REVIEW

The 2024 release from Sadness, the depressive black / blackgaze project of US-based Damian Anton Ojeda.

As recent trends suggested, this album marks a full-fledged shift toward the light. Gone are the anguished screams of earlier works, replaced by a meticulously crafted soundscape overflowing with beauty, love, and hope. The profound sorrow that once defined Sadness is notably absent, yet the sentiment is welcome: the journey through despair to a happy ending has its own profound value.

Despite the album’s luminous orientation, the cathartic interplay between ear-shattering guitar noise and ethereal melodic harmonies remains intact, ensuring the project’s signature intensity persists. In a year when artists such as Alcest, Parannoul, and MONO have released works suffused with hope, Sadness stands out precisely because its origins were dark, making the resulting light feel all the more dazzling. Much like emerging from a long tunnel, the contrast between shadow and illumination intensifies the brilliance of what follows.

Though Ojeda briefly shocked fans with a Patreon retirement announcement (now deleted), he continues to be active and performed live in October 2024.

Among the three Sadness releases of 2024, each exhibits subtle differences:

• your perfect hands and my repeated words: a balanced blend of dream pop, shoegaze, and post-rock
• i want to make something as beautiful as you: leaning more toward post-rock
• i love you: leaning more toward shoegaze

This review highlights the most immediately engaging of the trio, though all three are deserving of attention and admiration.