Apollo - 2017 German Prophecy label 14-track 2LP set

Paris-based Soror Dolorosa creates raw and hungry gothic rock inspired by post-punk, death rock and cold wave. French for 'Sister Pain', Soror Dolorosa was formed in 2001 by vocalist Andy Julia. Taking its name from the novel "Bruges-la-morte" by Flemish symbolist writer Georges Rodenbach, Soror Dolorosa channels its inspiration's strong undercurrents of passion, nostalgia and mourning, transferring those powerful emotional states into its music and live performances. These signature elements of the group's sonic formula are heard in its muscular songs, jangling guitars, overdriven bass lines, driving rhythms and Julia's distinctive, dramatic vocal style.

Four years in the making, "Apollo" is Soror Dolorosa's crowning achievement; a bombastic dystopian world view encapsulated in dark popcraft. Melodic and memorable, the album shines a light on both stunning beauty and haunting sadness with Julia's foreboding, prophet of doom baritone soaring on down a long and lonesome highway full of baroque, exquisite anguish. The four sides of the double LP are presented like the passing of the four seasons, creating an audio life cycle. With Soror Dolorosa, everything starts and ends within this ancestral conception.

"Travels were the key inspiration for the songs on 'Apollo'," Julia says. A renowned editorial photographer in Paris' elite fashion industry, the frontman is also an exhibited artist and published author who travels the globe. "Passing through plains, mountains, cities, forests and deserts; all of these sensations, all of these smells are remembered and represented within the songs simple melodies and die hard grooves."

Long associated with acts such as Alcest, Les Discrets and Lantlôs, it makes perfect sense for Prophecy to welcome Julia and Soror Dolorosa to its family of artists. Long compared to standard-bearers such as Fields of the Nephilim, The Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division and Bauhaus, it too makes sense that Soror Dolorosa continues to grow its sound and vision; and with "Apollo", they have taken that very next step. For the band, "Apollo" isn't just a new album, it's a spiritual quest.

Tracklisting:
1. Apollo
2. Locksley Hall
3. That Run
4. Everyway
5. Night is Our Hollow
6. Another Life
7. Breezed & Blue
8. Yata
9. The End
10. Long Way Home
11. A Meeting
12. Deposit Material
13. Golden Snake
14. Epilogue