She Past Away - Narin Yalnizlik

Narin Yalnızlık, She Past Away’s second LP from 2015, was highly anticipated. Their first album, Belirdi Gece, introduced the Turkish trio’s post-punk sensibilities over danceable beats—a concoction of melancholy sounds that gripped the darkwave scene. With Narin Yalnızlık, Volkan Caner, Idris Akbulut, and Doruk Öztürkcan approach their signature sound with a richer, fuller angle. It is more mature, less monotone: it shimmers in all shades of grey. The LP—whose title translates to “delicate solitude” in English—reflects the complacency of life, the staleness and despair of a soul caught deep in the throes of depression.

She Past Away began the vanguard of darkwave artists in the 2010s. With Caner’s deep, wearied vocals and their punchy drum machine, it’s easy to compare them to certain 1980s bands that are heroes in the goth scene (The Cure, Clan of Xymox, Sisters of Mercy) but the band maintains a sound all their own with Narin Yalnızlık. Here, the tradition is upheld but transformed into something new. “Soluk” begins the album with high expectations, replete with war cries that shriek from beyond. Much like the band’s previous release, the focus is on the severity of drums that move along the music—“Asimilasyon” is a great example of that. The song recalls the uncanny, a sense of foreboding, and the fear of not knowing who or what is watching from the shadows.

“Uzakta” takes the excitement down with its slower, guitar-laden post-punk ballad. Here, She Past Away sounds more like The Cure than they ever have, displaying the fragility of longing and loss. The following song, “Narin Yalnızlık,” shines through with an usual atmosphere of hope (one derived from the minimal wave movement) that glimmers through the sad guitars. But no, the hope does not remain for long. “Hayaller?” (which translates to “dreams?”) dives back into the depths of sorrow with its ultimate gloom. It is an unforgiving display of fatalism, of total blackness.

Perhaps the most recognized song on the LP, “Katarsis,” has become a club hit. While it does omit a darkness with a dash of melancholy (just like the rest of the album) it’s a track for the dancefloor. “Uçtu Belirsizliğe” retains a mystery, an air of danger throughout its composition while the synths of “Gerçekten Özleyince” take lead as their heartbreaking melodies cry for reprieve from the monotony of life. As a rare moment of solitude and rest, “Yanımda” feels like a meditative introspection of the self. “Kuruyordu Nehir” retreats back to She Past Away’s consistent theme of complacency and disappointment in everyday life with Caner’s echoing vocals. Finally, “İçe Kapanış II” is the sequel to the end of Belirdi Gece as a means to tie the two LPs together, a launching pad for what comes next. With Narin Yalnızlık, the band refined their melancholy, relished in the richness of their unique sound, and never once wavered in their dismal, nihilistic atmosphere.