When Gmail fails you, it fails really hard.

I was going through my Spam folder last night (because you never know– among the poor souls begging me to give them my checking information, there might be some gems), and boy, am I glad I did. An email from one of my favorite bands, Noctura (whose song “Caged” I reviewed here), had released a new EP! Under a new moniker! I quickly flagged the email as NOT SPAM (dammit, Google) and rushed to their website to pick up the new songs.

The Noctura of old was a rock group in the vein of Evanescence and Within Temptation, with vocalist Mandy Suiter’s vocals rising from Kris Haughey and Jeremy Roche’s crunching guitars like a phoenix floating over its own flaming wreckage. That aspect of the music remains, but now Noctura has become Westvale, and they’ve added a bit of electro-pop into the mix!

The EP is unfortunately only four tracks– I’ve already decided they need at least twelve more in order to satisfy my thirst for amazing music featuring female vocalists. (It’s one of those things where most groups meet one qualification or the other, you know?) But those four tracks are fantastic. They’re perfect if you need to get pumped up, to go for a run or beat the shit out of a speed bag. They’re also perfect if you just need to stick the headphones on your head while riding the subway and escape to a surreal, ethereal paradise.

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