AAFCCAre those orchids on the front cover? Isn’t this supposed to be a black metal album? What’s going on? These are all questions that would have been raised if you’ve been living in the mountains and listening to nothing but 90’s second wave black metal for the last few years. For those of us in touch with reality, this has now become the norm and not the first time the colour pink has graced a metal album cover this year ( remember Deafheaven’s ‘Sunbather’?). Yes, hipster black metal is a thing and it looks as though it’s here to stay, so it’s time to embrace it or up sticks to Norway.

However, black metal may be the wrong label for this release – shoegaze seems much more fitting; for those who are hankering after something with just the right balance of prettiness and melancholy, then look no further – AAFCC are more than happy to deliver both with equal gusto. There are some catchy and accessible tunes within the tracks on this album, but also a sense of familiarity with some songs holding more than a light resemblance to Alcest and Woods of Desolation.

For those familiar with AAFCC, it would seem that they are lighter sounding than on their 2011 record ‘Loss’ – the focus has been cast heavily upon the synths and the electronics on this newest release are larger than life, meaning the harrowing and soul-crushing instrumentals we grew to love a year ago are now taking a back seat. The layering has been cleverly executing and the drum machine, although blatantly obvious, never becomes distracting.

This entire record conjures feelings of bittersweet nostalgia and is absolutely gorgeous – while there’s not much here to distinguish from last year’s release ‘Only the Ocean Knows’, the Dutch three-piece have definitely mastered the art of beautifying anguish and managed to keep their socks on and trousers rolled down in the process. This may flirt with the idea of hipster BM, but ultimately, it is its own beast and, let’s be honest, who cares about the pink flowers? This could be packaged in rainbows and unicorns and would still sound utterly bleak and miserable.

(8/10 Angela Davey)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Autumn-For-Crippled-Children/108017119243983