No. 7 - Endless Party, Whispering Sons (2015)

(Over a series of twenty short posts – one per week for the remaining weeks of this decade – I am aiming to highlight in vaguely chronological order some of the most important and influential releases in the goth/post-punk/darkwave genre of the 2010’s).

By the middle of the 2010’s a new wave of younger post-punk bands had begun to emerge, those who had seemingly raided their parents’ record collections and began to develop a new darkwave aesthetic inspired by, but crucially not slavishly imitating the first wave of bands of the early 1980’s.

Unsurprisingly, many of these bands came from the traditional heartlands of the post-punk movement where bands like The Sisters of Mercy still play to sold-out venues, such as the Flemish-speaking parts of Belgium, which is home to one such band, Whispering Sons. Formed in 2013 and with an average age of around half that of all the bands featured on this blog thus far, Whispering Sons have not just developed their own unique sound, but have risen to the top of the post-punk hierarchy without having to adopt the stereotypical uniform, iconography or lyrical clichés which have dogged the goth movement for decades and ensured its continued ghettoization.

Having self-released a debut EP of synth-based dark soundscapes (limited to just 99 copies) in 2014, the band really broke through at the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 with a twin assault of a brilliant new EP which was gradually released on different formats (cassette, digital and CD) and their participation in Belgium’s most prestigious “battle of the bands” competition, Humo’s Rock Rally, which most bands of the post-punk genre would have shunned.

However, based on their strong set of songs from the Endless Party EP and their intense live performances, the band won the competition and instantly raised their profile higher than that of many darkwave bands who had been plugging away for decades, enabling them to commence an upward trajectory which the hard-working band have been able to steadily continue ever since.

Endless Party opens with the track Shadow, the tone immediately set with the lush minor key synth chords of Sander Hermans, the singing, ringing guitar arpeggios courtesy of Kobe Lijnen, with Sander Pelsmaekers (electronic percussion) and Tuur Vandeborne (bass) providing a crisp yet stark back beat. The band’s undisputed star however is vocalist Fenne Kupens, whose strong, deep contralto is perfect for lyrics of alienation and despair.

Other songs revealed in greater depth the band’s broad palette, with the gothgaze masterpiece Insights demonstrating the power of Kuppens’ vocal in a slower, swirling multi-layered sonic experience. Kuppens has been likened to Siouxsie and Nico but her vocal style is very much her own, and although visually she is the least likely post-punk poster girl, with her girl-next-door-chic and Dad dancing, it is this uncompromising individuality which has marked the band out from others in an increasingly crowded musical sector.

I was lucky to discover Whispering Sons relatively early on (thanks to a tip from my Belgian FB friend Bruno B), being instantly won over by this energetic and genially youthful performance of Time, the most upbeat track on Endless Party with an infectiously nagging hook, recorded live for a Belgian radio session in the spring of 2015.

Wisely, Whispering Sons didn’t rush the next stage of their development, sporadically releasing singles (Performance in 2016 and White Noise in 2017) before finally releasing their long-awaited debut album Image towards the end of 2018 via PIAS (Europe) and Cleopatra (US). Image didn’t disappoint, containing a strong set of ten varied darkwave delights which is a strong contender for the best album of the decade in this genre, although perhaps lacking in the killer single track that would break them to a wider audience.

However, on the back of their continued success on the live circuit, the band now regularly receive invitations to grace the main stages of mid-sized festivals, drawing very large crowds in their native Belgium in particular, especially at this summer's Werchter Festival.

With youth on their side, Whispering Sons seem best-placed of all the bands on the current scene to become a major global success once the media trend moves on from the current obsession with Ed Sheeran style troubadours. And by purchasing any remaining copies of their early releases, fans can not only support the band and obtain some unique records but almost certainly obtain an investment which is likely to outperform any stock market over the next few years!