It often happens that one listens to albums that one struggles to connect with, only to discover their value after insisting and not hastily giving up. Wraithstorm‘s debut belongs to this category, and one of the main reasons is the initial feeling that the sonic whole lacks something, identifiable in the renunciation of the guitar, something not so unusual but always difficult to assimilate on first listening. In reality, Unseen & Unfound is a work that enjoys great depth and, in the long run, the fact that the driving instrument is Alicia Cordisco’s bass becomes quite natural. The musicist from the U.S.A. is the author of the music and lyrics, centered on her transgender experience which also makes the lyrical part, often put in the background, one with an instrumental development in which drummer Michael Goodrich also comes into good prominence, while the vocal parts are entrusted to Lux Edwards, protagonist of a convincing performance not only in growl but also in clean. The funeral doom offered by musicians from different backgrounds is paradoxically less at risk of appearing derivative, and while some inevitable references to other U.S. bands on can be perceived (Bell Witch, especially for the common absence of the guitar) it must be said that Unseen & Unfound lives a life of its own over the course of the eponymous monotrack’s duration. The sound unfolds sorrowful and varied, never too lashing and with a melodic flavor that when it emerges hooks the attention. Wraithstorm‘s debut is of a good standard, and what remains to be seen is just whether Alicia will want to follow up on this very promising project indeed.

2022 – Independent