If you are one of the minions patiently holding your breath until the Sisters of Mercy release a new album, asphyxiation has either already come or is no doubt nearing. Although they played some live dates in Europe last year, those legendary goths have shown no sign of having a new record on the horizon. Fortunately, that’s where Night Sins come in. One listen of the band’s new album, To London or the Lake (Avant! Records)—or the band’s debut, New Grave, for that matter—and it’s hard not to envision principal sinner Kyle Kimball as some Eldritch offspring, borne into the world replete with leather jacket and shades.

Indeed, it is impossible not to hear something of the Sisters when Kimball bellows about lying down for the KGB on “Bound ’Round the World.” Like on much of the record, here he juxtaposes mechanical snare cracks with a big bassline under darkened synths, a precarious formula that could sound soulless and contrived instead of emotionally icy if he’s not careful. Fortunately, Kimball pulls it off, and tracks like “Air Dance” and “Evangeline” reveal enough ardor amongst the stoicism to give the record an undeniable heartbeat. Especially on the latter, where Kimball sounds like he’s at the end of his proverbial rope, there’s more fervor than detachment. As such, despite the obvious influences, the record is distinctive enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re listening to a carbon copy from goth’s heyday, but rather like something you’ve been desperately missing.