Sun Devoured Earth is one-man experimental project based in Aizkraukle, Latvia with a wide swath of influences and a very ambitious sound. He describes the sound of his new full length Sounds of Desolation as “gloomy dream pop,” but I think the album title does a perfectly adequate job of describing it. This is heavily atmospheric music, rooted in pop but steeped thoroughly in both shoegazy post-rock and black metal. For those who might be turned off by the implications of calling this black metal, check this out anyway; Sounds of Desolation is a lot catchier and more accessible than it might lead on, and the metal influences only come through in the rhythms and atmospheric qualities of this album.

It’s not the most original combination of sounds, and there are plenty of influences that appear to be cherry-picked throughout this record, but the ideas are well executed and the music is great. The distant, reverb-heavy vocals and punchy beats on tracks like “Shut In” definitely recall the work of Have A Nice Life, but this album also has moments that evoke the more subdued sounds of Dan Barrett’s solo project Giles Corey. The best parts of this record are those in which Sun Devoured Earth melds lucid, poppy electric guitar lines and keyboard melodies with his distinctive vocalizations, creating a contrast between the clear and the distorted that transcends simple influence-imitation.

Stream Sounds of Desolation above, and download the album for whatever you wish to pay from bandcamp.