Crushed Velvet Apocalypse

AMG Review of Crushed Velvet Apocalypse

Sean Carruthers
All Music Guide

After the relatively sunny The Golden Age, Ka-Spel continues with his plan to meld psychedelia to dark and deep electronic soundscapes. Though it starts out fairly deceptively, with the haunting, beautiful, and mostly acoustic "I Love You in Your Tragic Beauty," the rest of the album descends into more complicated fare, abrasive and richly textured. As usual, many of Ka-Spel's lyrics seem mostly impenetrable, fantastical, and paranoid. The only complaint: At nearly 70 minutes, it may be a little too much darkness for a single sitting.