on this new record, but also that it doesn’t define it.

Lonely People with Power caters to my love of black metal, while also satisfying my desire for atmospheric and emotion-rich music. It’s a post-black journey into Deafheaven’s absorbing sound, rendered in three-dimensional textures that are hypnotic. A compelling mix of darkness and light, the songs explore worlds of shading through ethereal dreamscapes that seem ripe with possibilities and depths. Throughout, the balance is well-judged. The aggression is tempered by the light, yet is still unleashed regularly to rampage and burn before returning to calmer, more introspective waters.

The music is expressive and rich in content. It feels like a heady combination of considered and free, as if birthed by a directed imagination that knows how to harness powerful creative impulses well. The album rarely puts a foot wrong, (even Incidental I somehow works, despite ultimately being disposable, although Incidental III I could do without).

Overall, Lonely People with Power is a stunning record. Vicious and haunting, feral and beautiful; this is an essential listen.