I have a very soft spot for shoegaze. Often times, I’ll buy an album just because it buries its cooing vocals in reverb and fuzz pedals. But even I have to admit that there are a lot of uninspired Slowdive copies (I’d know—I’ve bought most of their records).

But every once in a while, a band pops up that doesn’t just capitalize on shoegaze retroism, but brings their own unique voice to it. Today, that band is Seattle’s Fotoform, a husband/wife-led outfit whose sophomore album Horizons emulates the glittering gothic glamor of ‘88-’92 4AD records that they might as well have been members of This Mortal Coil.

Geoffrey Cox’s guitars are drenched in reverb so thick that they’re practically amorphous, making it nearly impossible to tell where the guitar ends and the synths begin. Kim House’s perpetually modulated bass dances up the scale in a melodic, kinetic fury that run counterpoint to her drawn out crooning. The drums, provided by former Death Cab member Michael Schorr, holds the rhythm section down with a post-punk seriousness, playing angular but uncomplicated beats while the bass meanders off into the ether.

The obvious sonic touchstones are here—the press kit mentions Slowdive and Cocteau Twins by name, and those references would be obvious enough without mentioning them. But there is a cold, crystalline chill to this album that is perhaps more reminiscent of the Cure. Substitute House’s voice for Robert Smith, and this easily could have been the follow up to Disintegration. This is especially present on the explosion halfway through the closer “We Crystallize,” where the sheen of guitar and synth atmosphere bursts into a wall of noise.

Again, these are pretty common points of reference. But what makes Horizons so good is how well Fotoform manages to mix these ingredients with perfect ratios. It’s brooding and gorgeous, driving and delicate, atmospheric and urgent—all the words thrown around by lazy music critics to describe shoegaze, post punk, and dream pop. That doesn’t make it any less true though. Cliches exist for a reason, and Fotoform manages to create an album that plays to these archetypes without being boxed in by them. If you’re a sucker for shoegaze, dream pop, post punk, or any other music that makes you wish you were a teenager in the eighties coated in layers of eyeliner and hairspray, Horizons will scratch several of your itches.

Follow the band on Instagram.