“I’m eating orchids and begging for penance.“
The GILT cinematic universe has enamoured us since we first encountered them on their previous record, In Windows, Through Mirrors, way back in 2021. Since then, it has produced projects such as Second Impact and i.liedtomyself that have captivated us in the years between GILT producing their new material. The quartet made an emphatic return with “Seattle Day 2“, a mix of genres that can be neatly summed up as ‘mallcore’. It showed that they had spent time honing their sound and were looking to create something that was truly unique. On I Saw Myself in the Black Screen they more than achieve this.
What is immediately evident from the onset on “Always a Man, Always a City” is that this is a vastly different GILT to the one from 2021. The post-hardcore and emo stylings in the manner of a Pianos Become The Teeth or La Dispute are gone. While both genres are still intertwined within their sound, they’ve firmly moved their sound and style into the frantic and colourful world of 00s emo. Visceral screamo yells rumble through the track from Asha Locke, before being contrasted with her cleans that only begin to show how heart-wrenching they can be. “Trailer for a Movie That Doesn’t Exist” is the nearest I Saw Myself in the Black Screen comes to In Windows, Through Mirrors. A gentle shoegaze atmosphere is created with assistance from the aforementioned i.liedtomyself, giving it a porcelain quality, before it bursting into rhythmic yelled vocals on the verses.
Their ability to create these introspective moments further shines through on the latter half of “She Has No Respect for Anything, Except for the Taste of Blood“. As reverbed guitars glisten throughout the track, the vocal hook of “You never deny me, you always bend, when I ask you to push in the knife again” echoes through from Asha Locke‘s souring cleans. Screamo fry screams are fully introduced across the likes of “Roberta Sparrow Calls Miss Cleo” and “DRYWALL“, giving I Saw Myself in the Black Screen an extra harshness it needs, stopping well short of overdoing the emo and post-hardcore sound early on.
“fnod” is a brief interlude of sorts that pivots on the lyric “When was the last time I saw you alive?” from both vocalists. This leads into “Spit Out Into A Ditch…” which delivers plunders the depths of screamo in the more brutal manner of a Dreamwell, rumbling with hardened emotive screams and soundscapes. Harrowing shrieks come from both singers which continue to show the impressive range of Locke and Fieldhouse, as each chapter of sorts in I Saw Myself in the Black Screen pulls out a different vocal style from them.
GILT lean more into the “nu” side of their sound on “…On the Side of the New Jersey Turnpike” as menacing riffs and chugging breakdown fully rear their head, converging in a breakdown that will be one for the moshers. It fully indulges in a nu-rock fashion on “Ohms en serié“, with beats and spoken word rapping before bursting into gargantuan riffs. The churn of soundscapes is relentless, this time feeling rather too obtuse compared to the rest of the switch-ups on I Saw Myself in the Black Screen.
The record closes out on a double-sided coin, the aforementioned “Seattle Day 2” and new track “Hartwell“. The former ramps up like it’s boss fight music with an energetic yet tense atmosphere, using bouncy nu-metal riffs and chugs that are layered with Locke‘s aggressive metalcore-styled vocals. “Hartwell” leans into the grandiose as Locke fully unleashes their melancholic cleans which are utterly gorgeous. The clean guitar chords that accompany “Hartwell” add to that emotiveness, which builds into a finale of the chant of “I won’t burden you anymore with this“, giving I Saw Myself in the Black Screen a cinematic close.
As expected with a record that has taken over four years to complete, there is intricacy and a heart to I Saw Myself in the Black Screen that shines throughout. This allows much of it to be felt rather than heard, whether it’s those emotive moments on “Trailer for a Movie That Doesn’t Exist“, “How Do You Kill an Angel, Barry?“, or the closer “Hartwell“. Even when leaning into their screamo side on “Spit Out Into a Ditch…“, it doesn’t waver, and shows their ability to deliver heartfelt lyricism on either side of the genre’s coin. That crafted sound and genre blend they’ve pulled off allows us to be a vessel for emotive resonance, with the ‘gaze, emo, metalcore, and screamo influences all blended succinctly. While there are moments where GILT‘s ideas don’t quite land, this will still make for a unique and absolutely captivating listen in a genre that needs it.
