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Colorado goth band, Plague Garden formed just over three years ago, with members Fernando Altonaga and Angelo Atencio, and in that time, rather impressively, have released an album a year. The latest was unleashed on Halloween of 2022, named Blue Captain on the label Bleeding Light Music.

The bass conjures thoughts of The Damned or The Cure, as the album starts off with “Tonight” and breaks into a cool barrage of post-punk jangling guitar. The vocals echoing in the beautiful shadows of nightfall with a drum machine punctuating the thick air. The serpentine winding of “Land Of The Free” is a commentary that not everyone is so free in a land where money and privilege can buy you everything. The single “Blue Captain” has the tendrils of The Cure’s Pornography curling all over it from the curt beats to the wandering guitar that graces your ears, and it almost seems you can hear the waves of all hope lost, washing up onto shore. So we descend into the depths, with tones of early 80s Sisters Of Mercy in the intro, to be “Bathed In Fire“, a holy baptism by flame. The rhythm pickups in the mood ridden “We Will Be Forgotten” with it’s fusion of gothic roc\k with electronics, which is perfect to set up the last track “Cry” in its sorrowful lament, though you cannot truly be so sad when you hear that twisting guitar.

You can’t deny hearing the musical influences for these two gentlemen but at the same time they are not trying to be those bands, rather paying homage and building their own music from what they love. Plague Garden have gone for creating beauty from simple good writing and that always gives the music more heart. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…. this is Blue Captain.

https://plaguegarden.bandcamp.com/album/blue-captain-2

http://www.facebook.com/Plague-Garden-361762094541437/

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1993 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Ablaze My Sorrow came into being, along the way breaking up in 2006 and then reforming in 2011 whilst delivering their melodious metal tunes. As of the 27th of January, a new EP was released called The Loss Of All Hope, out on Black Lion Records, which also marks 30 years since the band’s humble beginnings. Ablaze My Sorrow consists of members Anders Brorsson (bass), Magnus Carlsson (guitars), Alex Bengtsson (drums), Dennie Lindén (guitars) and Jonas Udd (vocals).

The harmonisation of vocals kicks off “Transfiguration (Way of The Strong)” and then the blast beats hit with the ferocity of the guitars, Udd’s vocals growl gutturally at first and then come clean, while the lyrics speak of the indomitable inheriting the Earth….If Jesus made wine out of water, Then I’ll make wolves out of sheep. The drums push the guitars ever upwards in “Boundless“, reaching forth, becoming overwhelming in it’s sentiment and drowning in a sadness while wishing to be free,

“Rotten To The Core” is pure and unadulterated rage that spews forth condemning those who choose to not think for themselves, matched to brutality of the music. I love the guitar work in “Enclosed In Crystals Of Ice“, smoothly wrapping around each other while the pained vocals scrap up against them like the cruel frost of winter.

I am genuinely in awe of singers that can go from growling to clean within the blink of an eye, though Udd does more of the growling, which for me is a pity as he has a great set of pipes. The duelling and entwined guitars and overall sound, reminds me of other bands such as Sentenced, Amorphis and Paradise Lost, who have that knack of sending shivers up your spine or wrenching your heart straight out of your chest. All the angst, all the pain and The Loss Of All Hope is brought to you by Ablaze My Sorrow.

https://ablazemysorrowblacklion.bandcamp.com/album/the-loss-of-all-hope

https://www.facebook.com/ablazemysorrowswe?mibextid=ZbWKwL

https://www.facebook.com/blacklionrecordsswe?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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Enhanced humans are running awry in New Jersey, making electro-gothic music. The father/son combination of Greg Bullock (lead vocal and synthesizers) and Brydon Bullock (drums/percussion, backing vocals), respectively, are the core of Cyborg Amok and towards the end of 2022, they released the album Etiam. There is also additional musical help from Adam Vaccarelli, playing bass on all songs (except “Wicked Close“) and
Frani Lugo with guitar on “(Some) Sleep Tonight.”.

Did you know that the 1975 David Bowie single “Golden Years“, off the Station To Station album was originally written by Bowie for Elvis Presley, who turned it down and gave Bowie one of his highest charting singles in the USA? More fool him we say and the first track from Cyborg Amok is a cover of this classic, and this version is slower and a little more introspective, like an internal soliloquy. Join the shamanistic ritual for “(Some) Sleep Tonight” for those who are deprived of such things, thronged with foreboding bass and heavy guitar, while “Wicked Close” is definitely more electro/industrial flavoured with a leaning to science fiction, the synths creating a soundscape and yet there is a very funk based bass line that invades the lulls.

Chiming intonations break into guitars and a goth rock phantasm of love lost in “Black Well House (a ghost story)” with a chorus to get the chills. Now, any track with the title “Fire Dance“, instantly makes me think of Killing Joke, but this is not that song. Twinkling keyboard notes and lyrics about a rain of fire from the heavens above, creating chaos. “Toxic 1’s” has a creeping air about it with the disturbing guttural gurgling in the background in comparison to the clean vocals. The guitars with the changing drum rhythms are definitely a brilliant addition to keep you on edge. So the last track, “Iron Clad Heart” is languid and serpentine in its execution, biding its time, as you slip over the edge.

There is indeed a interesting dichotomy at work here. Each track seems to have it’s own blend of styles, not overwhelming but rather enough hear those influences merge with each other to create something you can attribute as Cyborg Amok with mixtures of gothic rock, synthwave, industrial and even a bit of glam. Giving a voice to these mixtures takes a bit of skill, so have a listen to Etaim,,, your inner cybernetic humanoid will thank you for it.

https://gabworxllc.bandcamp.com/album/etiam

https://www.facebook.com/cyborgamok

http://www.cyborgamok.com/

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Always exciting to see a band releasing their debut single and hearing their style. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, is the darkwave duo Now After Nothing, with the single “Sick Fix“, out on the 27th of January. Vocalist Matt Spatial and drummer Michael Allen are Now After Nothing and they are joined by the guitar virtuoso, Mark Gemini Thwaite (MGT). Just as impressively is the having the mixing done by Carl Glanville, who has worked with U2 and Joan Jett, and the mastering by John Davis, with names like Placebo, Jesus & Mary Chain and Suede under his belt.

A deluge of guitar and bass hits your ears, both raucous and refined at the same time. It is a punk like fevour that grips and further enforced with the vocals from Spatial, MGT’s guitar work and the synths moving together in a sinuous dance, fluid and whirling in a controlled tempest, while Allen gives us the drumbeats that keep this thunderous rhythm gracing our ears.

I was at one of the lowest points of my life and without a musical outlet. I was damaged, defeated, and deflated. One day in New York City, riding through Central Park with earbuds in place, I rediscovered a band that didn’t initially resonate with me. Hearing them this time was different though – I felt the spark. That emotional connection to a newly-discovered piece of music was the proverbial kick-in-the-ass I needed to ‘crawl out of cracks below.’ When I arrived home, I dusted of my studio gear and opened up files of previously unfinished song ideas, one of which was a rather bare recording of just a single bass line. It caught my ear and by the day’s end, Sick Fix was complete from start to finish. Listening back to it, I felt alive again. I felt the same spark I had felt that day in Central Park that inspired me and reminded me I had more music inside of me. I wasn’t going to let myself wither away. Though the band name came later, Now After Nothing was really born on that day, which is why Sick Fix undoubtedly needed to be our first
single.”- Matt Spatial

So, there is great energy in this track and yes there is definitely a hat firmly tipped towards the old school post-punk such as Bauhaus, but I also hear strains of Alien Sex Fiend and Virgin Prunes in that maelstrom. Yes, originally I believed these guys were actually British going on sound alone, with their wonderful synergy and enthusiasm but don’t think you are getting some old rehash. “Sick Fix” is a wonderfully modern track and I am eager to see what Now After Nothing bring to the table next.

https://nowafternothing.bandcamp.com/track/sick-fix

https://www.facebook.com/nowafternothing/?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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What is “Maść na wszy“? Would you believe me if I said it means ointment for lice and this is the title to the single for Monument Zero. Darek Jackowski (wind instruments), Łukasz Bejnar (laptop) and Tomek Osiński (vocals) are based in Wroclaw, Poland creating their own style of electronic music.

Labelled a paramedical romance, the wind instrument sounds like it is being strangled to death while electronic servos work overtime, and eviscerating noise gives the semblance of a jazz war zone in a factory. The vocals are stark against the melancholia of the saxophone and fluctuating buzzing.

Oddly satisfying with all these elements together, culminating into something that by all rights, should pull itself apart at the seams and yet seems to be actually quite cohesive. I say electronic crossed with jazz and beat poetry might be my best stab at eloquently describing Monument Zero’s style, and this is lice removing mood music.

https://monumentzero.bandcamp.com/track/ma-na-wszy

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Around 1990/91, Gerrie Brand, started his gothic project, Life In Sodom, which was heavily influenced by the theatrical element, though this soon became a more serious musical affair, as the Florida based band picked up attention and airplay. Over the years, Brand has been the lynch pin with the group making sporadic releases. 2022 saw the line up of Brand (vocals) Danny Heinze (guitars) and Virginia Fuillerat (female vocals) release the new EP, Fate on Nutrix Records. Other artists that have contributed to the EP include Loach (synths, keyboards, programming), Mike Vullo (drums on “Room 212“), Dennis Fuller (drums on “Lie“) and Denis Everest (electric guitar on “Heaven’s Gates“), with the recording and mixing done at MBRS Studios by Loach and mastered at Fullersound Inc.

The title track, “Fate” is a retrospective way to start the EP, the argument that are we beholden to a destiny as judged by religion or do we make out own? The vocals of Brand yearn for more, more than fate and angelic Fuillerat punctuates the beautiful simplicity of the track. There is something deliciously familiar about the wonderful “Lie“. It might be that both the singing and instrumentation remind me a lot of Stan Ridgeway (ex-Wall Of Voodoo) and his ability to incorporate a slightly Western edge, so you can feel the languid desperation, where the bass takes the lead and you can wonder where were they hiding the Mariachi band? “Heaven’s Gates” is a very sombre affair with acoustic guitar and piano, whilst in the background a crying electric guitar is in full lament. Why does it cry? Because as we age we start to lose the people around us to the ultimate end.

Changing things up, we start with Fuillerat taking the lead in the emotional filled “Restless“. The guitar is the light lighting the way and then crosses the veil, as we wait for death to bring us to the end. The last track is “Room 212“. I could be wrong but I think this is a reference to a hospital room, where family congregate to sit with the dying, waiting for that last breath, and often using their own to give up prayers to whichever god they follow. Brand’s vocals are superbly warm and entrancing, enhanced by the beautiful guitar work and drums punching through.

Have you ever listened to something and then thought, how did I ever not know about this? Utterly amazing and utterly enjoyable to the last strains. This is voyeurism at its darkest, following the theme that flesh and blood decay, such is the impermanence of life. The subject matter is treated with a reverence and care, maybe in the knowledge that they also will cease on this plain of existence. If you are a record junkie, then you will be thrilled and fulfilled with the knowledge that the EP is also out on shiny vinyl….. But I digress and will simply say that if you like guitar and vocal lead darkwave then you need Life In Sodom and to check out Fate.

https://lifeinsodom.bandcamp.com/music

https://www.facebook.com/lifeinsodomMusic?mibextid=ZbWKwL

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“Burning Building” is the latest single from Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys, out on Unique Records / Schubert Music Europe GmbH. Kruger was born and raised in South Africa but now calls Berlin home, and the creation of the single is a very international affair with the recording done in Berlin, the mixing in Cape Town and the mastering in Brussels.

Photo by Holger Nitschke

The music very much gives you the impression of a stalking cat on the prowl, looking for a cat’s paw, a plaything, while everything around them perishes, but that isn’t their concern. The angular guitars and jaunty rhythm with super sultry vocals make for a very bad-arse track.

If you will, imagine Siouxsie’s Creatures, fused with Sonic Youth and that might give you an idea of the grandiose sound of “Burning Building“. A post-punk aesthetic, married to grungy pop and Kruger’s delightful vocals definitely make this track both sexy and fun. This is the second single to be released off the next Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys’ album, due in April and we are pretty sure that it is going to be hot.

https://lucykruger.bandcamp.com/track/burning-building

https://www.facebook.com/LucyKrugerOfficial

https://linktr.ee/lucykruger

https://www.instagram.com/lucy_kruger

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Name your poison! For VAZUM, it is deadly “Night Shade“, which happens to be their next single as released on the spooktacular day of Friday the 13th of January, by the deathgaze duo of Zach Pliska and Emily Sturm.

The driving guitar is the trademark of VAZUM and “Night Shade” is laced with it. A warning that not all fawning friends and influencers, are actually going to be there for you when the chips are laid down. But they will lie to your face and make you adore them, which fits in perfectly with the contemptuous music. There is also a second track included that also follows the theme of untruths, called “Living Great” that has this wonderful shoegaze brilliance that never pauses.

Having two very different sounding tracks, even if they are on the short comings of humans, makes this release quite delightful bit of gothic rock to get your heart beating. VAZUM again have given us something killer in “Night Shade“, a killer of a track which is name your price on Bandcamp.

https://vazum.bandcamp.com/album/night-shade

https://www.facebook.com/VAZUMROCKS/

https://www.instagram.com/vazum_

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Miami based goths, Astari Nite, last single came out in May of 2022 and so behold there is now the new single “Bowie In Daydreams“. Inspired the legend that was David Bowie, the recent movie and his many roles that Bowie wore like a glove.

A march into the echoes of another time, guitar driven rivulets taking you into darker places. The vocals permeate the swirling music, while the heavily symbolic lyrics paint a picture, with mounting fervour.

There are references to the decadent West Berlin period, the Ziggy Stardust era and the vampiric role Bowie played in the iconic movie The Hunger. And “Bowie In Daydreams” is also a referral to the beloved track “Moonage Daydream” from The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars and Astari Nite pay homage to his memory through conjuring up his spirit.

https://astarinitengp.bandcamp.com/album/bowie-in-daydreams

https://www.facebook.com/astarinitemusic

https://instagram.com/astarinite43

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The Yets are the dream pop duo, Robin Wilson (vocals, keyboards, lyrics), and Craig Anderson Snook (guitar, everything else), who are based in South Carolina Their self-titled debut EP has given us the new single, “A Letter To A Boy“.

In a different era, before social media and text messages, one often wrote long letters of love. The wistful and dreamy guitar jangle echo’s back in time, while the vocals sweetly give you an insight into her heart and how much this boy means to her as a mother. The keyboards are an understated accomplice to the beautiful guitar flourishes, as Wilson reminds the lad that no matter what, he is forever her beloved.

The guitar work and the ethereal nature really does give this track that Cocteau Twins delightful ambience, though there is something I cannot quite put my finger on, that definitely makes it sound not quintessentially British, which is great. I love the guitar and the vocals, more so that The Yets have their own niche sound that sets them apart

The Yets | The Yets (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/theyets?mibextid=ZbWKwL