2021 - The First Quarter

 If one phrase could sum up both the prevailing forward-looking soundscape and the growing appeal of the goth/post-punk scene in the first quarter of 2021, it would be “dark euphoric melancholy”, the expression chosen by Kill Shelter and Antipole (effectively Scot Pete Burns and Norwegian Karl Morten Dahl) to describe the sound of their collaboration album, A Haunted Place.

With Burns’ razor-sharp backbeats and crisp production and mastering skills to the fore, KMD’s evocative reverberated guitar lines introduce a plangent yet uplifting tone which is further emphasised by the Scot’s monotonal lugubrious vocal delivery. With eight varied tracks which marry beat, melody and atmosphere into a convincing and consistent narrative, A Haunted Place is the Goth/Post-Punk Revival pick of the 2021 releases of the first quarter.

The remaining selections have been separated into two categories, roughly covering the key strands of the current gothic aesthetic, the more melodious and synth-dominated “wave” artists on the one hand, and the more guitar-based "gothic rock" influenced projects on the other. “Dark pop” and “Industrial/EBM” acts, although often popular amongst fans of the gothic genre, particularly in the USA, have not been included.

Top Ten “Wave” Picks of 2021’s First Quarter

Some of the genre’s big hitters are back with new releases after a silent, 2020, including Kaelan Mikla, Ground Nero and Whispering Sons. The Icelandic trio are back with an evocative single which continues their musical development and growing professionalism, and the accompanying video to Sólstöður (Winter Solstice) only heightens the sense that this is a band for whom a wider public awaits. Traditionalists may miss the pure unhinged energy of their days as a drums/bass/screeching punk band, but the gradual move to more traditional vocals and a synth-based approach has enabled them to paint a broader, more complex and increasingly subtle musical landscape, whilst retaining an other-worldly ambiance. Lyrically the track conjures up self-referential images of the band’s communion with nature, proclaiming (in translation) “Kaelan Mikla dances under the cold Northern Lights”.

 

 The two (very different) Belgian acts are taking a more uneven route to success, with Ground Nero’s charismatic frontman Gwijde Wampers having left the project and a mystery new vocalist (and as everyone knows, we goths love a mystery!) installed for new single In The Blood. From the opening chords it is clear that band’s trademark “gothic wall of sound” is still intact, and the swirling keyboards, pulsating rhythm section, plaintive guitar and emotional vocal are reminiscent of classic The Danse Society at their best, promising much for the album release later in the year.

 

For such a young band, Whispering Sons have clearly been playing the long game, reaching only their second album later this year having released their debut EP as long ago as 2015, and the tracks released from Several Others thus far underline their determination to continue to develop their sound with commercial success a possible unexpected benefit rather than a main aim. Surface is suitably stripped-back and incisive, with a more raw and vulnerable vocal from Fenne than was apparent on debut album Image in 2018. Satantango is a slower, low-key and more free-form, whereas the claustrophobic Surgery alternates between intense punkish claustrophobia and more ambient passages making the whole project as difficult to pigeonhole as ever, very much to the band’s credit and further enhancing their credentials as artists (think Nick Cave/PJ Harvey) rather than just musicians.

Other wave artists tackling that potentially difficult sophomore release include Mark E Moon and Future Faces, after winning plaudits for impressive debut releases. The Manx duo of Mark Sayle and Phil Reynolds covered most bases of the goth/post-punk genre on Reveal, and refine their vision on Old Moon, whilst still positioning Mark E Moon firmly in the centre-ground. Fans of more traditional gothic rock will enjoy the soaring guitar lines, chugging bass and echoing baritone vocals on The Falling, whilst wave fans will enjoy the uplifting melodies, sequenced back beat and layered atmospherics of a track like Event Horizon, on an album which they themselves describe (only partially tongue-in-cheek) as “The Sisters of Mercy meets The Pet Shop Boys”, perfectly summing up the current focal point of the worldwide gothic aesthetic.

 

 Future Faces’ stark debut EP Revolt was a wonderful breath of fresh air with lengthy multi-sectioned songs taking the listener on unexpected twists and turns, like discovering old stone follies on a stumble through the overgrown gardens of an abandoned gothic mansion. First album Euphoria bravely covers new ground, investigating different rhythms and textures to create rewarding soundscapes like Halcyon and Shallow, both of which have a hint of Whispering Sons about them, albeit with a string-bending, gazier and more under-stated feel. Less immediate than Mark E Moon, Future Faces are (again, like Whispering Sons) a band whose releases reward more focused, repeated listens.

 

With so many bands of the third wave now building on increasingly impressive back catalogues with each new release, it is arguably harder for new entrants to break into the established pecking order, but Mirror of Haze, Mekong and Ductape have all made waves (pun only partially intended) with their 2021 debut releases. With little genuinely new ground to break, new projects need to impress with the sheer quality of their releases, and all three artists do so, for differing reasons. Mirror of Haze have produced a superbly fully-formed sound of intricately reverbed guitar landscapes, dreamy, haunting vocals and mellow, (French) coldwave vibes, particularly on perfectly-named singles Drifting Into The Void and Forgotten Places, Forgotten People, with the vocal replicating the main guitar melody.

 

Turkish duo Ductape’s debut album, released at the very start of the year, impressed with the crystal clear melodies over a slightly angular dark electro and guitar backing. With hints of the great Anja Huwe in the strong female vocal over a busy and complexly interwoven backing on tracks like Tuzak, Labirent rightly won plaudits from reviewers and showcased an impressively singular take on the darkwave genre.

 

One man band Mekong (from Krakow) released their first teaser track, Industria, from the forthcoming Icy Cold release, End Of The World, on New Year’s Eve, with a hypnotic pulsing bassline over a syncopated beat, a twin guitar sound from the abrasively atonal to the sublimely ethereal, and a almost drone-like, kraut rock ambiance. March’s second track To The Hills kept the thrillingly old school post-punk vibe going, but with the addition of a higher profile, more melodic vocal, with certain sections very reminiscent of Bauhaus’ Dark Entries. The complete album is awaited with considerable interest.

 

The final two selections for this top ten both plough their own, very independent furrows on the broader fringes of the goth/wave genres, with New Mexico solo artist Slow Danse With The Dead keeping up his prolific rate of “miserygoth” releases and Chilean duo Diavol Strain continuing to stretch the musical boundaries with more almost cacophonous fury. For my personal taste, Slow Danse With The Dead’s frequent minimalist new songs are 50:50 hit and miss, but songs like Don’t Be Like Me, Son with it’s Lucretia-esque throbbing bassline, half-whispered baritone vocal, dark twang riff and low-fi production are perfect examples of a sub-genre which has been growing in popularity over the past couple of years, thanks also to the likes of Into Grey and Suffering For Kisses.

 

Diavol Strain’s reputation for uncompromisingly innovative deathrock-tinged darkwave over the past five years has been further enhanced by the teaser tracks for their highly anticipated album due this year, with El Reflejo Di Mi Muerte the pick of the bunch. Wonderfully lush and reverberated guitar, cleverly atonal basslines and anguished ethereal vocals create a warm yet unsettling mix which makes for a thrilling ride, like the dark and sinister undercurrent of a children's fairy tale.

 

 

Top ten “Gothic Rock” tips of the first quarter of 2021

It may feature only two tracks, but the wonderful new EP from German band Sweet Ermengarde is a much-needed return to reclaim the crown of the heavily Fields of The Nephilim-influenced end of the gothic genre. Now slimmed down to the core duo of Daniel Schweigler and Lars Kappeler, with assistance from highly respected ex-Nefilim sticksman Simon Rippin on this occasion, the Bochum-based project’s first release in five years is a pair of slow-burning epics, whose subtle soundscapes are brilliantly enhanced by typically sensitive and crisp mastering by Gordon Young.

 

 Another longtime Carl McCoy collaborator, Peter Yates, sprinkles some FOTN magical sparkle on another project, Matthew Rochford’s Abrasive Trees, contributing E Bow to one of the more ambient tracks on the new Without Light EP, although he doesn’t feature on the standout title track, where the more experimental mood is tempered with a more classical approach to melancholic melody for this ever-evolving project.

 

 This spacier, more ambient strand of the gothic spectrum is rapidly becoming dominated by San Francisco based duo Cult of Helios, who accurately tag their recent monthly new releases as “spacewave darkgaze”. Scene veteran Scott A Campbell was Fade To Black’s vocalist when they supported The Sisters of Mercy in SF in June 1985, and his rich warm tones and impressive vocal range are perfect for the band’s relaxed and relaxing sound, which always retains some surprises for the listener. Whilst their version of future goth staple Skyfall will garner the most press coverage, their own compositions like Lost In The Sky and Count showcase this excellent project’s distinctive sound to best effect.

 

 The slow-burning gothic epic has been a staple of the scene for the past three decades, and Dutch band Doubts About Waking’s track Winter’s Game from their 2021 EP Dust and Death leans heavily on the classic elements of descending bassline, baritone croon, tense-as-tripwire guitar arpeggios and swirling keyboards to create an satisfyingly dark delight of a track that gives Sweet Ermengarde a run for their money despite weighing in at a mere four minutes.

 As the world continues to struggle through the global pandemic, Belgian act Your Life On Hold continue to capture the zeitgeist, with 2020’s album Echoes From The Bardo further examining the eponymous Buddhist concept of a potentially lengthy period between death and rebirth, and earlier this year a new “Merciless” remix of Imprisoned from that album was the key track on a new digital EP. Building from an Elizium-style introduction and middle section,  the chugging main riff of Imprisoned effortlessly walks the tightrope between gothic rock and gothic metal with typically sumptuous production and the customary thought-provoking lyric.

 

Like Your Life On Hold, Brooklyn’s A Cloud of Ravens have added elements of the various alternative genres which have evolved since the original gothic rock sound originally crystallised in the mid-1980’s, and their new album Another Kind Of Midnight, the duo’s first for the legendary Cleopatra label, bristles with neo-punk grungy energy whilst retaining the classic vibes of albums like Phantasmagoria and Floodland, particularly on lead track When It Comes.

 

Goth’n’Roll was a genre originally stemming from 80’s acts like Lords of The New Church but only really refining around Finnish band 69 Eyes, and irrepressible vocalist Jyrki is back in 2021 with a new album from grebo sleaze-rock side project The 69 Cats. Lead single She’s Hot is as musically regressive as it is lyrically suspect, but as ever Jyrki’s wonderfully warm baritone saves the day as he once again out-Iggy’s the Detroit legend on a track that The Cramps would have turned down for being too obvious.

 

Equally unapologetically unsubtle in their approach are one of my favourite recent projects, Mexican band Animal Rojo, who showcase two new female guitarists on current single No Second Part for which they have produced an ice cool video shot in the scorching hot Mexican desert. Carolus Cat’s gruff vocal is the perfect counter-point to the no-nonsense riffing on a track which continues gothic rock’s obsession with biker chic.

 

Just released on CD is the curious album from Constance Tomb, effectively established metal artist Tom Reed working up songs during the 2020 lockdown from a demo tape recorded by his teenage deathrock project in 1988. The Washington state native’s songs operate in the same Killing Joke-territory as the more illustrious (grunge) bands from that region which would achieve global superstardom in the early 90’s, but many reviewers also detect shades of Christian Death and Bauhaus on some tracks. After very positive reviews, a second album is promised.

 

The final selection for this round-up was another project gaining more critical traction than their more mainstream rock project are French band Sang Froid, who found their just-for-fun gothic-inspired side project achieving immediate worldwide acclaim for their January debut EP. Final track Heavy Sleep Heavy Heart had an inverted chiming Chameleons riff soaring over a solid and full dark indie sound, with a low-key vocal adding to a sound not dissimilar to the late lamented Catherine Wheel.