Lathe of Heaven : Aurora
If you name your band after one of the most celebrated science fiction novels of all time, you need to bring the goods. First published in 1971, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Lathe of Heaven is a story about how one man’s dreams impacted the future and how another man kept trying to manipulate those dreams. Lauded for more than 50 years for its blend of philosophy, craft, and creativity, it’s both an homage to decades of dystopian fiction that preceded it and inspiration for the literary bent to science fiction that followed.
While the songs by Brooklyn post-punk group Lathe of Heaven never directly reference George Orr or William Haber, their music and overall aesthetic pay direct respect to the source material. On their sophomore album for Sacred Bones, Aurora, the quartet delivers synth-heavy goth rock par excellence. These 11 magnetic songs sit just outside of pop, with stellar grooves and spectral moods that are appropriately indebted to Bauhaus, The Cure and Sisters of Mercy.
Moreover, Lathe of Heaven set out to make Aurora feel like a short story collection. Each track addresses a different theme familiar to fantasy or science fiction, from exploration and growth to desolation and destruction, but it’s all shown through a lens of questioning and searching. The music overflows with deep bass tones and driving rock rhythms, as Gage Allison’s strong low tenor vocals provide peak main character energy. But the record also features clever syncopation and thoughtful chord progressions that work in the manner of deft descriptive flourishes and turns of phrase used by a talented author.
There’s a propulsive energy driving the band’s engaging arrangements. Songs like “Exodus” and “Portrait of a Scorched-Earth” undulate with a power, as the shimmering guitars resonate with a futuristic wonder. The bright synth lines of “Oblivion” and “Kaleidoscope” fill each song with an urgent vigor without relying on genre trappings. And standouts like the title track and closer “Rorshach” provide high theatre full of purpose and care, not untoward melodrama.
Aurora is a striking spaceship of sounds, complete with equal layers of realism, optimism, and cynicism. Lathe of Heaven readily delights in the tropes they reference—both via sci-fi literature and classic goth and post-punk—without worshipping them, making them a standout band within this space. This is decidedly not the gaunt goth of yesteryear.
Label: Sacred Bones
Year: 2025
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Lathe of Heaven : Aurora
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