Eternal and Most Infernal hails, everybody! My name is Gothany Girltano, and I'm the internet's other busiest music nerd, and today I am here to review New York City synthwave artist Black Marble's fifth studio album, Life in Small Spaces.

Black Marble is an artist that stands at the gates of old and new, combining sounds of synthwave from the past as well as the present. Some of the influences that are very strong from the older sect on the contemporary music of Black Marble are Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark, Ultravox, New Order, and, of course, lest we forget The Sound.

As far as more contemporary examples, I would say that he has a sound similar to, adjacently, Choir Boy, early Drab Majesty, and Corinne. Black Marble is a solo project from Chris Stewart; it is all done by him, all the instrumentals are by him, so it's like a gothic bedroom pop project.

Life in Small Spaces is the closest that Black Marble has come to creating an actual post-punk record, whereas other outings, like their debut, a different arrangement, and their sophomore album, It's a Material, include much more synthesizer-based soundscapes. Life in Small Spaces includes much more guitar and bass and much more organic instrumentation, which broadens the entire soundscape of the record.

Something else I really enjoy about Black Marble, specifically on this album, is that the deadpan delivery works so well, even with more upbeat instrumentation. Of course, it usually works in a much more crooning atmosphere, but even with the more vivacious and lived-in songs, like on this album, I do think that the monotone vocals still add a lot to it.

Unfortunately, my biggest critique with this album is the production, which I think is just a little too clean. There are times where, in the mix, the instrumentation either overtakes the vocals, or the vocals overtake the instrumentation.

On songs like "Anything" specifically, I think that the drums are just coming out way too far, and it really takes away from the writing of the song, which I think is really good. Sort of chain-ganging is a little bit of an issue on quite a few songs throughout the project, but it doesn't take away from my general enjoyment of the album. It just sort of is more apparent in some places than others, and when it's that glaring, it does make it a little bit harder to listen to.

The album kicks off with the song "It Always Comes To Me", which was the third single for the album, followed by "Jim Carol New Year" and "Anything". "It Always Comes To Me" has these very lush, vibrant guitars, and it is a very sweeping song, which really carries you into the album organically. "Jim Carol New Year" is also on the more upbeat side, but it does sound a lot more like songs from previous endeavors.

"Anything" is a faster-paced song and probably the fast-paced on the album. It has these really tinny drums that sort of overtake the mix, though.

Following that is "Get Back Up," which is a song that would not be totally out of place off of the debut album A Different Arrangement, and it's also barred down my favorite on the album. It has these incredibly beautiful vocals and these beautiful synthesizer crescendos throughout that just elevate the song incredibly.

Then going into "Other Man's Dream," which is a lot slower and croonier and provides much more atmosphere to the album. After "Other Man's Dream" is the song "Guess", which is a jangle-pop banger. It is a song that is extremely danceable; it feels so vibrant and vivacious compared to other songs on the album. I would say that it's definitely up there as a highlight of the record.

Following "Guess" is the song "Life Without", which is a song that is much more on the organic instrumentation side of the record and provides an atmosphere that is unlike anything else throughout the album, especially during the second half. It sounds a lot like a Cleaners from Venus song.

The second half of the album plateaus a lot in sound because it hits more of a fast-low, fast-low dynamic with songs like "Panopticon Calls," "Missing History," and "Sonny Boy."

"Sonny Boy" being the closer, which is a fine song, but I do think that it ends the album on sort of like a...eh note? I think that if it had switched with "Picture When" as the closer, I think that it would be a lot stronger, but it is by no means a bad song. It is a very beautiful, probably stripped-back song as opposed to the other one, which I think is much more lush and vivacious.

Lyrically, on this album, it is about many different things, but especially Chris Stewart's relationship with the music industry and the way that it views its artists as disposable and as pretty much unnecessary as long as they're able to make a buck. There are also some songs about romantic unfulfillment and relationships, which is very commonplace within the general overview of this discography.

So, you have lyrics like:

"I was hoping we were only friends, tell me if we had a choice, I've been seeing you around again, so I guess you've changed your voice."

And then also:

"Listening to the preacher, he's an acrobat. Oh, I forgot my money; if you want to be counted, if you want to be seen, then you can never be free, not me."

I like the dichotomy between the two different soundscapes as well as the two different themes that carry out throughout the album, but there are times where it does feel like a bit of a hammer to the head and just makes you feel like a little woozy because you kind of switch back and forth so quickly that you don't really have time to sort of recuperate from the song before thematically. But the thing that is interesting is that, essentially, each song being so different, it feels like you're living in the lives of different characters and sort of interpreting their life as it goes and what their struggles are that day.

Another small complaint that I do have is that it does sound a little bit too much like a pastiche of other artists who inspire the project. It's also, on this album specifically, totally XTC worship, which I do enjoy. However, there are times when I am listening, and it feels like I could be listening to this instead.

I do really like the way that he plays off of those certain soundscapes and builds upon them and creates something that's all his own. It just feels at times a little bit repetitive. But that is probably the intention of the artist, and if that is exactly what he was going for, then that's cool. It doesn't have to be 100% for me because it's music that is very clearly made by Chris for Chris in order to be able to process certain feelings and emotions. That's what art's all about, is creating things for yourself and then hoping maybe others relate along the way.

There are rougher patches on the record. There are things about it that I find to be a little bit glaring in the department of criticism. However, overall, this new album, Life in Small Spaces, has brought so much life back into the Black Marble project that I have loved for so long.

I really think that this is probably one of the best outings in years. I also really start hoping that I hear more Black Marble at goth nights now that we have some more danceable songs on this album. Because I would really love to hear "Get Back Up" at a Goth Night and hang out with my friends and be like, hold on, my song is on.

Overall, I think that this is like the best outing Black Marble has done in such a long time. I think that Chris Stewart is really onto something, and I hope he keeps making new material because the five years of nothing was such a drag.

I'm really enjoying what he's doing with this, and I hope to see more of him and more of this project. I'm going to give Life in Small Spaces a strong seven to light eight.