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It is the start of 2025, and I think everyone could agree that we need a dose of ritual darkwave, so lucky for us that Portland based Ceremony Shadows have dropped the single “Reclaim.” Timo along with dual vocalists Anastasia and Jakub make up Ceremony Shadows.

Be lured into a space that is full of potential. It is bare down to the bone, starting with an electronic beat and Anastasia’s whispered vocals. The electronics are minimalistic, and yet they seem to fill all the spaces. Jakub deeper vocals lend a heavy intonation that punctures the air. ‘My body’s my own‘ is the basis of this hypnotic mantra.

Three last few days have brought this track into sharp context. The battle has truly begun for autonomy over one’s body and sexual orientation, as religious and political machinations target women’s reproduction and the LBGTQ+ communities.  “Reclaim” is an affirmation that you have human rights over your body from Ceremony Shadows, and they make no apologies for reminding us that everyone’s body is a sensual place that is for their pleasure.

Reclaim | Ceremony Shadows

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While waiting for the release of the album, Knowing When To Bow Out Gracefully, UK industrial goth rock group Deadfilmstar dropped the single “Welcome Back” at the end of 2024.

Slow and stalky as we go, with vocals that creak like an unoiled door to that basement you don’t want to go into…ever. The singer is sick of ‘banging on the glass‘, and then it all takes off in a symphonic merger of synths and guitars.

I keep asking myself why are they banging on glass. Is it a glass sliding door because they are a zombie? Are they tired of peeping through windows at their victims? Or are they stylishly undead but stuck in a glass coffin? I might never know, but in the meantime ‘Welcome Back” is heavy with guitar, saturated in synths, kept in time with some excellent drumming and wrapped up in horror laden vocals, so this is Deadfilmstar.

Welcome Back | deadfilmstar

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As I write, California is on fire, and Vince Grant, the man behind LA project The Sea At Midnight, sent me an email about his new single, “Our Beautiful Destruction,” and all proceeds from the song will be donated to victims.

Was this track written before the fires? The vocals wrench at my insides with the lyrics about the world being consumed in flames and Grant’s voice is truly gorgeous and swept up in the whirling guitar and synths in the chorus.

‘burning so brightly
against the night sky
the ashes are raining
sparks and ashes
are all that’s left
the smoke hides the pain
of all that remains
of our brilliant destruction
our brilliant destruction
smoke hides the pain‘

My heart aches listening to this track. I live in a country where every Summer is a terrifying wait to see if bush fires will take hold…. the last huge infernos being in 2019. Lost lives, lost property, watching both wildlife and domestic animals perishing. “Our Brilliant Destruction” sadly seems to encapsulate this situation perfectly. If it were released without the LA fires, it would be considered a evocative song, but currently it means everything. It is name your price on The Sea At Midnight’s Bandcamp, so I encouraged you to give a little to help in “Our Brilliant Destruction.”

Our Brilliant Destruction | The Sea At Midnight

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Antipole, aka Karl Morten Dahl, from the currently frozen land of Norway, and Paris Alexander of the not quite as cold UK, have just released a new single. This post-punk/coldwave track is called “Sad Lover (Desolated),” and I am not sure if this ties into anything, about seven years ago, they had another song called “Shadow Lover.”

My breath slows as I take in the drum machine beats with the bass guitar’s deep rumbling, which is old school post-punk in the style of Peter Hook (Joy Division), drawing you in. The lead guitar work is seriously sublime, and delicately echoes, supported by the equally lightly winding synths. Alexander’s vocals are smooth and subdued, reeking of cooling dusk, and yet still intensely moving.

The music video is shot between the snowy pine forests of Norway, and an old church in England, with an attached graveyard. This heightens the stark reality of loneliness and inevitable death, but it also pulls into focus that “Sad Lover (Desolated)” is also about realising that snow covered scenery is beautiful, or that there is an austere dark peace around the tombstones of those long gone. It is finding the elegance and grace in that which could be seen as desolate. Antipole & Paris Alexander have delivered another perfect track in “Sad Lover (Desolated).”

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Music | Antipole

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Music | Paris Alexander

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We have been anticipating a new release from Aotearoa (New Zealand), darkwave/industrial group Robots In Love, and luckily we have not had to wait very long in the form of the single “Crush.”

Gamer one is up and the bouncing guitar riffs breathe life into “Crush” early on. You can taste the conviction in Rayner’s vocals as she builds the anticipation that peaks in the chorus. The chorus soars with unbridled emotion and charged vocals that entwine with each other, breaking free of all expectations, with Robots In Love taking you on a musical high.

“Crush” is a track of boundless optimism, where it doesn’t matter what life throws up, that hope always springs eternal and this is kind of refreshing. It is about crushing the obstacles in your path and creating new opportunities. In the 90s, Elenor Rayner was a member of the industrial rock group Soulscraper, and it feels like she is revisiting this era when both Soulscraper and another Australian band, Insurge were changing the industrial scene. She is still breaking and rebuilding genres along with the other Robots In Love members Alex Burchell and Tony Lumsden. “Crush” has already become a favourite track in the live show and it is not hard to see why.

Crush | Robots In Love

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The Texan psychobilly ghouls, Tricie and the Phantom Punks, dropped their second EP, I Look Good In Dead, in November on the UK label We Are Horror Records. If you haven’t guessed by now, it is all about the horror darling…….

First track, “Haunt Me,” is an expression of love, even if they are some dead poltergeist trying to murder you. It is fast and furious in that cutesy sort of homicidal way. True horror is real life, and Tricie coos and whoops her ode of (un)dying love to serial killer Richard Ramirez, also known as The Night Stalker in “Darling Richie.” They reference Disneyland which is a nice touch, as the bass and drums thunder, and guitar crashes. The music video is a wonderful bonus.

The first, self titled EP had the track “Graveyard Party” on it and the band has resurrected it in the form of an acoustic version, which is raw and unapologetic. Sticking to the American serial killer theme, a tribute to the woman who had enough of men’s shit, a song about Aileen Wuornos in the form of “Ho Lee.” I think Wuornos would have appreciated the punk attitude and not painting her as a victim, which lines such as ‘forever scarred‘/’forever hard.’

Like all good punk releases, all four tracks sit between two and three minutes long, but they pack a lot into those few minutes. Tricie has a very distinct voice that sets her and the Phantom Punks up as being very distinguishable when it comes to other female led horror punk/horrorbilly groups. They are punks by name and undead by nature, and everyone needs a little bit of supernatural stabby stabby to spice up their lives.

I Look Good In Dead | Tricie and the Phantom Punks

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Splatter VHS is Caid, and Caid is Splatter VHS. They are the self professed cryptid of Brisbane, who revels in horror movies, special effects and creating synth based instrumental music. The end of 2024 marked the release of a new album in the form of Blue Haired Anime Girl, which rounds up a rather fruitful year from Splatter VHS.

The world is littered in fairy tales, of souls meeting and being pulled into equal orbits, or set for cataclysmic endings or expressing a love and admiration for someone who makes you feel like the weight of gravity is nothing. Single “Twin Stars” burns bright with the electronics bursting forth, tying in the science fiction futurism with looping and weaving synths .

An air of dark excitement pushes through in “Return To The Maze,” and may I just add this labyrinth actually does exist in real life. A basement that is a shared space with history’s ghosts, that is shrouded in comfortable crepuscule that would pulsate with this track. There is no escape from the “Vampires Kiss” and you can revel in the quirky joy contained within ‘Synthmas Kitten“

You can hear Caid’s connection to the cinema through their creations, which is a kin to using music to evoke emotions and paint scenes, just as movies do. One could say that John Carpenter has been a huge influence both theatrically and musically, plus the tracks reflect the 80s explosion of using electronic music to express the modern horror of tales such as Friday the 13th or Halloween, and fantasy love stories like Lady Hawke or Legend (1985).. It is a bit retro, a bit sci-fi, a bit jigger-poky with a pointy things, a bit modern and a whole lot of fun. Paint a picture in your head and join the creatures that inhabit Caid’s mind with Splatter VHS. You can’t always run from where you are, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream yourself free.

Music | Splatter VHS

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Welcome to the retro-futuristic world of Splatter VHS | Splatter VHS

sｐ𝕝ᗩⓣ𝓉乇𝓡 νнs (@splattervhs) • Instagram photos and videos

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The single “Cannibal (Lost Souls),” was dropped back in October, and this dirty experimental electronic track, blended with hip hop deserves your ears. Toronto’s Wrené has joined forces with Caijo to point the bone at modern living and how it is leaving many unhinged.

Your senses are overloaded with compounded voices, buzzing electronics and rattling thuds, gathered in a twisting cacophony, which all drop away to the background in deference to Wrené. Her singing is complimented by the simplistic serpentine like music, that degrades into glitching noise, and then we hear gravelled tones of Caijo, but always is the barbaric and hungry electronics prowling.

For me, “Cannibal (The Lost Souls)” speaks of a lost generation, addicted to social media, which tells people how to look, or change their appearance in order to gain popularity, and consumerism is at an all time high, even though no average Joe can afford it all. The music is viscous and heavy, while the distortion and grittiness are almost making a parody of the sultry singing from Wrené, and Caijo is the voice of those lost souls who just can’t seem to get a break. The coarse versus velvet is utterly delicious, so devour “Cannibal (The Lost Souls)” by Wrené, featuring the rhythmic styling of Caijo.

Cannibal (The Lost Souls) | Wrené, Caijo | Wrené

Wrené Nova (/rəˈneɪ/) (@iamwrene) • Instagram photos and videos

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Berlin based three piece, Dina Summer is made up of vocalist Dina, and DJ’s Local Suicide and Kalipo. They have dropped their new single “Hypnotized” off the new second album Girls Gang, which out on January 24th on the Iptamenos Discos label.

Clattering rhythms greet you, only to be joined by plectrum driven bass and Dina’s recognisable spoken word, until her dulcet tones graduate into singing in the chorus. The electronics are bright next to the sultry vocals and rumbling bass.

The deep post-punk influenced bass guitar and Dina’s singing are indicative of what you might expect of the new album of the group, as they explore post-punk and synth-pop. “Hypnotized” is a sensual, 80 inspired track which will have Dina summer making you burn on the dance floor.

Girls Gang (IDI021) | Dina Summer

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Neo-industrial project Divine Shade is close to releasing their album Fragments Vol. 1, and from this debut, Remi  Thonnerieux has dropped the latest single,  “Hate and Oblivion. “

Reverberating electronics, tinged with feedback kick off with quirky interluding loops. This is leading you to the juicy chorus which is both ground out with Thonnerieux’s vocals and yet, still, the guitar and synths have a capacity to make you feel like you are soaring above everything. There is even a sneaky break where you think “Hate and Oblivion” has suddenly stopped.. but do not be fooled!

Divine Shade has toured with Gary Numan and it undeniable that his influence can be heard on “Hate and Oblivion.” This track is instantly likeable and indeed familiar in a way, but that might be in part to the retro ambience. Between Thonnerieux’s vocals and the rich synths, Divine Shade have absolutely served up an epic dark industrial track in “Hate and Oblivion.”

Hate And Oblivion (Single) | Divine Shade

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Divine Shade (@divineshade) • Instagram photos and videos