Aaahh,
the 90’s, the glorious decade when goth finally dared speak its name, but withdrew into
(appropriately) the underworld as the mainstream (and many fans) moved on to
the various delights of the rave, grunge and industrial scenes amongst others.
A decade of fanzine culture, club nights, and a shift in focus from the UK and
California to a more global phenomenon weighed down by musical and stylistic
tropes which arguably stifled some of the creativity which made the genre so
appealing in the first place. Few acts of that era have a canon of work which
is still critically-acclaimed, but France’s Corpus Delicti have an enduring
appeal that makes a small UK tour a viable possibility, particularly when as on
this enterprising Edinburgh triple bill promoted by London’s Reptile club night
they are supported by other outstanding acts, Twisted Nerve and Ash Code.
The
former are always on top form on home turf, and this month sees the fortieth
anniversary of the original release of their seminal Séance mini-LP,
championed at the time by legendary BBC DJ John Peel (who once
divulged on-air that the band were his drinking buddies prior to visits to see
his favourite Scottish football team, Meadowbank Thistle, who were based in the
Scottish capital at that time). It was however criminally ignored by the wider
public, although the 2020 reissue (on blue vinyl) has belatedly brought more
well-overdue credit for a record whose musical content matched its innovative format
(one side played at 45 RPM and the other at 33 1/3), with interest sustained by
the ongoing popularity of the title track in goth clubs around the globe.
Singer Craig Paterson may recently have celebrated a ‘big birthday’, but the
energetic frontman shows no signs of letting up in his on-stage performance, a
key part of the band’s appeal. Delivering a shortened set early
in the evening to an appreciative and diverse crowd, Paterson introduces
undoubted set highlight Twisted Nervosis as a gothic love ballad before
picking up the pace with the inevitable punky set-closer 5 Minutes of Fame. Personally-speaking, I could
watch them every week, which is probably just as well, as they seem to be
billed as support for most of the bands I’m planning to see over the next
couple of months (Vazum, 1919 and Ghost Dance for example).
Ash
Code took to the stage next looking uber-cool as always in black, despite
having flown in that afternoon from their native Italy. The Neapolitan darkwave
trio have been one of the most high-profile acts on the European scene over the
past decade, and their sharp image, consistent musical output, in-demand
remixes and powerful live performances have made them a popular choice in their
own right with promoters across the continent (including festival appearances
at WGT, Amphi, W-Fest and A Murder of Crows amongst others). Twin brothers
Alessandro (vocals) and Adriano Belluccio (bass), along with Claudia Bellanotte
(vocals and “deep and melancholic synths”), create a sound which draws on many of
the genre’s 1980’s roots (from Clan of Xymox through the darker end of Depeche
Mode’s output to the more out-and-out dark club beats of Front 242), with
latest single Tear You Down mastered by another local legend Kill Shelter, who was
in the audience for this gig. After a relatively slow start, classics like Fear
soon had the crowd dancing and Claudia’s impassioned vocal on Betrayed was
another highlight. By the end of their well-paced set, which featured heavier
and truncated versions of many of their best-known songs, they received rapturous
applause for a highly impressive performance, especially when considering that they
were sandwiched between two incredibly powerful guitar-based goth bands.
Corpus
Delicti were returning to Scotland’s capital for the first time in 26 years (a
handful of the audience had been at the previous show!) and they too chose an
understated start to their set, allowing fans time to take in the full range of
their appeal. Whilst, like the classic 80’s bands, each band member makes their
own significant contribution – Chrys’ melodious basslines played high on the
bottom string, the kilt-wearing (cultural appropriation? Moi?) Franck seemingly
effortlessly coaxing wonderfully shimmering shards of guitar noise, Laurent
reimagining Roma’s inventive drum patterns, and Sébastien’s incredibly powerful
and dramatic vocal performance – the overall effect is a scintillating fusion
of magic, music and drama which few other bands of any era can achieve. Corpus Delicti may hail from the sunny Côte d’Azur, but the innovative
dark streak in their classic albums of the early-mid 90’s marked them out from
the competition. Whilst most 90’s goth acts looked no further than First and Last and
Always for their humdrum sonic template, the Nice-based act’s debut set harked back to
the sound of 1981, with Bauhaus’ sophomore set Mask, the Banshees’ Juju
and UK Decay’s For Madmen Only inspiring the somewhat derivative but enchanting first LP Twilight, before the band really found(ed) their own unique and inventive
strand of the gothic aesthetic on the follow-up Sylphes. As expected,
their set soon livens up with a string of classics from these two LPs, Noxious
(Demon’s Game), Dusk of Hallows, Absent Friend, Staring and Still
Patient all still as potent as thirty years ago, not least because of
Sebastien’s stage presence, staring intently at individual audience members on
the more dramatic lines of each multi-sectioned song, before performing Motherland
from third album Obsessions to one clearly-overcome member of the
front-row and then walking through the crowd and singing to individuals in the moshpit during a mesmerising
and lilting middle section of Lorelei. The pure theatre of their music
never made more sense than in this unforgettable and magical scene, uniting
performers and audience, so the following cover of Joy Division’s Atmosphere
was a welcome chance for both the crowd and the band to draw breath before a
final assault of the coruscating new single Chaos and a double encore of
Broken and of course the inevitable finale Saraband. As expected,
an emotionally as well as physically draining gig for both committed musicians
and engaged observers, but overall a thoroughly life-affirming gothic
experience which the band promised would be repeated well before another twenty-six years are up!
Even for a winter Wednesday evening which clashed with
the Edinburgh soccer derby, Reptile would probably still have been a little
disappointed with the size of the crowd which was probably not that far into
three figures, considering the unique three generations of stellar goth talent on
display, but the enthusiastic response of those who were in attendance will
hopefully encourage them to bring more shows to Scotland on the future.
