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Saccharine Underground is the label based in Washington D.C. and run by Jeremy Moore, who, incidentally is the driving force behind avant garde post-punk project, Zabus. Moore (voice, guitars, 6 string bass, strings/synthesis), released the EP Genesis in June, with fellow musicians B.B. Kille (guitars +tracks 3 and 4), Johnny Wielding (drums, 4 string bass +tracks 1-4), Alex Zorn (guitars +tracks 1 and 2) and Akane Shimizu (strings/synth +tracks 1 and 2).

In Icelandic, “Grafhysi Fyrir Alla” means ‘tombstone for everyone‘ and it is also the single off the EP, lush with unsteady echoing, which is unyielding in pouring Moore’s vocals tumbling from the turgid darkness, where lurks the dissonance of synths and guitar. It envelopes you in the forever that is the grave. “Orphalese” is a fictional city, found in the poetry book, The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. There is a dynamism in the music, yet intimately, is speaks of becoming complacent and giving in to whatever comes, instead of holding onto core beliefs. The drums are unrelenting, tapping out the fall into mediocrity, and all the while the the track exudes a taste of richness, especially in the vocals.

Behold the death nell brought forth in “Tearful Symmetries.” The psychedelic plays heavily in this track and this could be the equivalent to The Doors’ “The End,” as Moore is the morose and death inspired Jim Morrison, singing his ode to the inevitable demise of all. A cacophony of noise and sweeping gothic rock lays waste to you in “Golden-rot,” with roiling, powerful and deep vocals, The guitars are the wailing focal point, flooding your senses, overwhelming and full of portent that you are dying inside. The last track is also the title. “Shadow Genesis” is entirely the work of Moore, just him and a guitar, southern style gothic on the way out of town for the last time, unwilling to leave, but the reaper leaves no room for desire or wants.

“Psychopathologies like body dysmorphic disorder, at the extreme, can lead to a path of ruin, if most of your life is spent chasing a ghost—what you believe the world wants you to be. Death doesn’t discriminate. The end is always the same.” – Jeremy Moore

Yes, Shadow Genesis is about the ultimate end, but for myself, it is more pointedly about life. It is about how we could cowl and meet the end whimpering, or choose to make the most of everything and be the best person you can. Gibran wrote The Prophet, and although it speaks of humanities short comings, it more so brings into focus how beautiful life is when we treasure love, life and freedom. Zabus have given us a glimpse into the new album through the EP, which is thought provoking, full of gothic lyrics and eerily wonderful in that dark way.

Shadow Genesis (EP) | Zabus

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Karen Righeimer (low bass / vocals) and Ivan Russia (high bass / vocals / drum programming) are the Chicago based, post-punk band BELLHEAD, and April brought with it the release of the latest EP, Threats.

They say good girls go to heaven but bad girls go everywhere, and in “Threats,” the woman is most definitely a bad girl. She takes what she wants and creates trauma without a single thought of regret. The music is sassy and unyielding with Russia telling you about this she devil that is trying to break his heart. “Heart Shape Hole” is about revenge, invoking a vengeful old testament God. The vocals are grim and grimy, but then there is this line with lyrics, that just hits you and I am reminded of The Rolling Stone’s “Shine A Light.”

There is murder afoot and those bass guitars simply reinforce the intent of bringing to an end the misery and pain. Righeimer’s singing about the “Shutters + Slutters” giving the dual tone of raggedness. A modern day song about a cowboy that still is looking for his wild west, being hard riding, hard drinking and a dead shot with a death wish. The music grinds out the dust blown tale of the contemporary gunslinger for “No Dead Horses.” The track “Double Jeopardy” has this amazing stalking feel about it, like it knows it can swan around and not get caught because it is so cool. All the ways you can go and no one will ever know what happened, but it is a cool soundtrack, so what a way to go.

So, there are no love songs but what do you expect from a title like Threats, and it is about the archetypal types you might come across in Vegas…. okay, I have never been to Vegas but this peaked my imagination. The EP also has two remixes with one being the title track, mixed by the mighty Stabbing Westwards and Clubdrugs doing their thing with “Hole Shaped Heart.” BELLHEAD really do kill it with the double bass guitar, where it always gives their music an air of grunginess, being soiled or less than savoury, but then you hear those moments of the high bass that add a touch of lightness. Is it industrial, is it post-punk or gothic rock? That is up to you, but you will enjoy all of BELLHEAD’s Threats.

 Threats | BELLHEAD

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Minnesota based Zwaremachine, are preparing to bring in the thunder with the release of their third album, however, Mach Fox and crew are teasing you with the single “Waking The Night,” that has morphed into an EP with the special guest remixers.

Hold onto your speakers. “Waking The Night” is so heavy with bass, you might just wake the dead as your speakers rumble with distortion. Fox brings his creepiest snarling whisper, stalking your slumber, so you find no rest. The mood is oppressive and cloying.

There are four remixes to mull over, as you lose yourself to the after hours. There is the grandiose StaiK SeKt version with a chorus of fallen angels, while VV303 has gone for a lower and heavier mix that could be the soundtrack to a Hellraiser movie. Planktoon with the dreamy synths and glitching 80s influenced industrial mix, or you can go with the strangely pseudo western guitar crossed with the entrancing electronics of Darker.

It has not been easy for Zwaremachine, with power rhythm maker Dein Offizier missing due to succumbing to cancer in 2023 (fuck cancer), which was like a gut punch. They are back with Mach Fox (vocals/synth/programming) and Dbot (bass/vocals), now joined by Paul K (guitar) and Marshal B (drums), and like the phoenix from the ashes, Zwaremachine are back and snarling. It is good to see them back, ripping up the industrial norms.

Waking The Night (SINGLE/REMIX EP) | Zwaremachine

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Without Tomorrow | StaTiK SeKt

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VV303 Ultimate Sample Pack vol 1 | Composed And Produced by VV303 | VV303

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Daniel Edgar, David Battrick and Geoff Tripoli make up the US electronic band Monody, and February 21st saw the release of the EP, Abandoned Wisdom, out on Distortion Productions label. The EP is seven tracks long and is comprised of four original songs and three remixes by guest artists.

With AI creeping further into our lives, there is a healthy fear that they will take over human contact, but not be working in a human’s best interest. This is the theme of the darkly smooth “Artificial Ignorance,” which says the road was laid with good intentions that have been distorted. The clean vocals are easy on the ears, as are the synths. Second track “Drowning,” further drags you under the spell of Monody with the echoing singing and danceable rhythm, The “Drowning” is about choosing the best or easiest way for yourself, by feeding others to a system that doesn’t care about these individuals and groups. When this happens, we will all go down with the ship and message is probably more important than ever.

“Stand” has a lovely gravitas and has the feel of a self perpetuation rhythm device as the beats thrust the song forth. For me, this is about finding inner strength and the synths burn so brightly. The Hitchcock movie Gaslight is where the terminology began for making someone feel as if they are losing their mind, though it is all deflection and lies. There is a slightly oriental tone in the beginning of “Gaslight” and it is both intricate in sound and subject matter.

Geoff Pickney (Tenek/Cyclone Eye/The Nine) remixes “Drowning” and I have to admit he has really changed up the whole track where the electronics kind of have this Depeche Mode edge. You just know the “Stand” remix by Red Lokust is going to be kicking as the beats are doing overtime and the creepy growling vocals invade track. Crane 11 remixing “Artificial Ignorance” tricks you at first into thinking this is going to be an extremely laid-back affair, though it is still stripped back and heavy on the electronics.

Abandoned Wisdom is a carefully crafted EP, with a lot of thought going into vocals, synths and textures. Monody to my ear, almost sound like they could be from Europe, in the ilk of bands such as De/Vision and Beborn Beton. Perfect future synthpop.

Abandoned Wisdom | Monody

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Warsaw is a hotbed for darkwave music, and Grief.Christ are hitting you with their 2025 demo, called Make me wish I couldn’t beg.

They have mastered the ability to create a pall of claustrophobia in the creeping “Sinner Messiah,” that oozes the intent of a want-to-be saviour that cannot leave the entrenchment of death. An air of insanity taints “Safekeeping” with clattering electronic rhythms and fuzzed out vocals that wind over the retro science fiction sounding synths. “Child of hate” is going to grind you up and spit you out with the whirring drone, and yet it is not the fault of the child. It is a modern litany of pain and hopelessness, culminating in the ultimate end.

Blood and bone are good plant food and the track “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red” suggests that the more upper class the blood, the better the quality. A duel of female and male vocals are the present reminder of a relationship gone very wrong. Final track is “Push me back,” and it echoes the sentiment of “Blue blood makes the roses grow so red,” reiterating the ideas of blood and roses, and for me, pays homage to the Bjork single “Army of Me.” in the turbulent rhythm and humming electronics.

This is a name your price on Bandcamp and that is pretty good for a five track EP. Most tracks average out at about three minutes, with each entrenched in heavily morose imagery combined with an industrial edge. This is Grief.Christ and Make me wish i couldn’t beg (demo 2025).

Make me wish i couldn’t beg | Grief, Christ

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US/Swedish band Normoria, released their second EP, Welcome To Normoria, at the end of 2024. The EP is made up of five tracks, and three of those include guest artists in the form of Erk Aicrag (Hocico/Rabia Sorda),  Nysrok Infernalien (Alien Vampires) and MATT HART, who join Angel Moonshine (vocals), Johan (bass) and Gustav (guitar).

Your introduction is an instrumental, which is also the title confirming this is going to be an electronic journey. We think of colonialism as something that is in the past.. history that we should be learning from, because it destroys lives, cities, countries and even civilisations. The track “Stolen Lands” is not just about the past horrors, but also the most current ongoing wars and genocide. Featuring the vocals of Aicarg, it is a fierce cyber industrial song, sung in both English and Spanish, and whipping you up with its frenetic energy. The last lines are ‘Corran defiendan sus tierras que vienen las bestias listas para atacar,’ which loosely translates to ‘Run, defend your lands, for the beasts are coming, ready to attack.’

The man with the most wicked moustache in all of the British industrial scene, MATT HART features in “Paralyzed.” Why am I not surprised that this track is about alien invaders, but none the less, those tricky space beings are tormenting people in their sleep. Moonshine vocalises the distress of abduction, while HART’s emphasis on the chorus word ‘paralysed,’ bringing home the crushing affect of no control.

The fourth track is the intro piece “Divided Colors,” which is slow and laboured, as Moonshine builds up the anticipation for the last track which is the main “Divided Colors” featuring Infernalien, and it is a big finish. Brash and bold, “Divided Colors” stands between hip hop and industrial, and this alone is a comment on what the track is about. This is a timely reminder that being a fascist, believing in some weird racial purity bullcrap doesn’t cut it in the modern era, so Moonshine and Infernalien growl this out to the world as the music pounds out to reiterate the theme. The EP is very current with its ideals and spot on with its delivery, plus three very danceable tracks, so Welcome To Normoria.

Welcome To Normoria | NORMORIA

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Chiasm’s Emileigh Rohn is based in the US, and Jean-Marc Lederman of The Weathermen/Ghost and Writer, is from Belgium, and together they form the electronic duo Rohn-Lederman. The latest EP, Steal The Light, is made up of four remixes of the title track “Steal The Light,” as well as two bonus tracks.

There is the Stefan Netschio (Beborn Beton) mix which is languid and warm in tone, He always seems be bring a delicate simplicity to his remixes. The next version is by Noemi Aurora (Helalyn Flowers) which starts slow and full of longing, echoing and poignant, but underlying an electronic strength. The looping and bleeping Aiboforcen remix has been given a space like feel with the synths creating a veritable soundscape for Rohn’s singing.

“Hear Me From Space” is off the March slated new full length album Forbidden Planet, but only on the vinyl. It is a magical piece combining breathy vocals with eclectic noises and rhythms, which conveys the emotions of wanting to come home. The fourth version of “Steal The Light” is from Sarmen Almond (Man In Motion), and they have introduced an air of seduction. This could be the combination of the funky nature of the electronic mixed with the whispered lyrics. So, we come to the last track which is the unreleased “Boing Schlepa Schlepa Boing Boing,” and yeah, I’m thinking it doesn’t really mean anything, but rather it is fun to say, and this is a spoken word piece with the synths low in the mix. Would not suggest listening to this track when high, as it might cause a brain aneurysm, otherwise this is a nonsensical fun track.

Rohn-Lederman have gathered a wonderful talent pool to give their take on one track, and as always, it is amazing to hear all the different takes people have when it comes to a remix. Not one sounds the same and each exudes a different atmosphere. This is cool electronic music in Steal The Light.

Steal The Light EP | Rohn – Lederman

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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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2024 marked twenty years making music for Nottingham goths, In Isolation. After two decades, lead singer Ryan Swift and bassist Mike Sinclair have decided that they need to move on with life, though they have given remaining members, Tony Ghost (drums) and John Berry (guitar,) their blessing to continue with the In Isolation moniker if they so wish to do so. They are celebrating both the milestone and finale by releasing the EP Light In Dark Times.

The EP kicks off with the title track, “Light In Darker Times,” and it truly is a lovely post-punk single, dark and maudlin, with lyrics about what I can only describe as an unrequited love or the death of said love. The music is reminiscent of the Disintegration era sound of The Cure, between the curling synths and echoing guitars that speak of a deep melancholy. There is a charming innocence to “Middle Child Millicent,” until the guitars kick in. A girl with a name from the Victorian age, has found herself the unfavoured sibling, in comparison to her brothers. The Mission could have written this track I feel, especially with the wandering guitars lines and sentiment.

The name makes me think of the Japan single “Ghosts” and overall, “Phantoms” did give me a little start when I heard it, for it does throw you back into that early 80s. It is a sweet lament of wanting what the heart cannot have and unable to move on from the loss.
“Middle Child Millicent (Mat Pop Extended Mix)” rounds out the EP, with far more synthpop flare and aplomb. It is amazing how different this is to the original and yet you can hear it is the same track.

Kids in shadow filled rooms and a myriad of phantasms connected to a heart denied…. this is how you get goths. And it might be an EP, but Light In Darker Times is an epic celebration for In Isolation to release. Is it the end? Who knows, however, the music lives on regardless

Light In Darker Times | In Isolation

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Berlin is a hotbed of dark alternative music, especially of the electronic kind and Paradox Obscur are a pulsating beacon in the genre. Toxic Razor and Kriistal Ann are the duo behind the project and what makes them a little different to other electronic groups is that they record everything in real time, so what you get is music that is experimental and has a more organic flow. The latest EP is called Attention and it is self released.

“Attention” is a slow burn of a opening track, with it’s gradual build up and it is here to indeed grab your ears. The almost samba rhythms shimmy across the gilt dancefloor, as we are serenaded by the more droned vocals of Razor interspersed by Kriistal Ann’s sultry tones. The single “Slap It” is dripping in sexual tension and innuendo. There are moody vocals which are underlined by Euro techno-pop synths and beats, perfect for strutting your stuff

Cannot lie and say I know what is going on in the lyrics of “Sin Barreras” or Without Barriers, which are in Spanish. The first verse, that is repeated, translates into ‘We’ve been fed mocha They have replaced it with coca Society is mired in shit‘, but however you read into it, they just work. It is trance like with Kriistal Ann seducing you into her spiralling vocals. The last track is “Escape” and it is a return to that techno dance groove that rolls and bubbles, enticing the listener to lose themselves to the rhythm, which might be the escape.

If you are wondering what Paradox Obscur used in the recording process, they listed Access Virus TI Polar, Roland JD-Xi, Korg Kaossilator Pro, IK Multimedia UNO Synth and DSI Mopho. Definitely check out the video for “Slap It,” featuring a fabulous 70s inspired disco cross dresser. The EP is also a celebration of a decade of Paradox Obscur and if you have been following their career, you will know they are not interested in doing what is popular, rather creating music that is pleasing to them and in turn given us some brilliant listening material. Attention is another artistic concept with cool synths, evocative vocals and hot rhythms and we love Paradox Obscur for it.

Attention | Paradox Obscur

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