Breathy vox over heavy, simple riff beds.
Supergoth Metal duo, Frayle, have released one of 2022’s most hypnotizing albums, evoking sounds and aesthetics of High Violets, My Bloody Valentine, New Keepers of the Water Towers, White Swan, Type O Negative, Godflesh, Ascension of the Watchers, Bloody Hammers, Cranes, Portishead, and Rasputina.

Gwyn Strang sings like an angelic/demonic mesmerist. She is content to pace circles in her narrow courtyard of notes, pitches, and intensities, delivering with cool, calm, sensual restraint, never amping up to abandon. It works.
Sean Bilovecky’s simple Cantrell/Thayil-inspired riffage also never goes off, never becomes flashy or seeks to draw attention to itself. The tone is understated, unhurried, moody, and just a little bit scary.
The title track is an absolute keeper. The haunting twang of the guitar smoothly embraces the lush vocal melody, expanding and echoing with eerie beauty, like voices in a starlit desert. Album opener, “Treacle and Revenge,” works really well as a mission statement and introduction, establishing the tone of the record. “Song for the Dead” is cool too - - it starts off with a slight John Carpenter-esque synth line, before handing the reins back to the guitars and vocals. “Perfect Wound” makes for a lovely, darkly enchanting album closer.
The sameness between tracks does drone into monotony, as you proceed, kinda like Sleep’s “Dopesmoker.” Their previous album, “1692,” sported sparing growled male vocals as an offset, but none are prominent here on “Skin and Sorrow.” This album isn’t missing that gruff voice, but it does miss the change of sound. I will definitely keep coming back to this album, but probably in segments and individual tracks - - maybe not full playthroughs.
With their unique, black magic sound, Frayle are going to carve out their own niche. I see them developing a rabid, cult-like following of fans dressed in black and lace.