March saw the return to the stage of goth behemoths like New Model Army, The Sisters of Mercy and Killing Joke as the live scene finally spluttered into life once again, with mini festivals taking place all over Europe and the US giving rise to hope that the worst of the pandemic is finally over. The biggest releases on the alternative scene this month were an experimental new “song” by goth godfathers Bauhaus (their first for fourteen years) and a new single by Neue Deutsche Harte band Rammstein (which already has fifteen million YT views), but on the more niche contemporary goth/post-punk scene there were again great new sounds from projects old and new, from which this Top 20 has been complied. It proved to be a particularly strong months where excellent new releases from Morosinthe, Mother’s Son, Ciern, Celestial Shadows, 13th Moon, Assassun, Aux Animaux and Into Grey narrowly failed to make the grade.
1. Whispering Sons – Tilt
Doggedly ploughing their own distinctive furrow, the relatively youthful Belgian post-punk band are back with Tilt, a track left over from the sessions of their last album Several Others. With its stripped back production, simple motifs, slow build up and angst-ridden contralto vocal, Tilt is typical of Whispering Sons’ unique appeal.
2. Killing Joke – Total
If Lord of Chaos drew a collective “meh” from Gatherers (KJ fans) bemoaning its lack of originality, the other brand-new track Total on the new EP is much more promising, despite a frustratingly muddy mix from Tom Dalgety. Cold war synths wail over a chugging bass backing, with Big Paul’s furious tub thumping matched only by Geordie’s nu-metal angular riffing on the chorus where Jaz’s plaintive chant goes full agonised bellow, mixing the raw power of Revelations with the claustrophobic melody of Night Time.
3. Red Moon Macabre – Mefistofele
There’s a wonderfully over the top Wagnerian folly to Renzo Tellez’s project Red Moon Macabre’s new single Mefistofele, merging old-skool Crazy World of Arthur Brown hell-fire kookiness with unhinged Banshees-inspired spookily claustrophobic gothic rock guitar in the style of Vazum.
4. Velvet Mist - Your Ghost
Belgian trad goth rock duo Velvet Mist’s excellent debut EP Visitation was released this month, featuring the wonderfully accomplished singles Hollow Eyes and Your Ghost. The latter has distinct Leeds tinges, with a Sisters baseline and psychedelic rock touches more reminiscent of The Rose of Avalanche. Unashamedly retro in packaging and sound, this is both a reverential and highly effective take on classic 80’s gothic rock.
5. Black Doldrums – Dead Awake
Fuzz Club Records enjoys a fully deserved great reputation for promoting the very best new dark psych releases, and Black Doldrums’ new album is a perfect example of the gems they uncover and bring to a wider audience. Melding Paisley Underground vocals with fuzzy dark pop, Dead Awake’s strong tunes and Dandy Warhols meets The Telescopes vibe make this another highly recommended LP for those with an interest in this highly rewarding sub-genre.
6. Slow Danse With The Dead – Blood On Your Hands
Blood On Your Hands, the new single from prolific New Mexico one-man miserygoth project Slow Danse With The Dead, shuffles along nicely over a Cassandra Complex-style backbeat, a lugubrious baritone vocal recounting another tale of despair over a punishing dancefloor beat.
7. Scary Black – Tragedy
A bass heavy synthesised and syncopated backbeat provides
the perfect canvas for a nightmarish tale of tragedy on Scary Black’s new
single of that name. Lashings of reverb guitar create a haunted feel on a great
new song from the king of the misanthropic ambiance.
8. Funeral March of the Marionettes – Slow (Trapped In This Moment)
Recent releases from Funeral March of the Marionettes have surprised with their breadth, and Slow (Trapped In This Moment) is no exception, a slow burning epic which conjures up an image not dissimilar to Fields of the Nephilim’s Psychonaut played by a Dead Can Dance tribute band.
9. L’appel du vide – Das Programm
L’appel du Vide from Chemnitz in Germany play off-beat post with a dark punk feel and a Mittel Europa 80’s vibe. Das Programm is a slightly shambolic but complex song reminiscent of the likes of Aroma di Amore, when continental bands took more risks with instrumentation and time signatures than the majority of their more conservative and straitjacketed UK counterparts.
10. Clan of Xymox – Save Our Souls
Wave veterans Clan of Xymox are one of many acts this month to release a new song inspired by the situation in Ukraine (A Cloud of Ravens' synth cover of The Clash's anti-war song The Call Up being another), and Save Our Souls is one of their best songs of recent years, a beautifully produced humanitarian reverb-drenched call for peace with a typically soaring vocal.
11. Tempos de Morte - Solitude
There’s a distinct whiff of Joy Division on the intro to this low-fi track from Brazil’s Tempos de Morte, with a key distorted riff played high on the bass Hooky-style, although the powerful female vocals are more reminiscent of Xmal’s Anja Huwe on the studio version now available here on Bandcamp
12. Absencia - El Frio
El Frio is the lead track from Chilean goth duo Absencia’s
strong new EP, and starts with a strong Lucretia style bassline with a
sparse reverb guitar line, lush synth swirls and a straight understated vocal
combining pleasantly as the track builds into a much more complex arrangement. Bandcamp link here
13. Vazum – Thief
Emily’s Happy House style bass riff and Zach’s wonderfully angular guitars merge perfectly from the opening chords of another outstanding single from Detroit duo Vazum. Emily’s haunting vocal and the galloping positive punk beat drive the track ever-forward in their distinctive ethereal horror deathrock style.
14. Who Saw Her Die? – Self-Destruct
Louisville duo Who Saw Her Die?’s reputation for high quality, varied darkwave releases grows ever stronger with the release of new song Self-Destruct, building on the successes of their recent EPs. Self-Destruct features a strong, multi-tracked Eldritchian vocal over a sparse, wave-style backing on a melodic tale of the pain of watching a loved one self-implode.
15. Lords of the Northern Sky – Eyes Like An Abandoned Place
Hailing from Hamilton in the heart of Scotland’s heavily industrialised Central belt, prolific one-man project Lords of the Northern Sky evokes instead the wonderfully open vistas of the Highlands with his sparklingly gloomy take on traditional goth rock. Eyes Like An Abandoned Place is a slow-burning atmospheric treat with a doomy vocal, FX-drenched sheets of guitar and a simple backbeat.
16. Fearing – However Long
The lead track from the ever-reliable Californian dark post-punk’s new EP Desolate, However Long is a perfect slice of moody atmospheric darkwave, built upon layers of reverb guitar, echoing baritone vocals, and an upliftingly dismal aesthetic such as championed by Pornography-era The Cure. Five years since their debut release, Fearing continue to stand out in a crowded sub-genre with their subtle appreciation of dark dynamics.
17. Nino Sable – Ultima Estacion – El Underground
German scene legend Nino Sable has compiled recent singles on a new release sedate/seduce, which features Lars Kappeler on production with Ultima Estacion – El Underground a personal highlight, apparently a tribute to Lord Fer’s infamous El Real Under club night in the current unofficial world goth capital, Mexico City. The track’s metronomic dancefloor beat, full-on synth and guitar assault and Sable’s sepulchral vocal combine to create a floor-filling dark delight.
18. Sexblood – Silent Hill
Released on Swiss Dark Nights, Sexblood’s debut album Teach Me To Cry has a very 90’s influenced trad goth feel with Missionesque guitar sounds and motifs and somewhat histrionic vocals, heard to best effect on opening track Silent Hill.
19. Shelley’s Lullaby – When The Sky Falls Down
A gloriously stupid melange of Lucretia era Sisters and Gothic Girl era 69 Eyes, Shelley’s Lullaby (a one man project from New Jersey) peddles unashamedly derivative yet effortlessly cool goth’n’roll by numbers on When The Sky Falls Down from this month’s new LP Eternal. Classically timeless goth rock done to perfection.
20. Locust Revival – Your Delusions Are Not Mine
A wonderful EP of distantly mixed darkwave from Brisbane band Locust Revival, with the same shimmering Chameleons-esque guitar tone as other promising post-punk acts like Switzerland’s Future Faces or Germany’s late lamented Holygram. Your Delusions Are Not Mine is a typically well-constructed track on a consistently excellent release.
No comments:
Post a Comment