Review: Dr. Arthur Krause – 'The Only Time She Moves'

DR. ARTHUR KRAUSE
'The Only Time She Moves'
M&A MUSIC ART

The fourth full-length outing from Swedish gothic rockers Dr. Arthur Krause flies the flag high for traditional gothic rock. Continuing to channel acts such as The Sisters Of Mercy, Fields Of The Nephilim, Joy Division, and Garden Of Delight through their atmospheric formula of jangling guitars, baritone vocals, and bass so thick it emits dry ice. Musically walking a similar path to Merciful Nuns, but favouring far more atmosphere and lower tempos, 'The Only Time She Moves' is a great example of modern guitar orientated gothic rock.

While you can't exactly praise the band for being innovative, the fact that they stick to their guns means they are as a result damn good at what they do. The album for the most part has a sombre and slow pace with the likes of 'Loveland', 'Deported Soul II', 'Death Row', 'Never Whole', 'We are Doomed', and 'Gone Tomorrow' running the gamut of the gothic rock style with electronic and acoustic elements coming in to play to keep things fresh. While the odd track injects brief shots of adrenalin with more up-tempo numbers such as 'Midnight Rain', 'Evelina', and 'Go On Your Own'.

In terms of the production, as mentioned before, atmosphere is king. The sound is almost cavernous with Krause's vocals sounding utterly phenomenal framed by the powerful yet haunting music. And while there is the influence of classic gothic rock running throughout, the band's execution is bang up-to-date.

OK, so there really isn't anything new, or genre redefining at work here. But that doesn't matter. What Dr. Arthur Krause presents is gothic rock, no nonsense and as it should be. Not trying to emulate past glories or hiding behind a retro facade, but proudly flying the banner for the genre and writing fundamentally solid songs that hold their own with classic cuts while carving their own identity. 'The Only Time She Moves' sees some of the band's strongest individual song offerings to date, and as a whole it is pretty much what any fan could ask for.

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