Ten Questions to ... Alex Svenson of Then Comes Silence

Observers of the goth/darkwave scene increasingly agree that Then Comes Silence is the best new band to emerge so far in the twenty-first century, and the self-styled “Swedish captains of post-punk” unleash their fifth album Machine on March 13^th, the first featuring new guitar duo Mattias Ruejas Jonson and Hugo Zombie.

Appealing to fans of both the original 80’s post-punk bands and those of the current scene, the two singles shared online in advance of the release of Machine (and featured here) have well over one hundred thousand combined views on YouTube, within a couple of weeks of release, and hint at a darker lyrical stance and a broader, colder musical style that retains the energy and melody that has made the preceding albums such an intense yet rewarding listening experience.





A third video, the visually stunning Apocalypse Flare, is released today, and again the fuller, more insistent sound resonates deeply, with Hugo Zombie's insistent rhythm guitar intersecting well with Mattias Ruejas Jonson's inventive riffing, over the pounding metronomic backbeat of Alex Svenson's bass and Jonas Fransson's drums.

TCS face what will hopefully be their breakthrough year with bookings at many of the big alternative European festivals this spring and summer and have just announced a short tour of UK dates in July to support the release of Machine. I am hugely grateful to founder member, bassist and lead singer Alex Svenson for taking the time and trouble to respond to my questions.

Machine and rest of the band’s essential back catalogue can be ordered via Bandcamp.

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NIK
Your new album Machine is out on 13^th March, but a lot has happened since your fourth LP Blood was released over two years ago, including the departure of both guitarists. Having worked with Seth in particular on different projects over the years, did you ever have any thoughts of ending the band at that point?

ALEX
No, I never had any intention of ending the band because of that. Of course, I will miss Seth and Jens as my friends, but if you can't keep pace with the band there's only one option and that's having to leave the band. The reasons for the departures of the former members including the ones from the early years, are quite dull and lame. They chose a different path which would lead to poor commitment or no commitment at all, and that doesn't work for the band. It's like any other work or teamwork. You can't win the game with a poor team. I am giving everything to music. I can't imagine a life without it. Being a bit cynical, of course it would have been a more mythical value if the former members had to leave because of rough living, drugs and shit... like it used to be in most bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's, but it's not because of that. I'm being silly, but the ones that might drink too much or go to bed last of all, stayed or joined the band!

NIK
You mentioned a “shelved album” in a recent interview, and when I asked you about a new album after the Edinburgh gig last summer you told me that it had already been recorded for a while. Have any of the songs survived from the aborted release, and was that recorded before you recruited the new guitarists?

ALEX
We kept only one song from the rejected album, which was actually only a demo. We never got so far as recording it properly. Hugo and Mattias joined right after the demo was smashed and buried for good. It was only me and Jonas, the drummer, who worked on the rejected tapes. Maybe that was a hunch that the other guitarists were already taking some distance from the band.
 
NIK
You were able to quickly find two amazing replacements, Hugo Zombie from legendary Basque horror punks Los Carniceros del Norte and Mattias Ruejas Jonson from fellow Swedish wave band A PROJECTION, who quickly added a new dimension to the band’s live performances. I would imagine that you would have known Mattias quite well already, being from the same city scene, but how did Hugo come to join the band?

ALEX
Hugo moved to Stockholm a couple of years ago. That was right after Los Carniceros del Norte broke up. He became friends with Jonas quite quickly. It was all good timing. At first he was hired as stand-in for Jens when we did a tour playing with Fields of The Nephilim and doing a German festival in 2018. Mattias was hired as a substitute too back in 2017.

NIK
With your background in design, Then Comes Silence album artwork has always been a key feature. The new album Machine has a stunning sleeve with a mask design, and you’ve said that by donning a “mask” to write from a different perspective, you’re able to broach subjects outwith your own personal experience. Is that more the case on this album than on the previous four?

ALEX
Yes, I believe so. To be able to rise from a knockdown blow, I had to try something else. I'm not the kind of guy who escapes or bows out. I managed to shake it off after some time. In hindsight it was an enriching experience even though it hurt.

NIK
The lyrics on Blood had a rather morbid theme – Into Death Alone, The Dead Cry For No-one and lyrics relating to your personal own family bereavement. Is this album more rooted in the darker side of contemporary life rather than death specifically?

ALEX
Uh hu, you can say that. These songs are more related to what was going on in my head at the time. More subjective than the other albums. I was pretty low at times. My discipline helped me work with things. There must be a spirit of a former boot camp sergeant that has taken aim on me.

NIK
The album colour scheme for Machine is a cold blue, very different to the warm red of Blood. Is the intention to match the changing mood of the music?

ALEX
I don't know. It's just something that comes naturally. I knew from the beginning that Machine was going to be a colder album in many ways.

NIK
To what extent has the change in the band personnel changed the band’s studio sound? Were you writing songs with Hugo and Mattias’ guitar style in mind, or do they have some freedom to add their own style to your basic song structure?

ALEX
Both. When I write the songs for Then Comes Silence I have the musicians in mind of course. It's like a play and we are the actors. I knew Hugo wasn't really the kind of guitarist fiddling around with the strings like that, but he is a very consistent guitarist and he never plays a wrong note. So the riffs were arranged with him in mind. We did it together sometimes. Mattias is more likely to be called the lead guitarist this time. He takes care of all the solos and melodies except for a couple that Hugo has. Mattias had the freedom to work with his guitar if he wanted to. So he did.

NIK
The well-received second single from the new album, Ritual, features Karolina Engdahl on joint lead vocal, and Hanna Carlsson provides backing vocals on the first single We Lose The Night (as she did on a couple of tracks on Blood). Do you envisage more collaborations in the future?

ALEX
Yes, well that's for the band to decide of course. There's one more singing on the album, Nicklas Stenemo from the fabulous band Kite.

NIK
In a recent interview you talked about the difficulty of breaking out of the very supportive but rather small global darkwave community. Last year Holygram toured with Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Kaelan Mikla are on tour with Alcest at this very minute, as are Whispering Sons with Editors. Have you considered touring with a more mainstream act or a band from outside the post-punk scene?

ALEX
We have talked about it many times. We did some shows opening for Chameleons Vox and Fields of The Nephilim in 2018. Last year we were invited to support Cradle of Filth in London, but it didn't happen unfortunately. Long story, but we know Dani likes Then Comes Silence.
It's politics. There is usually a hype around the opening act. The big act get the proposals probably because sometimes agents owe each other favors. I don't know. Sometimes there's no money left for the opening act. It's taking a risk. Anyhow... We are up for it.

NIK
Last summer you toured the UK with 1919 for a series of small but well-received gigs and you’re returning this summer for another double-headed tour with them. Is touring with another band a financial imperative or is it just because it was so enjoyable last time?

ALEX
Two or three bands touring together on a small tour is a financial disaster and especially in the UK since the conditions are much harder there than the rest of Europe. Having said that, it was a beautiful memory and uplifting to meet so many nice followers and new-found friends. Honestly, we were taken by surprise seeing so many wearing our t-shirts and knowing about Then Comes Silence. It means a lot, so we have to go back.

Ten Questions to .... Blood Bells

This month finally saw the release of a physical edition of the excellent debut album A Time For Roses by Texas duo Blood Bells. Their bass and drum machine driven post-punk drew favourable comparisons with 80's scene legends Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (particularly on this track) on release in early 2018, with a strong set of songs and clear band identity marking them as an artist to watch. Since then there has been a line-up change and some local gigs, but hopefully the cassette edition of A Time For Roses is an indication that new music and wider acclaim is not far away.

To find out more, I contacted main man Clint, and he and new member Lauren were kind enough to agree to become the latest willing victims of this blog’s “Ten Questions to …” feature.

1.       It’s two years since the album was released to widespread acclaim as a free download on Bandcamp. Why has it taken so long for a physical release to come to fruition? Are there plans for vinyl or CD as well as cassette?

Clint: We have gone through many trials since our inception. The delay has been partly because the original bass player disappeared and I took some time off as a result of that loss. After that reprieve, we rebuilt with a new member (Lauren, my partner.)

Lauren: While pressing vinyl and putting a CD out would be great, we’re completely self-funded so that is still on our to-do list. The label Cease and Destroy just released A Time for Roses on cassette, which is available on our Bandcamp to purchase. To us, accessibility of our music was most important, so that’s why we emphasized availability on streaming services first.

2.       You’ve lived with the album for a couple of years now. Which are your own favourite tracks and are there any that now wish hadn’t made the final cut?

Clint: I am proud of all the music on A Time for Roses. Coming from playing in punk bands throughout my twenties, I felt very accomplished being able to create what, in my opinion, was a solid dark record. My favorite tracks are Destroy and the title track because they are fun to play live.

Lauren: I enjoy the song Bones. I also enjoy Red because it is a great song. I’m trying to push Clint to incorporate Vision Thing by Sisters of Mercy into our live set because I enjoyed learning it for our cover show last year in Dallas. He seems to not like that idea. I’ll keep working on him, though.

3.       Many contemporary reviews of the album name-checked slightly obscure Leeds post-punk legends Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. Were you familiar with their music or aware that there were similarities in the sound before those reviews were published?

Clint: Oh yeah! We are definitely familiar. Funny enough, RLYL were the template I used when writing the first ever guitar-based Blood Bells song Secret. It’s embarrassingly close to their track Hollow Eyes. So much so that I’ve had more than one person come up to me after our shows and exclaim “I loved your cover of Red Lorry Yellow Lorry!” I laugh every time. Scary Lady Sarah (a well known DJ out of Chicago and musician in the band Bellwether Syndicate) usually plays Secret in her DJ set right before Hollow Eyes because the flow is practically seamless. You have to start somewhere, and I needed a basis for my music at first since I didn’t know where to start. We have since come into our own and are more comfortable creating less derivative sounding music.

4.       Since the album was released there has been a change of bassist in the band. Will that affect the project’s future musical direction?

Lauren: Though I am influenced by a lot of the same music that Clint is, we come from different musical backgrounds. So yes, I’m sure that will ultimately impact the musical direction to some degree. But we are both on the same page as far as keeping with a similar sound to A Time for Roses. I am looking forward to co-writing lyrics, as well, since I have a writing background. Though I do enjoy a lot of 80’s hair metal and musical theatre, so you never know...haha.

Clint: Though my previous bass player was someone I was close to and played music with for years, he was never involved in the writing process and just kind of let me take the reins. Now that I am writing and playing with my wife, the dynamic is different. We have a very powerful psychological connection and she is not afraid to throw ideas into the ring. I am excited about the new tracks we’re working on together.

5.       The final track on the album Bones has a totally different feel to the rest of the album, being primarily instrumental synth wave with a Kaelan Mikla vibe. In past interviews you’ve said that the band formed initially as a synth-based project – is that song a survivor from those early sessions?

Clint: It’s definitely different. I wanted to put it on the album as the final track for a reason. A way to let people know that we will do whatever we feel like doing musically. You will get what you want with the guitar-driven deathrock/post-punk, but expect a few surprises thrown in from time to time. We can’t help but step outside expectations sometimes.

6.       What prompted the move away from the synth-based sound to the slightly scuzzy post-punk rock sound on the rest of the album?

Clint: I’ve always primarily played guitar-driven music, so I feel more in my element within the gothic rock sound

7.       On Facebook last year you stated that you were working on new material. When is that likely to be released and on what format?

Lauren: We have a lot of new material in the works, and have played a couple of new songs live.

Clint: There are plans to get back into the studio in Fall or Winter of 2020 with a new album out on streaming and cassette early next year. If we’re lucky, perhaps a label will pick us up and put both of our albums out on vinyl. I find CD’s are a waste of time and money. Fancy coasters for our modern lives.

Lauren: I still have a CD book in my car. I don’t agree with that.

Clint: Well, we’ll see who wins on this opinion.

8.       Since the album was released, there seems to have been something of a gothic resurgence in the US, with most of the more inventive new artists coming from your side of the Atlantic. Do you have any theories as to why this might be and what the catalysts have been for the belated third wave in the States?

Clint: Things always come and go in waves in the US. People tend to get bored after a short time and forget their musical heroes. Just like punk and psychobilly were all the rage in the early 2000’s, people are looking at Goth as the hot commodity now. The popularity will fade away again in time. We’ll still be here. I’ve been into the subculture since I discovered it at the age of 15. I’ve wanted to start a band like Blood Bells for years. It’s just a coincidence that we are just now getting up and running. That being said - there are so many wonderful bands gaining popularity now that are just blowing my mind. I am so happy to see the resurgence taking place and excited for the future!

Lauren: I think the fact that things are so much more accessible online now than even ten years ago plays into the resurrection of interest in Goth music and fashion.

9.       The band is named after a Current 93 track and you have worn their band t-shirt at gigs, yet there doesn’t seem to be an overt Current 93 influence in Blood Bells’ music. Does your love of that project have any more subtle influence on your music?

Clint: David Tibet, Current 93, and a lot of the artists and musicians from the 80’s and early 90’s neofolk and esoteric underground have had a lot of influence on me as a lyricist more than anything. The way they can paint pictures with words has always inspired me. I am a far more stream-of-consciousness writer with words. I thank a lot of the artists from that time period for that.

Lauren: Did you know that party metal Guru Andrew W.K. played with Current 93 for a time? Wild!

10.   So far you’ve only played gigs in the DFW area. Do you have any concrete or distant plans to play further afield any time soon?

Lauren:
We would really like to play abroad sometime, and we will make plans to hit more states in the US soon. We’ve played in San Antonio and have a show lined up in College Station this Spring.

Clint:
We are tied to our 9-5 jobs at home and find it hard to get time off for touring. We are also in need of savings so we can support ourselves on a tour. We love to travel and hope to get out more and explore soon!

Blood Bells is Clint Jerome and Lauren Williamson Jerome.

You can check them out on Bandcamp here and follow them on Facebook here

Ten Questions to .... Matt Vowles of Black Angel

One of the most polished and professional new acts on the darkwave scene over the past few years, Black Angel play slick and melodic gothic rock with a deftly light touch, drawing comparisons with everyone from The Sisters of Mercy to The Damned, with Rob Steffen’s trademark “haunting croon” chiming perfectly with Matt Vowles’ soaring guitar riffs on impressively varied yet consistently excellent debut album The Widow, which was released on download and CD towards the end of last year.

Such was the critical acclaim for the album that a remastered and extended version featuring additional remixes and live versions is already due to be released later this month, with the first single from follow-up album Kiss Of Death due as early next month. The band is the brainchild of Vowles, the English-born but LA-based guitarist who kindly agreed to be the latest leading goth protagonist of the current renaissance of the genre to answer my customary ten questions.

The album The Widow is available via this Bandcamp link from where CD copies can also be ordered, and where there are links to the impressive video tasters to key tracks. Many thanks to Matt for taking the time out of what is clearly a hectic schedule to give some more background on a project whose popularity looks deservedly set to soar in 2020.

1.     Although you’re based in LA, this album’s roots hark back to your roots in Bristol in the 1980’s, hearing classic first generation goth at a club called The Whip. What made you decide to put a goth project together some thirty years later after years spent on other projects in very different genres?

     Yes, a little strange. Even though I grew up in the goth clubs of the UK back in the 80’s, I worked in the film and television industry, one of the reasons that brought me to Los Angeles, and also worked as a music producer. Given these two factors my musical tastes needed to and became fairly broad so I worked on many projects over the years in different genres. However, these projects were not solely based on my personal pleasure but also to get placed into films and television shows and sometimes I was just doing it basically for the money. I guess I got to a point whereby I just got fed up and I wanted to do something that made me happy so I bought a bunch of guitars and just sat down and wrote. It was automatic, I just started creating and the guitars just came naturally after that. That’s how The Widow was born. 

2.     You chose Rob Steffen as vocalist for the band from over two hundred(!) auditions, even though he was known for a variety of genres totally unrelated to the goth sound. Although he has turned out to be an inspired choice, did you have any doubts about his ability to adapt to the dramatic crooning style you were looking for?

      I think I did listen to about 200 auditions, maybe more. For me, it’s an instant fit: nothing’s going to convince me, it has to be automatic or just isn’t going to work and Rob nailed it. The genre needs a very specific tone and he just has it

3.     The album “The Widow” was released on CD last November to critical acclaim, and now just a few months later a deluxe extended version is coming out. Why did you decide to go for a second edition? Was that always the intention, or has it been a reaction to the very positive reviews which the album has garnered?

      I engineer, mix and master all of my projects. This way I’m responsible for the output and the only person to blame is me, so on occasion I’ll master a project and then on reflection I’m just still not happy. I can sometimes take a while to let things go, so with The Widow, even though it sounded awesome, it could still sound better, so the extended version is the whole album completely remastered. And to make it more appealing to new listeners and existing ones, we have added three live tracks and 3 80’s club remixes to make it an extended album. And so that nobody gets upset if you’ve already purchased it, drop us a line and you will get a deluxe version at a super low price. I’m not a fan of bands that make you pay for the same material twice. 

4.     Your guitar sound ranges from a dark twang to more angular deathrock riffing. Which guitarists from the goth scene have particularly influenced you?

     Has to be Billy Duffy from The Cult. I’m most influenced by their Love album - such an incredible guitar sound. He’s the most influential. I can’t forget Robert Smith though. The man is a genius - every album has a new guitar sound that just works every time. 

5.     The band’s sound is on the lighter end of goth, like, say, She Wants Revenge, Then Comes Silence, Satellite Paradiso or Angels of Liberty. Which other bands from the current goth scene have you been particularly impressed by?

     She Wants Revenge have a great sound! Their ingredients just work, love them. Yes, we have a little psychobilly and punk in our sound - the next album Kiss of Death will have more Goth. And more psychobilly......and more punk:)

6.     One key aspect of your music is a very strong sense of melody, but the songs also have a dark atmosphere. What is your songwriting process – is it the melody, the lyric or an overall mental image of the final sound which comes first?

      Melody is really important to me. Growing up in the 80’s when computers and sequencers were just emerging, songwriters still had to write with their instruments and come up with a melody (without the help from a computer) and in what was a fierce competition in the music industry, only the cream rose to the top - so we got the best songs, all the time. That influenced me a lot and I will often write 40 songs for an album and bin 30 of them as I know they just won’t make the grade. The music comes first most of the time and if it’s a killer track then it moves forward to the rest of the songwriting process. 

7.     You work in the creative industry in LA, and every aspect of Black Angel, from the merch to the video trailers to the studio production is incredibly polished for an independent production, a bit like Eldritch’s dogged pursuit of perfection in the early years of The Sisters of Mercy. Is the visual aesthetic just as important as the musical side of things to you?

     

     For sure. People need to be excited. The music marketplace is so oversaturated (for good or bad) that you need to be able to stand out a little, so anything I can do to help that helps us. 

8.     According to your Bandcamp bio, you’re already well on the way to completing your follow up album entitled Kiss of Death. When is this likely to be released?

     With The Widow album, we just put it out when it was finished. With Kiss of Death we are going to release 3 singles most likely, and then the album. The first single should be out in March. 

9.     The Widow is an impressively diverse album, covering the full range of the genre from dark pop to full on goth. Will Kiss of Death be equally wide-ranging, or are you honing the sound to something more unique?

Kiss of Death is influenced for sure by The Damned (later material Phantasmagoria etc) and The Sisters of Mercy’s Floodland album. Two really strong sounds - I’ll be looking to blend them together.

10.  Your live appearances have been restricted to the West Coast so far. Do you have plans to play further afield in the States or elsewhere in 2020?

     That would be awesome to play to a wider audience. I’m hoping it’s just going to be an organic growth. As we get more listeners and our reach spreads then we’ll match that with live performances in those areas. Thanks to all who have bought the album and given us support. Can’t thank you guys enough. This is just the start for Black Angel and I for one can’t wait to see where this take us.