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Trauma Pet - You Cannot Feel This
CD, Line Out Records, 2006
www.trauma-pet.com

After three years of live performances across the UK and a substantial amount of worldwide radio-play, Trauma Pet's long awaited debut album "You Cannot Feel This" has its release. Fitting into the new breed of Darkwave/Synth acts that have emerged from the scene these last few years, the concept of the music is a haunting mix of dark violent passions, meaningless defeat and inner struggles. One could almost place this style into the backdrop of a film-noir story. Musically, the band has discovered that melody and atmosphere hold the key to expression through the use of down-tempo electronics and harmonious angelic vocals.
Taking us into the dark melancholic vision of Trauma Pet's world we have the opening track "Affinity". This track fuses the bands self-styled electronic sound with guitars that share a common origin with that of Gothic Rock. It is through tracks like this that you see the bands obvious roots in the genre. I think it is safe to say that a lot of the lyrical input on the bands part reaches deep within the realms of Goth and yet strangely, even though the majority of the album touches on some dark subject matter, it still manages to give the listener a sense of unexpected warmth. More importantly, it gives the band and the album an unmistakable sound, which is always a breath of fresh air to any listener. What I do find with this album that I can almost guarantee that each listener will find a different track that they should be able to relate to on a personal level. None was more apparent than the following track "The Darkness Inside". Vocally, the track has ability to draw in the most hardened Darkwave or Synthpop sceptic. Its steadily based mergence of classical strings and a singular electronic loop make it an atmospheric and compelling listen. As I just mentioned, I do believe each and every listener will have at least have one track to appease their own taste, but if Trauma Pet were to have an anthem it would probably be the phenomenal "Controlled Hysteria". It defines the bands overall bleak and self-comforting view on the human psyche very well. I do believe this track has already caught the eye of some radio stations and some other artists in the field of electronic music, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see quite a few remixes in the near future.
Summing up the album is actually a rather simple task. Trauma Pet, both musically and vocally, stand tall above a lot of other current Darkwave acts on the scene. Their lyrics and their content should appeal to both fans of Synthpop and Goth alike and therefore should only heighten their success between the two genres. The songs, although sometimes a little too overwhelming in their sadness at times, are still consistent with what the album has set out to achieve. A haunting, thoughtful and compelling work of music, from start to finish.

-- Paul Marcham [9/10]