Labyrinthine

The Artist

Faetooth are a Los Angeles four-piece who describe their sound as "fairy doom," a self-coined tag that captures their blend of ethereal harmonies and heavy, sludge-adjacent riffing. Formed in 2020, the band draws from doom metal, shoegaze, and dream pop, with all four members contributing vocals to create dense, interlocking harmonies that sit on top of downtuned guitars. Their aesthetic leans into folklore, myth, and the darker end of the fantastical, matched by an equally dark thematic streak that pulls from personal trauma and feminine rage. Labyrinthine is their debut full-length, following EP work that built anticipation in underground doom and heavy shoegaze circles. It arrives as a statement of intent, expanding their sonic palette while doubling down on the twin poles of beauty and heaviness that define them.

The Album

Labyrinthine was released in 2023 via Dune Altar, capturing Faetooth at the moment their live reputation as a heavy, harmony-driven force began outpacing their recorded output. The production leans into contrast: guitars are thick and cavernous, but vocals stay clear and forward, letting the group's four-part harmonies breathe over the low end. The album's title points to its central metaphor, using the image of the labyrinth to explore cycles of grief, entrapment, abusive relationships, and the slow work of finding a way out. Songs alternate between crushing doom passages and near-shoegaze reprieves, and the sequencing pulls the listener deeper before offering any release. It's a debut that feels fully formed, less a band figuring itself out than one arriving with its vocabulary already intact.

Listen For

The four-vocal blend. Every member sings, and their stacked harmonies are the band's signature. Notice how they widen the sound on "Iron Gate" and "October," softening even the heaviest passages.

Guitar tone and weight. The riffs are tuned low and played slow, but they never turn muddy. Pay attention to how the guitars breathe on "Hole" and hit like a wall on "Eviscerate."

Dynamic shifts. Faetooth build songs that move between whispered dream-pop stretches and full doom crush. "Mater Dolorosa" and "The Well" are good places to watch how they navigate that pivot.

Vocal delivery. Listen for the moments where the singing shifts from ethereal float to something more anguished or accusatory, especially in "White Noise" and "Death of Day."

Lyrical themes. The album circles grief, escape, and reclamation. "It Washes Over" leans into surrender imagery, while the closer "Meet Your Maker" flips the power dynamic entirely.