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A new single from Californian post-punk trio, Black Market Heart has crashed landed, and it is also the title of their soon to be released new album. Spencer Robinson (guitar, vocals), Tina Brugnoletti (bass, vocals) and Shawn Medina (drums) are going to tell you about “What Happens In The Dark.”

You know you are in for a good time when you start with guitar feedback and it just never lets up from there. The drums set a cracking pace, that the guitars are more than happy to keep up with. There are lyrics about how the darkness is the vampiric happy place and boo hiss at that abysmal burning fireball we call the sun, with the vocals taking equal delight in boisterously telling you all about it.

There is something genuinely joyous in this single and in top punk form, it doesn’t quite make the two minute mark, which just means you get to play it again for good measure. I imagine this is what the band sounds like live, and even this recording has that ambiance of all members being in the studio at the same time. There is definitely strong echoes of The Jesus and Mary Chain in the noisy reverb, the vocals and the nicely left in iconic amp buzzing. There is no fear in the shadows, for as Black Market Heart know, “What Happens In The Dark,” stays in the dark, and what a great track to kick off an album!.

What Happens in the Dark | Black Market Heart

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Gostrail is a project from Estonia, by Marcus Pertel and they create experimental, ambient drone music. The single “Obsidian Halls” was released in the beginning of March, and has been joined by the newest single “Winter Stasis” also dropping in March.

“Obsidian Halls” slowly grows in strength, vibrating and distorting, feeding upon itself as in takes form, filling the ancient halls with sonic vibrations, that can be felt in your chest. It is slow and consistent, the electronics working their way into every crevasse and fissure, while you can imagine the glassy surface of the obsidian pulsating and bending the reflected images. Is this going to be for everyone? Well, no is the simple answer, however for those that adore ambient drone, Gostrail will hit the sweet spot.

▶︎ Obsidian Halls | Gostrail

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Concha Records is a Belgium label that dropped the debut single “Sentimental” from post-punk/darkwave project FAILED, a trio based in Ghent. Production is by legendary drummer Mario Goossens, mixed by Greg Gordon, who has worked with artists such as Helmet, System Of A Down and Nick Cave/ Warren Ellis, while mastered by Fred Kevorkian, who has notably mastered for the White Stripes and Iggy Pop..

There is a sense of urgency in the electronics and growing dread from the whispered vocals, that bloom into full singing and finally are hailing our attention. The guitar works its way into the track, playing the same line over and over again, almost hypnotically. You feel pulled in multiple directions with the mixing of the vocal styles, drowning in the mire of sensory overload. “Sentimental” is a great debut track and the visual style of the band is quite intriguing as well, as they wear wigs and full face masks. Slowly sink into FAILED’s “Sentimental.”

Sentimental | FAILED

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Portland…… those crazy kids with the great darkwave music called Human Hollow are back with the latest single “Could You Feel It Again?“

Austin McKee (AKA Nomenclature) and Lucia Luna share the vocal duties, both of them pulling at your heartstrings, with Luna’s singing wisping like tendrils that are ghost like and haunting. The electronics are equally atmospheric, wavering between lightness and black sickness sitting at the base of your soul, while the guitar gives the track extra teeth.

The band has said this is a song about disintegration and I guess it is up to the listener and how they interpreter the lyrics as I think it will mean different things to different people, but the crux of “Could You Feel It Again?” is this song is about devastation of loss of someone that means everything. The vocals are beautiful, but filled with desperation and overwhelming sadness, however it is the music that keeps us grounded. Human Hollow could be dark pop angels.

Could You Feel It Again? | Human Hollow

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Siblings by blood as well as brothers in post-punk, James Rollings and Jools Rollings are Peak Flow from Doncaster, UK. Like any good gothic band, they have dropped the single “Repetition” for a freaky Friday the 13th.

This track blasts by you as soon as you press start, not waiting to build up, like it desperately has somewhere to go. This is supported by the thundering rhythms and screaming synths in the chorus. The vocals are ever smooth even when pronouncing the death nell on a relationship, whilst the guitar is the warmth grounding everything.

Some relationships are like bashing your head against a brick wall. Same issues, same grievances and same pointless outcomes. This is the pain of “Repetition,” a song about the circular dance of groundhog days, leaving you feeling drained and miserable. It is an interesting dichotomy hearing the lyrics, which is the focal essence and the at odds music that is upbeat and racing ever forwards. The lads have created a music video in fractured black and white, underscoring the ideals of no control over being gas lit and lied to. There is definitely a Peak Flow sound that James and Jools are cultivating, which is dancing on the knife’s edge of darkness with catchy hooks. This is new, so have it on “Repetition.”

Repetition | Peak Flow

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Portland, Oregon, is the land of the whacky, wild and, most importantly, spooky. A new abomination has been birthed in the form of gothic/industrial group Hexxes, with the witchy beings Agatha Hexx (synth, bass, drums/percussion, programming), Alastair Hexx (guitar) and
Scarlett Hexx (lyrics, vocals)

My goodness, those vocals sound so familiar. I cannot workout if I have heard the singer before or they remind me of someone else. Ballsy, yet smooth like Caroline Blind (Sunshine Blind), and it complemented by the clattering, industrial style programmed drum machine and electronics. Scarlet’s vocals soar and are the focus, though you can hear the cheeky guitar holding its own.

Hexxes seem to be drawing from the political machinations happening in the United States, a dark and depressing series of ongoing events, with a narrative pushed by self serving, bible thumping, paedophilic oligarchs and politicians. These events have highlighted how much we take life for granted until it becomes threatened by having freedoms eroded. “Fragile Things” is an acknowledgement, but also it points to holding onto those ideals and small wins. Witches are the best type of bitches, and Hexxes have created a great dance track in “Fragile Things.”

Fragile Things | Hexxes

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Hexxes

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We are going to take you back to November of 2025, and point you in the direction of Californian based shoegaze band, Intercurrent, and their debut single “Arrows.” An extra exciting titbit is the fact that sometime, around mid-year, they will also be dropping an EP.

This is a two track release with “Fall Asleep,” as the b-side that introduces you to the sound of Intercurrent. The light and delicate vocals backed with flourishing guitars one moment, and in the next blurring into a wall of sonic noise, with that voice riding the top of it. Meanwhile, the title track, “Arrows” has a darker edge to it, slowly unravelling in a dreamlike way, until it takes off in a most glorious surge. Vocals and guitars droning together, wrapping around each other to the very end.

Intercurrent follow in the rich musical footsteps shoegaze bands, such as Lush and Slowdive with Rachel Goswell, where the female vocals give them a beautiful ethereal quality. The “Arrows” single is a free download and it definitely hits the right spot.

Arrows | Intercurrent

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Do you have a funny little Valentine? Do you, and they, err on the more darkside of life? Then you might truly be ready to romance your other half with the single “My Bloody Valentine” by Who Saw Her Die?!

Get hot and heavy with the danceable beats, and the breathy vocals, groaning in your ears. Nothing says I find you deathly attractive than background screaming electronics and lyrics that speak of asphyxiation and being someone’s dirty buried secret. And you also get the extra bonus of two extended/remix versions of this artery splurging track. Who Saw Her Die? are bringing the electronic darkwave for you to exsanguinate for the one you hate to adore. So, in that vein, will you be “My Bloody Valentine“?

My Bloody Valentine | Who Saw Her Die?

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Shadows Forming is new album from Helsinki based witchy rockers, Hauntees, which will be released on the 28th of February. out on Xonoring Records. Members, Aiju Salminen (bass, vocals), Heini Kauppinen (guitar, vocals, organ), Piia Jalkanen (guitar, backing vocals) and Teemu Kumpulainen (drums), have dropped the single “All Over Again” as a touch stone for Shadows Forming.

The drums are clean and punchy, with fellow rhythm section partner, the bass guitar, up and front, dusting the tune with heavy intent. There is a lilting sadness from the guitars and the vocals fluctuate from singular to the harmonies in the chorus.

“We want to reach toward other worlds with our music, beyond everyday reality, When we write songs, we describe them to each other through places, films, and moods.” – Hauntees

I really like the fact the single is not overly processed, as if I could expect them to sound like this live, which lends an air of feeling fresh and not bound to being absolutely perfect. In other words, a rawness as the Hauntees wrap their vision around your ears. We don’t mind listening to the Hauntees “All Over Again.”

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𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 (@hauntees_band) • Instagram photos and videos

Initiation | Hauntees

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I do like me a bit of oi oi, two finger salute in the general vicinity of political and social fuckery. Punk music is the perfect conduit, and the Forsaken Profits, from the USA, have released the single “Decayed,” out on Anything But Radio Records, and featuring the talents of Tyler Capehart (vocals), Bryan Kyle (guitar), Jermain Payne (bass) and Joel Perdue (drums).

In true punk fashion, “Decayed” is just a tad over two minutes long, so there is little surprise that this track is a goer from the start. Insane drumming will keep the most critical of headbangers, happily slapping their brains inside their bony casings. The vocals are unapologetic and rough as fuck, like after a night on the turps and with nothing left to lose. The guitars punch you in the guts and, occasionally, delicately scream in your face with excellent riffs.

Now, this could be taken as a song about a zombie apocalypse….. or it could be about the fact that currently the world is more fucked up than ever and we need to do better. The zombies are the faithful willing to go along with genocide and ecological destruction, while having moral compasses looser than a bunch of evangelicals at a youth gathering. Forsaken Profits are loud and brash, and “Decayed” is just we way we like it.

Decayed | Forsaken Profits

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