Avaritia- Pulse

The members of Germany's Avaritia blend old-school post-punk a la The March Violets with modern alternative rock on Pulse. Combining the classic post-punk bass-driven rhythm guitar foundation and snaking ever-present lead guitar formula of the past with solid melodic female vocals and modern alternative pop sensibilities, Avaritia have managed to create a strong 7 song release that recalls the past while subtly cutting their own little post-punk niche.

Much of the material here falls into the up-tempo retro post-punk category, showcasing good guitar work and solid songwriting on moody but energetic and danceable slices of bass-driven guitar rock. There aren't really any exceptionally memorable standouts among the album's more straightforward post-punk numbers, but there aren't any bad tracks either. On the other side of the spectrum we find "Summer's Gone", a great track that sheds the band's post-punk shell and proves that the band members are equally as adept at creating upbeat, poppy alternative rock with catchy guitar hooks and excellent melodies. Tracks like "Hour-glass" and "Strangers" fall somewhere in between, combining up-tempo goth rock with a more modern alt rock oriented sound and catchy upbeat melodies. Overall, despite the varying stylistic range, it's a very sonically consistent and cohesive set of songs.

In the end, Avaritia's Pulse is a very good release that is, sonically, very familiar but also somewhat modernized and fresh. While, with the exception of "Summer's Gone", there really aren't any especially memorable offerings here, it's a very solid slice of modern alt rock-infused retro post-punk that is certainly deserving of repeat play. If you're itching for some good old melodic post-punk along the lines of The March Violets but aren't looking for a simple rehash, you'll definitely want to give Pulse a listen.