Many years of waiting have not at all affected the popularity of a recent project that is among the most appreciated by the people dark. Thanks above all to an important debut (“Belirdi Gece”) and its discreet successor (“Narin Yalnızlık”), two albums that have allowed the Anatolian couple to leave their mark in the last decade, beyond a third work (“Disko Anksiyete” dates back to 2019) already less brilliant.
To tell the truth, we had intercepted the signs of a hypothetical return in 2024, when Volkan Caner and Doruk Öztürkcan brought out a good appetizer (“İnziva”, a piece driven by a nice video clip expressionist), which was followed by a featuring for a song by Ductape (reality goth constantly growing, always coming from Türkiye).
The images of the second single “Mizantrop” anticipated this fourth effort of the same name which is just over thirty minutes (we will still have to wait until April for the release of the physical support). The passage in question represents a sort of hymn dedicated to the apathy of the dark generations (“I know, I'm a silent joke, a joyless pessimist, a misanthrope dressed in black. The names you choose, the labels you stick on me, believe me, they don't interest me”), that same apathy which however we find within a songwriting devoid of momentum and obviously made on autopilot (the case of “Kuyu Mezar”). After all, She Past Away can easily live on a living in a scene that is often more conservative than it should be.
So today, can we be satisfied? Only in small doses, not only because the surprise effect has now become institutionalized (we are referring to vocals in Turkish), but also because the constant repetition of a well-tested formula can get tiring in the long run: in fact, if we exclude the aforementioned “İnziva” (best song for detachment), the inspiration seems to have lost the impetus of the old ones release (the more obsessive “Sessiz Orman” and “Kaygan Kayalıklar” reveal themselves without infamy and without praise).
One thing is certain: despite everything, She Past Away will continue to gather support and play in front of increasingly larger audiences (a tour has already started which will see them as protagonists on the stages of the States and Europe, excluding Italy). In their case, there is a sound coherent and specific which makes up for a sometimes marked drop in quality. No problem, many fans won't even notice.
02/13/2026
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
