Hanging Freud - Persona Normal

Originally self-released via the duo's DIY Tiny Box label in 2021, Persona Normal is the 6th studio album from Glasgow-based darkwave pioneers Paula Borges and Jonathan Skinner. In 2024, the album received a massive re-release through the Belgian label Spleen+ (Alfa Matrix), finally making this aggressive and transformative work available on a global scale.

While Hanging Freud’s earlier work often leaned into ethereal, romantic ambient-pop, Persona Normal represents a sharp, defiant pivot. The sound is "rough, direct, and experimental," trading lush soundscapes for noisy synths, minimal drum machines, and a "detached, plaintive" vocal tone that evokes the haunting energy of The Cure’s Pornography filtered through the elegance of the Cocteau Twins.