The Best Goth/Post-Punk New Releases of February 2022

 

The shortest month of the year made up for its brevity with a veritably fecund crop of new releases, with a preponderance of first-rate post-punk projects from the current scene and surprise returns from some of the genre behemoths. Names like Christian Death and Killing Joke, synonymous with the first gothic wave of the 1980’s, resurfaced with new material, seminal 90’s releases like the debut album by The Tors of Dartmoor saw welcome re-releases and other projects from the second wave like Funhouse returned this month, whilst some of the most exciting names on the current scene, from Then Comes Silence to Je T’Aime, upped the ante with their own new sounds. Choosing just twenty new songs to highlight has never been harder!

1.       Then Comes Silence – Rise To The Bait

This month saw the undisputed kings of the current global goth/post-punk movement, Sweden’s Then Comes Silence, release the first single from their sixth album which is due this summer. Rise To The Bait marries the slick melodies of last album Machine with the darker edge of its predecessor Blood to (appropriately) whet the appetite for new album HUNGER, with the accompanying video up to the band’s usual genre-leading standard.

2.       Kill Shelter and Antipole – All Or Nothing

The Kill Shelter/Antipole collaboration album A Haunted Place was a permanent fixture on the various “Best of…” lists at the end of 2021, and it gets a very welcome (for those not lucky enough to snap up one of the original physical releases last year) re-release this month, with a new video single All Or Nothing released to coincide. The song is a perfect introduction to the project to those still unfamiliar with the duo’s work, with Karl Morten Dahl’s trademark reverb guitar and ear for a tune, and Pete Burns’ beats, mix and deadpan baritone vocal combining to showcase a sound that typifies the sheer quality of the current scene, crossing the divide between the lonely attic and the packed dancefloor scenes.

3.       Je t’aime – Dirty Tricks

Probably the first truly great album of 2022, Passive (available now on Icy Cold Records) is a stunning return to form for the French ensemble, stuffed full of great tunes, angular riffs and excellent songcraft, playing and production. Dirty Tricks is arguably the pick of the bunch, a manic helter skelter sprint reminiscent of Supergrass in their prime or The Cure at their most claustrophobic.

4.       Crows – Room 156

The British post-punk scene has always been split between those who appeal to the niche goth-tinged market and those on the more lucrative alternative fringes of the musical mainstream, and the current crop of bands, such as Idles, Ist Ist and Wolf Alice could yet make it big. Crows have toured with both the former and the latter press darlings, and the two teaser tracks from their forthcoming album show a distinct Idles influence on their more traditional drone dark psych sound (think Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Loop, Dead Vibrations etc). Room 156 had punk inflections on the verse but a wonderfully uplifting guitar tone on the chorus, referencing classic acts like Pixies, The Chameleons and even Smashing Pumpkins.

5.       Klammer – Progress (or the lack of)

Leeds post-punk band Klammer may be almost a different generation to the likes of Crows and Je T’Aime, yet their latest single Progress (or the lack of) from their brand-new album shares a similarly unorthodox yet thrilling electrical charge. Whilst there are nods in the vocal delivery to Expelaires, an angular rhythm redolent of Go4 and a manic energy not dissimilar to Age of Chance, rather than merely aping their home city’s illustrious post-punk past, Klammer build a new, lairy yet shimmering layer on top of it.

6.       Secret Shame – Hide

American band Secret Shame’s 2019 debut album Dark Synthetics caused a stir as much for its searingly honest lyrics as for the band’s soaring post-punk sound, with Lena’s vocal a standout. New single Hide carries on the good work, another dark yet fast-paced song which canters along hauntingly in the style of classic Ghost Dance.

7.       Killing Joke – Lord of Chaos

Rejoice! Arguably the most consistent band of the past forty years is back with a new song, Lord of Chaos. Throughout their career, Killing Joke has either confounded audience expectations by showcasing a surprising new sound direction (the mellow goth pop of the mid-80’s, the searingly brutal Extremities comeback, etc) or alternatively churning out another record just like the last one. Lord of Chaos is definitely the latter, with Geordie nonchalantly cranking out more of the ear-bleeding riffs and Jaz’ s light tenor intoning similar lyrical fare to the tracks that made Pylon such a punishing delight. KJ-by-numbers it may be, but this is still at least one cut above almost everything else released this month.

8.       Christian Death – Blood Moon

Valor reanimates CD’s festering corpse once more with a new single, Blood Moon, which is actually a lot better than my (admittedly low) expectations. A spooky e-bow guitar riff over an eight-to-the-bar bass riff sets the scene for a somewhat patchy, over-theatrical verse which opens out into a wonderfully full, epic chorus.

9.       Funhouse – Dark and Stormy

Sweden’s Funhouse were one of the most reliable trad goth projects of the 1990’s second wave, and their solid, dependable Missionesque sound is shown in full force on new single Dark and Stormy, a song which has been around in various guises over the past couple of years. Main man Mikael Korner’s fruity vocal and the full-on goth rock production give their music a timeless feel, so much so that I had to check that this wasn’t a reworking of an old Funhouse song.

10.   Merciful Nuns – The Kvltanians

I’ve always found Artaud Seth’s po-faced occult goth projects (Garden of Delight, Merciful Nuns) faintly ridiculous, but despite the usual over-the-top growled preaching, the Nuns’ slow-burning goth rock is undeniably subtly-textured and skilfully multi-layered in an ersatz Nephilim kind of way on new single The Kvltanians.

11.   Your Life On Hold – Our Common End

Seth’s Solar Lodge label is host to a number of other overtly occult goth rock/metal acts, the best of which is Belgian project Your Life On Hold, who also take the likes of Fields of The Nephilim as a starting template to craft some beautifully old school gothic rock, with Jan de Wulf’s strong vocal always a key selling point. Two years on from their last (excellent) album, YLOH have contributed a cover version of one of fellow countryman Psy’ Aviah’s tracks to the bonus disc of his own new album. Beautifully paced, it’s hard to believe Our Common End is not a YLOH original, with its trademark wonderful atmospherics, subtle guitar flecks and uplifting vocal over a doomy four-chord progression. Bandcamp link

12.   Byronic Sex and Exile – Salome

Although operating at a completely different end of the market (think: frilly-shirted dandy rather than singlet wearing rock god), Byronic Sex & Exile’s Joel Heyes is also a fan of constructing a slow-burning epic out of an initial simple chord progression, and new single Salome is no exception. Melancholy keyboards set the tone and provide a perfect counter-point to Heyes’ lugubrious vocal as the cinematic atmospherics build towards a Floyd-esque guitar solo climax. The b-side is a take on the Doors’ classic retitled here LS Woman (after the Leeds zip code), with Headingly standing in for Hollywood in the lyric.

13.   Chaos Bleak – Calling From Afar

The UK goth rock stalwarts continue their run of monthly singles with Calling From Afar, which begins with their familiar Play Dead-inspired biker-goth chugging before flowering into a mellower, more vulnerably wistful chorus more reminiscent of The Damned. Project leader Trevor Bamford is an absolute legend of the UK scene who was partly responsible for its survival in the 90’s but he shows no sign of reducing the quality of his output on this latest single.

14.   Deliverance MX – Milo

More trad goth rock magnificence from Monterrey’s finest on new single Milo. A superbly buzzing bass underpins a dark tale whose spooky atmosphere is maintained throughout, particularly in the spidery middle-eight, but the real strength here is a memorable chorus in which the guitars and bass build then duel in classic Red Lorry Yellow Lorry style. Bandcamp link

15.   The Palest Grey – Suicide

Sadly, The Palest Grey has already split up since releasing their debut mini-album Always Haunted, meaning that physical copies of the project’s sole release are likely to become highly-prized collector’s items as the mythology around the deathrock act, which featured Obscura Undead’s Azy on bass (and some vocals), starts to grow. The variety of tracks on the new release hinted at potential musical differences despite the unifying deathrock theme, with the descending riff and theatrical vocal on the opening to Suicide a perfect example, with the dramatic intensity owing as much to the likes of Virgin Prunes and UK Decay as to legendary deathrock US acts like Christian Death.

16.   Who Saw Her Die? – Love Like Glass

Another fabulous EP from Louisville project Who Saw Her Die?, with lead track Love Like Glass oozing Eldritchian cool with a musical vibe not unlike the Sisters’ Body and Soul, with similar lyrical themes to Leeds’ finest circa 1983-1985. A multi-tracked baritone vocal deep in the mix, and a familiar song structure makes this sound like a long-lost demo recorded somewhere in a Leeds basement in the mid-1980’s. Intriguing.

17.   LisaWars – Gift

Talking of bands influenced by TSOM, LisaWars (two men and a drum-machine) from Germany are back with a new album of storming new wave goth. Gift features insouciant lyrics and a louche if pitchy vocal that recalls prime-era Philip Boa and the Voodoo Club. Distinctly European in atmosphere, Gift harks back to an era when the coolness of your vibe was more important than the slickness of your production.

18.   Brotherhood – Valentine

Yet another TSOM-influenced title for Swedish project Brotherhood’s new single, continuing a theme which began on their earlier releases. A suitable song for February, Valentine features brooding sombre goth pop not unlike 80’s stalwarts The Church, with a chorus which would not be out of place on a single from The Mission.

19.   Ploho – Plattenbauten

The darlings of the Russian doomer scene return with a new version of one of their early drum-machine driven low-fi treats re-recorded with a simple German lyric (ideal for revising your possessive pronouns). Minor chord melody and depressive vocals joust with kooky keyboard motifs on a typically counter-intuitively uplifting track which will surely broaden their European fanbase. Like many Russian artists, Ploho have pinned their colours firmly to the "No War" mast.

20.   Shaman Tud - Музыка не спасёт тебя

Every month brings new musical delights from Eastern Europe, and this month Georgia’s Shaman Tud released new album Salut!, a wonderfully fresh and eclectic release straight outta Batumi that draws on many different traditions. Музыка не спасёт тебя (Track Four on the full album link below) fuses krautrock underpinnings with C86 jangling and a frenetic post-punk pace to create one of the more memorable sounds of this highly productive month for new music.