Italian deathrock punk band Horror Vacui were formed by current singer Koppa and partner Marzia (now on drums) on their return to Bologna after living in a squat in London where they made friends amongst the British capital’s goth scene in the first decade of the new millennium, and although the sound of their four excellent albums to date has been described as “a politicised Red Lorry Yellow Lorry meets The Chameleons”, the project’s commitment to their pure punk ethos continues to this day, as one of the most authentically and overtly political bands on the goth or goth-adjacent scene.
Visiting the UK for a low-key DIY tour for the first time since the release of their outstanding 2020 album Living For Nothing, which unfortunately came out just as the COVID pandemic began, Horror Vacui played their first ever Scottish gig at the uber-cool Bloc+ venue in central Glasgow, a basement bar as famed for its cheap and quality food and beers as for its free music seven nights a week.
Busy at the best of times, the pub was comfortably full of the city’s alternative black-clad youth on Friday night when support band Dr Void and The Skinjob’s (sic), whose studio releases mark them out as a quirky electro-punk trio strongly influenced by the likes of Devo, took to the stage. Although their vocals/synths, bass and drums line-up gives their sound the raw punky edge of early Kaelan Mikla, in the ‘live’ setting, energetic frontman Gary’s retro synth sounds range from Stranglers intricacy to heavy Daft Punkesque depthcharges, with Billy’s visceral bass driving the songs forward at a frenetic pace. Dedicating new song Rave to the Grave to the “creatures of the night” in attendance, DV&TSJ raced through a short set in which Androids and Polaroids and set-closer Inpatient were the highlights, and their manic enthusiasm warmed up the growing crowd nicely.
Bloc+’s musical facilities are more suited to local talent than to touring cult bands, with a low roof and no raised stage in a room barely twice the size of the average living room, but all five members of Horror Vacui, their trusty dry ice machine and Lucretia’s all-important pedalboard (for that trademark edgy glacial deathrock guitar tone which underpins the entire set) squeezed into the minuscule “stage” space and launched into a powerful version of recent single Distressed, with Koppa’s microphone only inches from the front row of the static, mesmerised crowd. Before the last notes had died away, Marzia hammered out the opening rhythm of an ear-splitting rendition of Forward, with Thomas and Vasu (on bass and second guitar respectively) adding the depth to a sound which is the heaviest and loudest I had heard from a goth band in some time, occasionally obliterating some of the subtleties of both the intricate arrangements and Koppa’s potent lyrics in the early songs.
While he may be well into his forties, Koppa has lost none of his political zeal and songs were dedicated to the people of Gaza and to asylum-seekers as he railed against the rise of the far-right and recent racist riots in the UK to supportive cheers. Excellent versions of tracks from Living for Nothing followed, with the vocalist wisely opting not to attempt the very top notes of Consolation Prize, My Funeral My Party (dedicated to a departed friend) allowing a very slight slowing of pace in an otherwise high-speed set, and the wonderful Lost such a highlight that even Marzia applauded the rest of the band at the end of the song. The band’s perfect melange of power, melody and dynamics makes for an invigorating spectacle which was all the more effective for being at such close quarters.
The all-too-brief show ends with a euphoric In Darkness You Will Feel Alright, title track of the band’s debut LP back in 2012 and a suitably life-affirming mantra for both band and audience alike. With no time for an encore (the venue’s band curfew time having been reached) the indefatigable trooper Koppa headed straight from the stage to the busy merch table where hopefully the band recouped the additional costs of their first sojourn north of the border.
The band’s UK and European tour, organised as ever by the band themselves with the support of the goth and punk communities, continues during the rest of the month, a rare and highly-recommended opportunity to catch one of the scene’s most consistent and under-rated acts in their ‘live’ prime.
Another goth show, another great multi-band presentation in
Scotland.
Frank from Flag Promotions called his eclectic four band
line-up a goth mini-festival in his pre-publicity, and in reality this show was
probably the closest there will be to a goth fest in Scotland this year. The
Classic Grand’s main room is tucked away on the top floor of what was
originally a Victorian warehouse in downtown Glasgow but for many Glaswegians the
building is still best remembered as a 1970’s porno cinema, so a more than
suitable venue for what The March Violets’ Rosie Garland would describe as a “celebration
of weirdness” on their return to the establishment.
The March Violets
And who better to kick off the evening – or indeed any goth
gig - than Scotland’s own Gothzilla, the “goth and proud” duo whose The Sisters
of Mercy inspired songs like Cast No Shadow feature anthemic choruses
over an industrial groove machine of a sound. As ever, frontman Tim’s pitch
perfect vocals are matched by his infectious enthusiasm, and he again manages
the impressive feat of cajoling the increasing crowd of po-faced goths (having
taken to the stage not long after 6 p.m.) into engaging in some audience
participation on traditional set-closer Temple of Sound.
Tim from Gothzilla
Next up were Bristol three-piece Naut, who have established
themselves as one of the most exciting new bands on the goth/post-punk scene since
the 2016 release of their first EP Raise the Lights, thanks in part to the
success of last year’s wonderful 'grower' of a debut album, Hunt, which featured heavily in the setlist
for this, their debut Scottish gig. Bringing a distinct rock element to their drum-machine gothic post-punk, Naut both look the part and can deliver a powerful
live experience, although sadly on this occasion a poor sound mix affected the
overall impact of their performance by reducing the subtlety and complexity of
songs like Unity of Opposites and 8 in 3 to a mushy cacophony. However, there was fortunately
no doubting the dark, brooding intensity of songs like Dissent and Nightfall
which have the driving power of early Red Lorry Yellow Lorry or more recent
late-lamented acts like Terminal Gods. With a strong stage presence to match
the quality of their songwriting, Naut are probably the current British band
most likely to experience sustained success overseas, on the evidence of this gig, their
first sojourn north of the border.
Naut
Also making their first Scottish appearance a mere 45 years
since forming were fellow English band 13th Chime. I must confess to
my eternal shame that despite being an avid follower of the positive punk scene
at the time, the Suffolk/Cambridge band completely passed me by during their first recording
incarnation between 1981 and 1982, and like many goth fans around the globe I
only discovered them thanks to the Sacred Bones re-releases fifteen years ago, which in turn prompted frontman Mick Hand to relaunch the project. During the Glasgow
set Hand and the band showcased songs from their entire history, including Interviewing
Time and Reality from their 1979/1980 phase as punk band The Antix,
before the name and stylistic change of the 13th Chime era. By 1981,
PIL, Killing Joke, UK Decay and others had shown that there was life beyond
three chords and simple rebellion, and the genre-defying and much sought-after first
two 13th Chime singles, Cuts of Love/Coffin Maker and Cursed/Dug
Up are played in full tonight. With their spooky ambiance and lyrics, dubby
krautrock groove and deadpan vocal delivery, the overall effect is not entirely
dissimilar to the sound with which Alien Sex Fiend would later become major
players on the scene. Hearing them live in 2024, with those tinny early studio
versions magically metamorphosing into muscular grooves, 13th Chime
are a powerful and highly enjoyable experience which will hopefully be
returning to Scotland before another 45 years have elapsed!
13th Chime
By way of contrast, headliners The March Violets had played
Glasgow as recently as last year (a gig with Vision Video at King Tut's, which was also reviewed on this blog), and although many features of that gig – the
malfunctioning drum machine intro to opener Crow Baby, the joyous and
well-deserved final encore of Snake Dance, Rosie’s imperious stage
personality and strong vocals, and Tom’s alchemic guitar contribution - were once
again present, there were a couple of major changes, with William Faith being
replaced on bass/backing vocals by the returning Mat Thorpe, and a clutch of
very well-received tracks (of which Headed For The Fire was the
undoubted highlight) from the very impressive new studio album Crocodile
Promises inserted into the setlist. The band rattled through a fast-paced
set which understandably drew heavily on the classic early singles, although the title track
from Made Glorious also made a welcome appearance.
The March Violets
Although the Violets
also suffered from some sound mix issues which rendered Thorpe’s vocals
all-but-inaudible (a capital sin, given the importance of Si’s vocal in the
band’s unique male/female appeal) and (equally criminally) left Ashton’s guitar
too low in the mix, this final performance of their triumphant UK tour was
deservedly rapturously received by an enthusiastic crowd which was slightly smaller than last year
(although this is probably due to the clash with Rebellion Festival in
Blackpool at which they themselves had played the night before) and augurs well
for their forthcoming US dates.
Overall, another great gig in what is turning into a memorable year for Scottish goth gigs, with an amazing free show by legendary Italian deathrock dark punk icons Horror Vacui taking place next week at Bloc+.
The first six months of 2024 have witnessed a frenzied hive of activity
on the goth/post-punk scene, with the annual treats of festival line-up
announcements, high quality new releases from scene big-hitters and unexpected
returns of names from the distant past to the recording scene, with Xmal's Anja Huwe and French legends Corpus Delicti
amongst the latter category so far this year.
This period may have seen the unwelcome return of the extremely tiresome gatekeeping
debate, but also the start of a more mature discussion about the need to actively
grow the scene in younger generations, with the pace of the decline of the
elder goth audience noticeably starting to quicken, amongst gig cancellations and poor ticket sales. Any new recruits who are currently stumbling across
the scene for the first time have certainly chosen a good time to do so, judging by the depth and breadth
of the new sounds on offer over the first half of 2024. Below you will find
the Goth/Post-Punk Revival blog’s selection of some of the most significant new music releases of the past six months.
They Die – Tied To Your Bed
Black Magic is the third excellent album from the
experienced Italian trio They Die, and is a perfect unifying “state of the goth
nation” manifesto for 2024. With judicious amounts of a dark dancefloor retro-sequenced
backbeat, haunting reverberated guitar riffs and a sepulchral vocal deep and resonant enough to wake the
dead, They Die’s rich gothic soundscape should appeal to all the diverse strands
of the contemporary goth diaspora. Whilst Call My Name gives an indication of
how Utah Saints would have sounded had Andrew Eldritch’s one-gig guest
appearance become a permanent reality, album title track Black Magic shows that the
project can innovate as well as synthesise (no pun intended), whilst the Clubbing
Mix of Our Blood is filling basement dives from Copenhagen to CDMX. Elsewhere on the album it’s on tracks such
as opener Glass Girl and (featured here) Tied To Your Bed that the true essence
of goth is perfectly distilled, a full-on dark soundscape. If there’s a more perfect goth album released in
2024, I’ll eat Carl McCoy’s hat.
Stranger and Lovers - Dominik
Long time favourites of this blog (their debut set was the final pick of the Best Albums of the 2010's list almost five years ago), S&L continue to develop their own S&M-themed sub-genre, with more of the material on their new LP P3RV3RT again going for a harsher, more minimalist, DAF-influenced sound. Tracks like Dominik, however, hark back to their more guitar-integrated past, allowing the dynamic strength of their skilled songwriting and production (with razor-sharp mastering by Young and Col head honcho Daniel Hallhuber) to shine.
Treponem Pal – The Fall
As over-the-top in their own way as They Die and Stranger and Lovers, long-serving French goth
indus metal act Treponem Pal released The Fall as the latest single from 2023’s stunning Screamers
set. That unsolicited annual Spotify update confirmed that this guilty pleasure
was my most streamed song of last year – "madness" indeed, to quote the band! The video for this juggernaut behemoth of a track features a welcome cameo
from original guitarist Amadou, which mercifully draws the attention away from the fact
that his successor appears to base his appearance on disgraced former British PM
Boris Johnson!
Then Comes Silence – Blind Eye
The peerless Swedish act’s seventh album Trickery was released this Spring to justifiably universal acclaim (including a full review on this site), and online fan polls indicate
that this track is one of the strongest songs on the LP. It certainly contains
many of the features which make the band so appealing to a broad cross-section of fans of contemporary alternative music, from Alex’s
velvet croon and retro-synth embellishments to Hugo’s stunning guitar tone and
shimmering melodies over Jonas’ metronomic drumming. The masterful arrangements and
production add a perfect sheen to the sound without in any way diminishing
the band’s pure power.
Faux Fear – Forgotten Bodies
Forgotten Bodies is the standout track on an awesome debut
album from Pennsylvanians Faux Fear, which came out just too late to make last year's Best Of list. Combining the intricate guitar and bass
work of Second Still with the effortless cool of Tempers and old school
post-punk enthusiasm of Girls At Our Best, the wonderfully lilting vocal melody
and echoing guitar sound have the charm of a more upbeat early Cocteau Twins, combining
perfectly on songs like Forgotten Bodies to produce wistful melancholy that could lift the darkest of spirits.
Sweet Ermengarde – Sweet Sacrifice
To be honest, innovation is not a word synonymous with Drew
Freeman, gravel-throated vocalist and frontman of UK trad goth perfectionists All My
Thorns and current undisputed king of the Nephilimistic bellowing style of singing.
This teaser track from German goth rock act Sweet Ermengarde’s current album, their first with the English singer behind the mic, has the slightly
more bloated metallic vibe of Freeman’s previous project Sometime The Wolf, but smoulders with bombastic power. Freeman’s
day job involves building beautiful new structures using recycled period
masonry, a clear metaphor for his ongoing stellar contribution to the trad goth
rock community, as exemplified by this latest, erm, well-crafted offering.
Corpus Delicti – Chaos
French act Corpus Delicti were one of the most consistently
excellent bands of a rather cannibalistic nineties goth scene, and the rapture
which greeted their live return was matched by the reaction to this, their first studio
release in almost three decades. Updating their sound by harnessing more recent studio
technology to great effect and incorporating influences from their own subsequent side-projects, CD retain their ability to deliver a
powerfully anthemic goth rock chorus with Sebastien’s strong vocal and Franck’s
guitar versatility very much to the fore on this eye-catching video.
The March Violets - Hammer The Last Nail
The latest incarnation of the classic Leeds goth band showcase the lead single from forthcoming album Crocodile Promises in their first release since making the decision to continue without Si. With William Faith no longer available to fulfil studio and performing commitments, Mat Thorpe returns on bass for this summer's album and tour. Hammer The Last Nail features a surprisingly 60's influenced twangy guitar motif from Tom Ashton, and an overall psych-influenced dark melodic sound closer to The Damned than The Sisters of Mercy.
Ground Nero - Signs
Manx/Belgian collaboration Ground Nero have this year released the sixth and seventh singles from last November's album, Blood Never Sleeps, another great release which got a little lost in the end-of-year rush. Signs, like its predecessors from a very strong LP, features Ground Nero's signature modern gothic wall of sound and Mark Sayle's distinctive baritone vocal, which can also be heard on Resist, the new darkwave synthpop album from his other project Mark E Moon. Almost a decade on from their first release, Ground Nero continue to epitomise the very best in contemporary goth.
Whispering Sons – Try Me Again
The rise and rise of Belgian post-punk band Whispering Sons
continues with their latest album The Great Calm. Although the group’s sound has
generally become simultaneously more low-fi yet more melodically mainstream as they have developed, Try Me Again shows that
they still have an ability to produce high quality gothic post-rock to showcase Fenne’s
unique contralto to the greatest effect in a truly stunning vocal performance.
Diavol Strain – Traicion
More wonderfully uneasy listening from the recently-married Chilean duo on
this wilfully cacophonous new single, featuring the usual mesmeric fretwork
from Ignacia and the stentorian vocals and buzzing basslines of Lau. Traicion
is the customary juxtaposition of the uncompromisingly challenging and the thrillingly synergical, the end result being one of the truly unique sounds on the gothic/darkwave spectrum.
Suffice to say that the insanely talented but criminally underappreciated Diavol Strain continue to confidently plough their own
fertile furrow and remain one of the most dynamic and least derivative acts on
the scene. Felicidades!
Malefixio - Estoy Dentro
A more subtle and mature sound this time around from Spanish deathrock disco trio Malefixio, whose atmospheric new single takes a couple of minutes to reach full speed. Whilst Eva's theatrical vocal adds the usual spooky vibe, guitarist Jordi's angular riffs are less buzzsaw than on previous releases, allowing the song's dramatic soundscape to unfold in a more structured and dynamic manner, much like the krautrock-influenced extended jams which Alien Sex Fiend used to specialise in. The Barcelona-based trio's song ends with the lyric "Estas son nuestras cancionas" - "These are our songs", summing up the increasing sense of community amongst the global gothic fanbase.
Tears for the Dying - We Are The Darkness
Modern goth is often accused of forgetting its punk roots, an accusation which could never be levelled at Adria Stembridge's ensemble Tears for the Dying. The Athens (Georgia) act are now into their third decade but have lost none of the energy and revolutionary zeal of 2004's deathpunk classic Go Die (the 2020 re-recording of which seems to be a permanent suggestion on my Spotify), as the lead track We Are The Darkness on the musically varied new album In The Shadow of the Midnight Sun will testify.
Anja Huwe – Rabenschwarz
A fabulous cheese-grater riff in the intro is the perfect beginning
to this much-feted return of one of the grandes dames of the original scene, the
foghorn-tonsilled Anja Huwe of Xmal Deutschland, who continues what was seen in the 80’s as the highly-risky strategy of singing in her native tongue rather
than in English, the sadly expected convention of the early 1980’s. Huwe’s
simple vocal style has lost none of its style on this, the lead track for what was
a more diverse album (Codes), with the backbeat suitably updated for the new century, although the unrefined guitar tone of Manuela Rickers remains pleasingly unspoilt by progress.
The City Gates – Lapidation
The Canadian act return on the uber cool Icy Cold imprint
with a new album this summer, prefaced by this wonderfully powerful new single.
A Curtis-inspired vocal, FX-laden guitars and a breathless combine in an
effective but simply-structured
post-punk gallop. The band toured mainland Europe recently in support of the
single, prior to the album’s release, further raising their global profile.
Vazum – Breach
Also crossing to the Old Continent earlier this year were Detroit deathgaze duo Vazum, who had already released several singles from their (then highly-anticipated) Western Violence album which eventually came out in June, and of which Breach is the most
powerful. Zach adopts a deeper pitched vocal well suited to the dystopian lyric
to great effect on the chorus, contrasting beautifully with Emily’s straighter
singing style, but as usual it’s his Pumpkins-esque guitar musings which dominate
this high tempo goth grunge classic.
Byronic Sex & Exile – Nemesis
Released appropriately on the Ides of March, the Libertas EP
coincided with a live one-off performance by one-man gothic tour-de-force Byronic Sex & Exile (a.k.a. Joel
Heyes) of this mini-LP about the famed murder of Julius Caesar. Typically, Heyes has already put out his next release whilst continuing with his idiosyncratic mini UK tours and putting on some of the best goth festivals in the UK, leaving us to enjoy this thrash goth curio from the typically varied Libertas release.
Varsovie – Artefacts
The release of a further single from the superbly consistent
Pression A Froid album gives us the very welcome opportunity to sing the
praises of Grenoble-based duo Varsovie. Modern post-punk at its best, Artefacts
is based round a strong wave guitar riff with an interesting bass counterpoint, Gregory’s
je m’en fous-tist vocal and a clever syncopated drum beat which stops dead twice
during the song in classic crowd-confusing style.
Raskolnikov - Masterfreak
Like Varsovie, Raskolnikov have established themselves at the forefront of the current intelligent post-punk movement, particularly since the release of their last LP Lazy People Will Destroy You. Masterfreak was the first new music of 2024 from the international trio, and features a guitar riff that is surprisingly reminiscent of the "Blue Angel" section of the Nephs' Blue Water in places.
Mayflower Madame - A Foretold Ecstacy/Paint It All In Blue
Talking of outstanding yet under-rated European post-punk acts, Norway's Mayflower Madame have returned with two wonderful singles from their forthcoming third album, featuring their hypnotic blend of dark psych pop sensibilities and low-fi shoegaze sheen. Mayflower Madame are the band the Bunnymen could have become, and deserve the rare accolade of having both their recent releases listed here. Mayflower Madame will be visiting the UK in November when the album (Insight) is released, and are highly recommended to fans of The Secret French Postcards.
Crows - Bored
The UK and Irish post-punk scene seems to lazily focus on a small number of bands like Idles and Fontaines DC, but other, arguably more talented acts struggling to attract the younger alternative gig-going crowd as a result, such as Ist Ist and Crows, have found fans amongst the goth fraternity. Like many bands of their generation, the four wonderfully-talented musicians that make up Crows may have imbibed influences of Joy Division, Chameleons, Gang of Four and Pixies through the filter of the early Muse and Radiohead albums they grew up with, but tracks like new single Bored bristle with the anger and ennui of Iggy's song of the same name back in 1979. This classic sound of youth rebellion will strike a chord whether you grew up listening to The Godfathers, grunge or The Viagra Boys.
Date At Midnight – Another Grace
California may have been the birthplace of deathrock, but
whilst Altar da Fey and Shrouds amongst others do a great job of maintaining the state’s
reputation, the mantle has well and truly passed to Italy this millennium, with
Horror Vacui and Der Himmel uber Berlin at the forefront of an insanely
talented posse of acts. The national house style is obvious on this new track
from Romans Date at Midnight, who have released their first full-length album
for eight years, which whilst driven by a typically pounding Pasquale Vico
bassline is dominated by some truly spellbinding guitar courtesy of Francesco
Barone. The album has deservedly already garnered rave reviews from respected scene veterans like Mick Mercer, and is another certain fixture in 2024's Best Of lists.
Horror Vacui - Distressed
Few bands can construct a song with the same drive and deceptively beautiful simplicity as highly-respected Italian 80's-influenced deathrock act Horror Vacui, and there are goth/futurist alt pop vibes in the very melodic recent single Distressed until a more dramatic middle eight. Another act who will be touring the UK in the autumn and are well worth seeing live.
Sinclair Noire – Vampire Drowns
Nothing fancy, just some no-nonsense melodic old school trad goth rock from American
act Sinclair Noire on this trope-laden track, powered by some fantastically
overdriven guitar very reminiscent of Red Moon Macabre but with some additional Severin-esque
basslines.
Gallow’s Eve – 13 Thorns
Arguably the most derivative selection here (in what would certainly be a very close-fought category!), Gallow’s Eve’s
13 Thorns is one of the new tracks on a thirteen (naturally) song compilation
of the Swedish band's best moments so far, revealing a perfect understanding of the key
components of old school trad goth rock, much in the same way as Long Night.
Velvet Mist - Midnight Fire
In a very similar vein, Belgian retro trad goth rock specialists return with a typically upbeat and uplifting full-one goth-by-numbers classic, much in the style of The Waning Moon. Generic Husseyesque guitars, trope-laded lyrics, impassioned upper baritone vocal, all very professionally done if hardly wildly original.
Funhouse - Stay With You
Archetypal 90's four-to-the-bar no-nonsense goth'n'roll act Funhouse are back with a new album for 2024 which will delight fans of the goth'n'roll veterans, with Mickael Korner's deep croak ageing like a fine wine. Both lyrically (Stay With You, You and You Alone etc) and musically there is plenty here for long-term fans of The Mission to enjoy on another pleasant and highly competent album from the Malmo act which again is barely breaking new musical ground.
Animal Rojo - The Cage
Mexican trad goth rockers Animal Rojo return after two years with a new single featuring a more textured and subtle sound over a simple repetitive uber goth riff. Carolus Cat Noir's deep baritone intones a tale of dystopian entrapment, with Miguel Corvus' haunting echoing secondary motif adding effectively to the claustrophobic atmosphere.
Forty years ago, the legendary Black October tour
debuted in Scotland in Edinburgh, with a gig pairing headliners The Sisters of
Mercy (whose debut album First and Last and Always had been scheduled
for release at this time but delayed because of health and recording issues)
with fellow West Yorkshire goths Skeletal Family (touring their indie chart
number one debut album Burning Oil) in a show at a venue (the Caley
Palais) which is now a Wetherspoons pub.
The gig itself was moderately well-attended, with the local
student newspaper relating that “Skeletal Family struggled against a terrible
mix and the apathy of a half-filled hall…As with The Sisters, they did not seem
to have any desire to communicate with the hall at all…All that I can say is
that they were more inventive than The Sisters,” an inauspicious start to a
tour whose fame continues to resonate down the decades.
Roll on one short year and both bands had imploded, with
Gary Marx forming a new band called Ghost Dance with Skellies’ vocalist
Anne-Marie, and bringing with him a headful of tunes originally intended for
The Sisters of Mercy’s second album (as discussed in this previous post on my other blog, which looks back at the early years of Leeds' finest). This project lasted four years but remained dormant until 2019,
when Anne-Marie reformed the project (without Marx this time, but with his
blessing) having spent the previous six years with a reformed Skeletal Family with
fellow original members Stan Greenwood (guitar) and Roger “Trotwood” Nowell (bass). Both bands released well-received new albums in 2023, Skeletal Family’s
Light From The Dark (featuring new vocalist Anneka Latta) and Ghost
Dance’s The Silent Shout, and it was in support of the latter that
Anne-Marie had brought her band back to the Scottish capital for a show at the
famed Bannerman’s venue.
As at most gigs I review these days, support was provided by
another legendary name from the 1980’s scene who never achieved the wider fame
their music deserved, Twisted Nerve, whose attitude and performance are as
refreshing today as they were back in 1983. I recently unearthed old fanzine
interviews from that year which included the following quotes from surviving
members which could have been made much more recently. Veteran bassist Norbert:
“When we first started it was the early punk scene that influenced us but now
…we tend to get more musical…Our set doesn’t remind anyone of a certain band
because our songs are so different from one another”. This was to prove the
band’s undoing, with goths dismissing the Edinburgh quartet as chancer ex-punks, and old punks derisive of the band’s new direction, although fortunately modern audiences
are more accepting. Talismanic frontman Craig said in 1983: “We always make an effort, because you don’t
want to see [on stage] someone you’d see on the street, you expect more. If you
look really good it can make a difference, as people can relate to an image.
Even if they don’t like your music, they’ll still stand there and come in to
see you.” Younger bands sharing the bill with Twisted Nerve in the 2020’s will
note that is still very much the case, and they can learn much from the band’s infectious
joie de vivre.
Although neither Skeletal Family nor Ghost Dance enjoyed the
mainstream success of the likes of The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission or All
About Eve, Anne-Marie Hurst’s powerful and pure vocal made the bands compelling
live attractions, and despite the fact that she is the only surviving member of
Ghost Dance in the current line-up, her stage presence and the quality of her
singing make the band’s set just as enjoyable as shows I recall from the 1980’s,
so you could say it’s a case of (atrocious pun ahoy!) Yesterday Again. Guitarist
Tim Walker nails Gary Marx’s legendary riff for the latter song, which is
typical of the slightly jangly, psychedelic, folky, melodic goth pop rock that
Ghost Dance specialised in. Anne-Marie’s control and range on the anthemic choruses
of crowd pleasers like River of No Return, When I Call, Last Train and A
Deeper Blue ensure a rapturous reception, whilst songs from the recent album such
as Jessamine, Goodbye and (an old Marx composition) A Town
Called Sympathy also kept the tempo high, with new touring band members Sam
Wilson on second guitar, Dave James on bass and Billy Lockwood on drums all
doing sterling work on songs both new and old. As at other recent gigs, the
final encore of Skeletal Family’s Promised Land sent the faithful home happy,
delighted to have seen one of the foremost female performers of the original
80’s scene still at the top of her game. A consummate frontwoman, no-one in 2024 could accuse her of not engaging with her audience!
Ghost Dance play at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool in early
August, and will be touring both the UK and Mexico later in the year.
It’s not often that a relatively new US project takes the
financial hit of a self-organised European tour, but Detroit-based grunge-goth
duo VAZUM are not your typical darkscene act. Not only innovating musically with
their unique take on the gothic aesthetic they have named “deathgaze”, the band
had also thoughtfully released a ‘greatest hits’ album V- which collated
their best songs in a re-recorded stripped-down style which more faithfully
represents their live sound. Their UK shows had been due to commence the night
before in Glasgow, but major electrical supply issues had resulted in a late cancellation,
meaning that the Edinburgh gig at the legendary Bannerman’s bar last night was
their European debut, and the pair had put together an interesting bill which
included two other bands who (whilst also genre-defying) would be of interest to fans
of guitar-based goth.
Vazum on the Bannerman's stage
Midlothian quartet Voodoo Twins were fresh from a recent
well-received support slot to much-loved tribute band Lizzie and the Banshees, and
their high-tempo new wave sound got proceedings off to an energetic start. With
twin frontmen Jim Threat and Daz Voodoo alternating vocals, they ripped through
songs from last year’s EP and its soon-to-be-recorded follow-up in a well-paced
set. The band describe themselves as post-punk electronica, but their live
sound seemed more anchored in the sweaty yet cultured sound of 1978 (Jam,
Stranglers etc), meaning that they are more likely to receive an invitation to
play Rebellion punk festival than Wave Gotik Treffen.
The band also blend
in more recent compositions such as Magik of Trance and Lost Souls,
both of which have an early The Cult goth’n’roll feel and give imaginatively-nicknamed
guitarist “Dunsy” Dunsmore the chance to demonstrate his six-string skills.
Drummer Dave Grave’s starring role in Air-Krasha provides another
example of why Twisted Nerve remain a popular, enjoyable and dynamic staple of
the live gothic scene, with further gigs within the next six weeks supporting
The Doctors of Madness, 1919 and Ghost Dance lined up, as well as a slot at the
Dia de Los Muertos festival in LA at Halloween.
Craig
Headliners VAZUM provide an altogether different live
experience, reaching deeper into the dark soul in a performance of songs
drenched in dramatic tension. Zach Pliska’s love of Smashing Pumpkins is
obvious from the first bludgeoning chords effortlessly coaxed from his guitar
as the duo launch into a coruscating version of Angel, with Emily Sturm’s
strong yet vulnerable vocal the perfect counterpoint to Zach’s more spoken
delivery.
Emily
Zach
For all their horror punk visuals and bludgeoning sound, VAZUM are
charm personified between songs, with Emily’s (dreadful Detroit goth pun ahoy)
sassy chat in particular entertaining the several dozen punters who have braved
the day’s persistent rain for a midweek gig. After sarcastically commenting on
a two very inebriated young attendees whose attempts at dancing invariably ended
in collapse (“those girls need another drink”), she invited the audience to
come out with a name for the band’s drum machine, eventually settling on the
stereotypically Scottish “Jimmy”. After second song and recent single Blush’s
melodic harmonies, Sturm warned the crowd that it would be noise all the way thereafter,
a prophecy which bass-heavy versions of current single Breach and predecessors
Thief and Nightshade soon proved to be true. With further songs
from the forthcoming album Western Violence (including the title track) also
showcased, VAZUM again demonstrated their talent for powerful, angular, grungy
gothic rock, played with an intensity and volume that fellow Detroit legends MC5
and The Stooges would surely approve of. After a well-deserved and somewhat
more subtle encore, VAZUM’s warmly-received European debut came to an all-too-brief
end, with further (and somewhat distant) tour stops in Exeter, Vannes
and Lyon planned. Catch them if you can!
It’s hard to believe that with the unveiling of Trickery
on Metropolis Records this week, Sweden’s gothic darkwave maestros Then Comes
Silence have now released seven albums, gradually rising to the forefront of
the current scene as their reputation and their following increase with each
successive LP.
Many of the bands on the original positive punk scene – Joy
Division, Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy and Fields of the Nephilim to name but
four – never made it anywhere near as far as seven albums in terms of studio releases, and
those who did – Siouxsie and The Banshees (Tinderbox, 1986), The Cure (Kiss
Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987) or Killing Joke (Outside The Gate,
1988), for example – were not only clearly past their creative best by that
point, but had enjoyed some of the trappings of success, along with Top 20
hits, Top 10 albums, sell-out tours, magazine front covers and critical
recognition, which encouraged them to continue the struggle and reach that landmark.
All of which makes the uniformly high standard of Then Comes
Silence’s output - and Trickery
is no exception – all the more remarkable, as founder member Alex Svenson has
coped stoically with multiple line-up changes and the continued relative
indifference of the wider music industry and community, whilst devoting over a decade to developing the
project to the very highest of standards, both as a live act and (visually and
musically) in their recorded output.
Over the past twelve years, Then Comes Silence’s sonic
palette has gradually become more refined, whilst the key elements remain:
solid but varied guitar work containing elements of dark psych, Svenson’s own
lugubrious croon, powerful drumming and a commitment to excellence in all they
undertake.
After a pair of monochromatic self-titled releases creating
their distinctive sound, Then Comes Silence really came to prominence with
2015’s Nyctophilian, the first to feature current sticksman Jonas
Fransson, whilst 2017’s Blood is regarded by many commentators as the
peak of their purely gothic output, and was the first toured by guitarist Hugo
Zombie on his arrival in the band the following year. 2020’s Machine and
2022’s Hunger saw the band adding a more subtle veneer to their sound
across a broad range of styles, with power and dark melody always the
watchwords, and with the core of the band remaining the same despite the
departure of second guitarist Mattias Ruejas Jonson, Trickery continues
in the same vein, a factor emphasised in the album’s cover, the purple
background not too many shades from its predecessor.
Sonically, the album commences with a couple of typical TCS
belters, the full-on Ride Or Die (with its chorus nod to the melody of [Ghost]
Riders in the Sky) and the more commercial Like A Hammer (with very
obvious lyrical steals from the band’s own back catalogue, the sign of a
project comfortable in its own skin), with the Swedes’ instantly recognisable
sound containing many of the elements which made their previous records such
critical successes.
Already hinted at in the opening track, Svenson’s recent
obsession with the analogue synthesiser sound of the Futurist movement of the
early 1980’s (as showcased on his recent solo project Neonpocalypse) is added
to the opening section of Feel The Cold, which broadens out into a more
traditional guitar-based chorus, whilst the experimental side cranks up on the
eerie and discordant opening to the goth’n’roll stomp of Tears and Cries,
which likes tracks on previous albums benefits from a female co-vocal, on this
occasion provided by Emma Nylen of Emmon.
Zombie’s grungy guitar prelude to the up-tempo
Ramones-influenced pop-punk thrash Stay Strange (with current scene
figurehead Dusty Gannon of Vision Video adding additional vocals) introduces
the album’s third phase, and the one most likely to appeal to fans of the
band’s middle period, with the dark psych quotient dialled up significantly on
the magnificent Stiffs. Fransson’s energetic drumming, the spooky
keyboard drones, and the powerful guitar of Bright Eye, maintain the
dark punk feel, with hints of the spectre of a more subtly melodic Killing Joke
permeating through the song.
The Masquerade sees a further shift change, with the
emphasis on a creeping, more dancefloor friendly backbeat, a softer vocal and
the return of the starker synth sounds, and is perhaps the album’s darkest
moment (“There’s no escape..”) whilst Never Change finds Svensson in a
more positive, reflective and unapologetically defiant mood (“We really haven’t changed much, we’re never
gonna change…The light burns bright”), with Zombie’s bouncier riffs matching
the lyric’s uplifting atmosphere. The Blink 182-style blitzkrieg is back for Dead
Friend, which at under two minutes is more reminiscent of the shorter,
punkier sketches on the band’s earliest albums and Zombie’s work with his
previous band, Los Carniceros del Norte.
However, the more cinematic soundscapes of the band’s more recent releases
are back for the album’s more epic pair of closing tracks, the classy dark pop
(think The The) of Runners followed by the slow-building finale Ghost
House which leaves the album on a more hauntingly melancholic note
(“abandoned heart, abandoned soul, abandoned love”).
Trickery stands as a monument to the current gothic
darkwave scene, the sound of a proud band continuing to soldier on together
with their loyal band of followers through the adversity of fate whilst
maintaining a strong belief in the beauty of the dark soul. With this seventh
album, Then Come Silence seem to have nobly accepted that (although hope dies
last…) they will probably never achieve anything like the sales or play to the
size of audiences that their 1980’s predecessors enjoyed, despite the sheer
quality of their ever-growing sequence of excellent albums and the ringing
endorsements of all who have heard their output, but are honourably content to
keep developing their sound for themselves, their fans, and their art.
