Deafheaven – Lonely People With Power – Album Review

1st April 2025 0 By Laura Jane

It’s not often I’m sat here thinking, “I wonder what this band is up to,” and oddly, that came to thought tonight when I was thinking about the current Damnation Festival lineup and seeing Deafheaven right at the top of the currently announced bands. Lo and behold, the timing of the release of “Lonely People With Power” and this thought came into an unholy matrimony, and thus, this review has been done. Now, I know that’s an absolute load of bollocks for a reason to review an album but hey, it’s getting done…

Firstly, who are Deafheaven? Formed in San Francisco, California, back in 2010, they are known for their unique blend of black metal and shoegaze. I thought to myself, surely that’s a subgenre of some sort, and lo and behold, it is and is apparently known as “blackgaze” – I swear there’s a mash up of all genres these days with some obscure name but for today that’s not the topic for discussion (watch this space..?). “Lonely People With Power“ is a 12-track album and a run time of 1 hour 2 minutes,which makes it actually fairly longer than most current releases, which have an average run time of 40-45 minutes. “Lonely People With Power” is the band’s sixth album and follows their previous album, “Infinite Granite” (2021). The album was released through Roadrunner Records.

The album kicks off with the track “Incidental I” and sets the pace for the rest of the album. With the interesting ethereal blackened sound, Deafheaven have always been a band that has interested me. Having listened to a vast variety of their discography, I feel that this album takes a step back to their roots and brings forward a visitation back to their ‘heavier’ days, such as “New Bermuda” (2015) and at a possible push, “Sunbather” (2013). With this being said, I do believe the album showcases the vast range of depth to their music, with some tracks such as “Heathen” and “Amethyst“, giving the album contrast and a more broody and less aggressive approach in tone.

More notable tracks from the album for me personally would have to be “Magnolia“, “The Garden Route,” and “Revelator“. For me, these tracks highlighted George Clarke‘s signature screams and the bands renowned genre-blending, showcasing the raw aggression of black metal and the melancholy melodic tones found in shoegaze.

Overall, I found the album to be a great listen, it had emotional depth and variety in the right places. It’s an album that is definitely worth checking out, It may even be a nice long relaxing bath for an hour whilst you give the album a playthrough. I would recommend this band if you are a fan of Alcest, Ghost Bath, Oathbreaker, and Lantlôs.

Score: 8.5/10