Have you ever sat, watching the sky in the dark, taking in the celestial bodies, through the substratosphere? Los Angeles darkwave band, The Sea At Midnight, have released the single, “Atmosphere“.
The vocals are tantalising, peaking your interest with the delicate bass, reined in drums and tinkling guitar. There are swells where the music lets loose, floating in the confines of a vehicle, no longer under control, but rather left to the whim of chance.
The production and mixing is by Chris King, the mastering was done by Patrick Hills at Earthtone Recording Company, while lilting saxophone was provided by Tony Bevilacqua. When you hear such tracks, you can’t help but be taken back to the original spaceman, Bowie’s “Major Tom“. A tale of leaving the Earth and floating in the unknown and boundless expanse of the heavens. “Atmosphere” is a tasty post-punk treat from The Sea AtMidnight.
I have been assured that the New Zealand band, After The Flesh, is not named after the My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult track, though that track still lurks in the back of my mind. This four piece, from Wellington, have been around since 2019, and their Bandcamp page also contains demo versions but released their debut, self-titled EP in May.
‘AfterTheFlesh comprises the talents of Slovenian-born vocalist and keyboardist Maruša Sagadin (“Marusha”); veteran local bassist Duncan Nairn; guitarist and vocalist Alec Morris; and drummer Sam Leamy‘. – UTM Music
There is a languid melancholy within “ColdGlory“. The bass is the main instrument of focus, with the jangling guitar and synths backing up. The vocals are intertwined, sinuous, and reaching for the starry skies. “Changeling” has an electronic funk, with off beat syncopation, leaving you feeling unsure and out of step. The idea that one never really changes, as what we are, is always inside us. The track, “PerpetualMidnight“, was originally released as a single in 2021 and has been updated for the EP. It hangs in the air, delicate and sensual, the perfect balance of sorrow versus uplifting. The last song is the ode to love called “Daisychain“. The track builds on the premise that when the significant other has left, there is only bleak loneliness. There is an uncluttered feeling throughout that is saturated in want and resignation.
I really enjoyed the vocal harmonisations within the tracks, playing between female and male, capturing your ears.. The mixing by Bryan Tabuteau is glorious and subtle, allowing each voice and instrument to be heard. So, After The Flesh is a beautiful thing to hear, and the group are growing into their sound, with sonorous and lugubrious gothic melodies.
The lads from the Gold Coast hinterland are back with a new single. Which lads do we speak about? Why the Aussie duo, AtticusChimps, and the track “EyesSpeak“.
Grungy, and almost Black Sabbath inspired riffs, the rock and roll is laid down nice and tasty. Have you had fun with me?, is the chorus that plays through your head, in a not so playful jibe at the powers that be.
“EyesSpeak” is this really nice thumping, meaty chunk of heavier boogie rock’n’roll, nice and tasty, proving that AtticusChimps have the ability and talent, when it comes to changing up their sound.
German industrial project NeonInsect has released another single as of May, with the title “Implant“. NilsSinatsch is NeonInsect, whose forte is delving into a cyber-punk future of apocalyptic proportions.
The flesh screams in defiance as the cybernetic additions consume the body, taking away pain and everything else that makes a human feel. Nils‘ gruff vocals are the programmes and nano bots seeking to assume control, as they pulsate through their victim,
It starts with a few changes of enhancement, until the machines decides mankind is frail and prone to breaking. The road to human race’s doom seems to be paved in the industrial dance rhythms of NeonInsect and his “Implant“.
Back in 2020, we covered the release of the album PrepareForANightmare by Norwegian post-punk band Mayflower Madame, They have now re-released their second full length album as a deluxe version, on OnlyLoversRecords, with five new tracks included. In celebration, Mayflower Madame have dropped the single “Dresden“.
Photo by Tim Harris
The wandering guitars echo and plunge, for going out on this night might change your life forever, whether that is for your betterment or walking into disaster. The vocals are lethargic and almost unenthusiastic, like the singer knows the future, like a fortune teller, and there is a portent of gloom, especially if you take into account, Dresden burnt to the ground in WW2..
The accompanying video for “Dresden“, is a collection of noir, mostly silent films, cut together in a lovely montage of breathtakingly porcelain females. The signature psychedelic guitars are present and the synths have created an eerie background, held together with the drums and bass. Post-punk from Norway is alive and kicking with Mayflower Madame at the fore.
Some music projects go on hiatus, but they never truly go away. After twenty years, DCAstro and Martha A. Hoffmann, have breathed new life into their electronic/darkwave band DeepRed, and what better way to celebrate this than with the release of a new single, “BattleLines” which features Element104.
The low tones are heavy and bass driven, giving the track a voluminous depth, and a long with the rhythm hurtle this track forward. Hoffmann’s vocals range from whispered to clear and true, just as the synths chime out and spin about a relationship gone sour, and the fight to be able to walk away from other person.
In 2002, the album Chimera was released, which has the original version of “BattleLines” on it. I can hear why they wanted to, in a way, resurrect this track and give it another run, modernising it. A note of interest is that the mastering was done by DorukÖztürkcan of ShePastAway fame. The over all feel of “BattleLines” is a big break through track bound for the dance floor, which will ensure we will be hearing more from DeepRed.
The first half of the year has seen a lot of really great new darkwave albums, and this includes, Crystalline, the latest from Norwegian KarlMortenDahl, also known as Antipole and Brit ParisAlexander. This album is now out on the Young&ColdRecords label with it being recorded between the UK and Norway, and the production, mixing and mastered by Alexander at his BlueDoorStudio.
The album starts with “Perceptions“, which is one of three singles and it is a smooth affair between the synths and Alexander’s vocals, raising your heartbeat with anticipation with the rising guitar. “Nightshade” has been known to kill, yet the solemn delicacy of this track might make you want to live just that little bit longer so you might be able to hear “Bleached“, another single. Bleak and creeping with sorrow, but yet you cannot but be mesmerised by the sensual vocals and dirty electronic bass.
The desolate lushness of “Disjointed” brings a delicateness that sets you up for the third single, “MidnightShadows“, where you can almost feel the spirits are reaching out to you through the echoing and enticing whispers. that draw spectral fingers up your skin, catching your breath. The rhythms knock away and the guitar draws you into its embrace as you share with Alexander, his hope and anguish in “Marble“.
We find ourselves at the gently flowing “Infractions“, bathing in its warm heart. The track has a JohnnyMarr glazing with a pop sensibility. The final track is the sublimely elegant “Sentiments” with the low bass electronics balanced by the both the sweet guitar work and high end synths.
The production of the album is clean and so fluid, making it almost ethereal, and yet the tracks will also guide your feet to the dance floor. ParisAlexander’s vocals truly convey a lot of emotion, sometimes bordering on dark seduction, while KarlMortenDahl’s playing in this conjures reminders of RobertSmith’s tantalising guitar prowess and form. Each track is devastatingly beautiful, unveiling the never ending cycle of the dark versus the light, with hints of all the shades of grey in between, as Antipole&ParisAlexander take you to the places that yesterday’s ghosts still haunt, in perfect Crystalline.
From sun drenched Florida, VioletSilhouette are back with a new single, titled “Strange Wind“. This single is off the soon to be released EP Feverblue, which is the follow-up to the 2021 EP, SEMI-PERMANENTDEREALIZATION.
The metronome drum beats are twinned with the extruded electronics reverberating, which are joined by a classic post-punk heavy bass. The clean guitar breaks through, which heralds a burst of joyous, danceable sound. The vocals complete the booming shivers down the spine, as the music runs circles around your pleasure centres.
Longing and need are palpable in this track, along with the cascading layers of instrumentation. VioletSilhouette has mixed post-punk with both industrial dance and dark pop to give us the sublime “Strange Wind“.
The wizard of techno-industrial dance, SimonCarter, is inviting you to join your weird brothers and sisters in the mystical coven through the latest EP, Initiation. Released at the end of May, Simon has said that these four tracks were cut from the up coming 2nd album with collaborator Fabsi, because they didn’t quite fit the overall sound but gelled well together for the EP.
The curtain raiser is “Seher(Initiation Countdown),” a call to the floor for all the warriors of dance and a taste of what is to come. There is a mixture of psytrance with EBM in “HexennachtRave” that interchanges, giving the track ebb and flow, building the energy, bewitching your senses. Big bass beats wub into your chest cavity, cut by the voice speaking at you about reality versus dreams, and you are waiting for your next techno hit in “DancefloorDelusion.” The last track, “TheMagicCoven(Welcome To the Coven),” is slower and pulsating with power, hypnotic suggestion from Carter’s deep spoken words, that you join the witches circle.
May black cats and bats fill your dreams while Carter fills your ears with techno delights of the strange kind, bidding you to indulge in the Saint Vitus dance macabre. Welcome to the Initiation.
When was the last time you listened to a piece of classical music? Many will start to appreciate it as they get older, because we grow with life experiences and often tastes develop. In this vein, new US label, Moon Coil Media have signed Western Australian, Father Robert Nixon, OSB and released his neo-classical album, CelestialVoid. Everything was recorded at the New Norcia Monastery, then mastered by SeanBeasley, with the lovely cover art created by GregRolfe
Yes, you did read correctly. Father Robert is a man of the cloth and God, as the OSB stands for Ordo Sancti Benedicti or more commonly known as a Benedictine Monk. Before Father Robert took his vows, he previously been involved in post-punk, goth and classical projects.
As a classically inspired instrumental album, heavily saturated in piano and backed up by synths, it is unfair to pull apart CelestialVoid track by track. Instead I will give you my impressions in general. Some of the tracks are lilting and sweetly calming sanctuaries, such as the “OdeTo A Nightingale“, with wending piano strains that gently caress your senses. Others. like “Eludemelancholique” are saturated in exquisite mournful gloom, and FatherRobert creates darkly beautiful tracks that remind me of pieces such as “MoonlightSonata” by Bach or the evocative “Clare De Lune” by ClaudeDebussy.
Most pieces would be in the category of toccata, and it really does not surprise that the Chopin piece, “Valse In C# Minor,” was chosen as the one cover version. Not only is it a gorgeous piece of the ChopinOpus, but in reality, it is a very hard track to play properly due to it being in C sharp and FatherRobert pulls it off perfectly.
If I had to choose a favourite track, I might pick “Nocturne In C# Minor” as it has the heart of a FranzLiszt waltz, the difficulty of a Chopin piece and the moonlit supernatural beauty of VaughanWilliams‘ “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis“. FatherRobertNixon, is not only a talented musician and composer, but also a theologian, poet and well versed in Latin. A renaissance man staring into the Celestial Void.
Onyx Music Reviews 