Screaming out of a dimly lit basement in the rain-soaked gotham of Portland, Oregon, three smooth and sentimental men consult their best influences to produce an instant classic of a debut. While retaining the pure, synthetic high-fidelity of timeless 80s pop such as Depeche Mode and The Cure, the 6-track EP Wolf in the Night dazzles listeners with retro drum machines and analog aural temptations. Every song is an ethereal ear worm that will have you humming amiable melodies in your off time without you realizing. As the sequenced bass rumbles lay the foundations for the buzzing, reverberating keyboard soundscape a la Tim Iserman of Smoke Rings fame, the stripped-down chorus-laden guitar licks give you just enough and no excess.
While the vocals give you all the wailing romance of Morissey without the laughable judgemental attitude, you’re whisked into a dreamscape that your parents were likely able to enjoy on a daily basis via radio. Ritual gives you what you probably missed out on as a child as our airwaves were filled with less substantial and talented boy bands and manufactured divas. They have proven that you can be sexy, poppy, and DIY even in a world where it seems like only the rich get notoriety even in obscure music genres. Borrowing heavily from the current aesthetic of neo-goth, they bring in a danger only found in the latent recesses of our darkest sexual desires. The recent mainstream toe-dipping in the waters of BDSM are paltry in comparison with the visage of leather-heavy intrigue and sincere passion of Ritual Veil.
