Like
Junior Boys
and the more experimental
Telefon Tel Aviv
just before them,
Beacon
have the shape and look of a post-punk synth pop duo like
Soft Cell
,
Associates
, and
Eurythmics
, and are part of that lineage while unmistakably inspired by contemporary R&B. The first EP from Brooklyn dwellers
Thomas Mullarney III
and
Jacob Gossett
, released in 2011 on the
Ghostly International
-affiliated
Moodgadget
label, even sampled a certain hit R&B single from 1997. With a 2012 EP on
Ghostly
proper also in the distance, they take a few steps forward with their first album, a subtle and richly detailed set of ballads that ache in a way that is seductive rather than despondent.
Mullarney
's vocals, hushed but expressive, are heart-on-sleeve in nature with a hint of devilishness. His lyrics take some unexpected turns, as on "Overseer," where the opening verse is made of heated slow jam material until a sour finish: "Isn't it fine taking it slow, watching you watch meâ?¦walk out the door." Romantic division is a constant theme of the album. On the title-quoting "Between the Waves,"
seems conflicted between grasp and release over a tense, slip-and-slide combination of thrumming bass, swelling synthesizer textures, and ringing guitar accents. Cunningly sequenced,
The Ways We Separate
is exceptionally fluid and tightly bound, made for compulsive listening with no weak links. Few albums end with a song that encapsulates the whole thing. "Split in Two" does just that, with
coming to terms with his emotional trauma: "What'd I do for you?/Split myself in half/Divided into two." ~ Andy Kellman