Belgium’s Whispering Sons really managed to impress me at the Eurosonic festival last month. My first impression of the band was that they were a very authentic sounding tribute to the darkest side of the early eighties post-punk and proto-goth sounds, think Joy Division at their most depressive with hints of early The Sisters Of Mercy, Bauhaus and the gloomy trilogy of The Cure. Repeated spins of their debut album ‘Image’ revealed that Whispering Sons is much more than just a convincing retro act. The atmosphere is too immersive and the songwriting quality too high to limit them to that.

Naturally, the eighties retro vibe is the first thing that stands out when you put on ‘Image’. The repetitive, hypnotizing bass lines and the tight, almost electronic drum sounds, as well as Kobe Lijnen’s atmospheric, reverberating guitar lines – there is very little chord work on the album – immediately bring the early eighties to mind. But then something happens: the album gets under your skin. The emotionally intense choruses get stuck in your head and you end up humming along the melody lines quite quickly. In addition, Fenne Kuppens’ deep voice has a dark appeal that fits the music perfectly.

‘Alone’ is a minor hit in Belgium and it might actually be the perfect way to get acquainted with Whispering Sons’ sound. It is one of the album’s most accessible tracks in the sense that it does not require a lot of time to absorb the atmosphere. It is relatively uptempo and Lijnen immediately builds a strong melody in the intro. The climactic chorus has a sing-along quality to it without falling victim to the trappings of the cheesier side of the new wave spectrum. Still a quite gloomy song, but it definitely has the potential to appeal to those who don’t normally don’t listen to the genre.

That is hardly the only good song on ‘Image’ though. In fact, the consistency of the album is admirable. Of course, there are some stand-out moments, like the profoundly desperate atmosphere of ‘Skin’ and the propulsive, threatening feel of opening track ‘Stalemate’. ‘No Time’ has sections that are a little more abstract and excellent climaxes lead by a simple, but brutally effective bass line courtesy of Tuur Vandeborne. ‘Hollow’ makes excellent use of dynamics by holding back during the vocal sections and pushing forward when in the guitar-lead parts, only to resolve in a fantastic apotheosis. I quite enjoy the subdued aggression of ‘Got A Light’ as well.

While ‘Image’ is sure to please fans of post-punk, new wave and early goth rock, who – let’s face it – have not had a lot of new stuff to rejoice over in the last few decades, it has the melodic appeal and the excellent songwriting to find its way to a much larger audience. Anyone who does not fear a little darkness in his or her music should certainly give the album a spin. Whispering Sons has a great sound and a lead singer with a magnetic charisma. What more do you need to find your intended audience?

Recommended tracks: ‘Alone’, ‘Skin’, ‘Stalemate’