Russ Marshalek and Laura Hajek are longtime members of the NYC darkwave scene, and they have occasionally recorded together as A Place Both Wonderful and Strange. But it's been a while, and they've made an album well worth the wait.

A Place Both Wonderful and Strange Matter and Desire (Re:Mission)

Largely instrumental (the vocals tend to be used as another instrument), these songs spin tales of the weird and dispossessed. The tone is bleak and dark, with the lush respites ending up almost suffocating.

Fully club-ready, the beats entice even as the music itself spins its way into clouds of dread. That is, of course, what darkwave is all about. But unlike more commercial practitioners, this duo sticks to its dark techno roots and never comes up for air.

In many ways, this kinda stuff serves as the blues for a certain type of person. How can things get any worse? Good question, and the answer might well leave a listener in a better state of mind. Or, conversely, this just might conjure up wild storms of despair. Overcoming those is another way of finding the light. Either way, Hajek and Marshalek have created a haunted world that is just close enough to ours to scare the shit out of me. Enthralling.

Jon Worley