The document provides a review of the self-titled debut album by the Brooklyn-based synthpop duo Light Asylum. It summarizes that the album was highly anticipated after the reviewer discovered the duo featuring Bruno Coviello on drums/synths and Shannon Funchess on vocals. The review describes Funchess' vocals as expressing vulnerability yet strength on songs about love and heartbreak. It also notes that some politically-charged tracks criticize law enforcement and the Catholic church. In conclusion, it states that Light Asylum combines 1980s influences with modern production, paying respect to predecessors while delivering post-punk and new wave for a new generation.

1. 4/16/2016 Light Asylum: Light Asylum
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Light Asylum: Light Asylum
Written by Adriana Lucci
Last fall I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a show at Sarah Lawrence College featuring drum
machine/synth master Bruno Coviello. Having just uprooted and moved across state lines, I was
hypnotized by the echoing synth that reminded me of being lost at night in a new city that I might one day
call home. The next day I was still searching for a guide and realized that Coviello collaborates with
percussionist and vocal powerhouse Shannon Funchess in Brooklyn’s romantic goth synthpop duo, Light
Asylum.
Last fall I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a show at Sarah Lawrence College featuring drum
machine/synth master Bruno Coviello. Having just uprooted and moved across state lines, I was
hypnotized by the echoing synth that reminded me of being lost at night in a new city that I might one day
call home. The next day I was still searching for a guide and realized that Coviello collaborates with
percussionist and vocal powerhouse Shannon Funchess in Brooklyn’s romantic goth synthpop duo, Light
Asylum.
Since then I have been anticipating the release of their self-titled LP debut. Though I was originally
entranced by Coviello’s ethereal beats, Funchess’s lyrics and vocals perfectly articulate my experience

2. 4/16/2016 Light Asylum: Light Asylum
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introspectively dancing alone in a crowd of students. Throughout Light Asylum, Funchess finds strength by
exposing her vulnerability. On the opening track, “Hour Fortress,” her voice rumbles like a thunder cloud
emanating from the depths of her being: “Our fortress, open wide, inside flames of fire burning bright.”
Having relinquished its guard, Light Asylum is most naked in its love songs. “Angel Tongue,” for example,
starts with a drum echoing the human heartbeat, pensive synth, and ephemeral chimes. Though addressed
to another, the lyrics sound like Funchess stripped them directly from her diary: “If I gave you the key to my
heart, would you take it? Would you take it? Would you run, and leave me with a rusty knob that could not
be undone?” In other heart wrenching tracks, like “Shallow Tears” and “A Certain Person,” Funchess
expresses her passion by departing momentarily from her distinctive baritone to exercise her full vocal
range. Funchess shines brightest when she completely exposes herself.
Despite its intense emotions, Light Asylum is no pity party. On the album’s fierce political tracks, “IPC” and
“Pope Will Roll,” Funchess packs a vocal punch. Over a reverbed militaristic snare she criticizes law
enforcement: “We’re taking the streets back man!” and the Catholic church. In line with Occupy Wall Street
and today’s populist movement, Light Asylum demands that America reassess its values and embrace
sociopolitical change. This anger is not angst; it is derived from compassion. In “Sins of the Flesh”
Funchess pleads, “We need a common respect free us from all our psychic ills.” This compassion is the
root of change.
Light Asylum is unabashedly melodramatic, reminiscent of '80s British acts, like Yaz and Joy Division.
Despite frequent use of reverbed snare (and a whiplash sample à la Devo on the political diatribe “IPC”),
Light Asylum is by no means a regurgitation of music from thirty years ago. Combining analog synth with
modern production techniques, Coviello and Funchess pay respect to their influences, delivering post-punk
and new wave to a new generation. By sharing their struggle, Light Asylum’s listeners find solace knowing
they are lost but not alone, and with this newfound solidarity find the strength to continue searching for the
way home.