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ST///LL (Stiiill) we last heard from in 2023, and these three brothers in musical arms have released a double single in the form of “Empty Room” and “Shout Out.” With members spread out over the UK and Ireland, they are gearing up for their second album to drop in 2025 but in the meantime, this is a taste of what is to come.

A lone piano plays, to be joined by an electronic beat and then the track launches itself with a hail of guitar, and the vocals exude a forlornness in the vein of Ian Curtis (Joy Division). The bass thunders with the rhythm while the guitar flourishes and the piano wanders through like a ghost in “Empty Room.”

“Shout Out” is full of atmospheric synths, with a grittier energy and purpose. The guitars and synths meld into a cacophony of melodic noise in the chorus with the vocals punctuating the urgency of it all.

I really enjoyed “Shout Out,” but for me, “Empty Room” kind of grabs you, full of melancholic emotions. I don’t think it is intentional, however ST///LL have created two track that could be on a Joy Division album and this is never a bad thing.

Empty Room / Shout Out | stiiill

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Since the release of their debut single “From The Grave,” psychobilly Brits Midnight Feature have quickly backed this up with a new track “HELL-A-VISION,” with a bonus video made by the band at the Eerie Ink Tattoo Studio, Walsall, UK.

The Evil Dead beginning of the video prepares for the blistering launch of the track. The chorus is belting out the title, that would definitely have moshers thrashing around in the pit screaming in delight. It is a frenzy of drums, cool guitar licks and riffs, and with vocals that are dark and egging you on to join him in the throws of a killer thriller.

If the Japanese have taught us anything, it is never open up and watch a dubious video tape. This might result in South African vampires and having a great band play at your place….okay, yeah play the tape! The music video is very kitsch fun and reminds me very much of The Damned’s “Video Nasty” which of course was featured on The Young Ones, but it isn’t just the video that harks back to this track. The themes, energy and general joy of the genre come through in spades. You should get hooked on a “HELL-A-VISION” with the Midnight Feature.

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In 1979, Gary Numan released The Pleasure Principle, which was his debut solo after two albums with the Tubeway Army. “Metal” is a standout track that is favoured by Numan and has been covered many times…. even by Nine Inch Nails. Rob Hyman (drums, synths, programming, production) and Jax Allos (vocals, bass) are Chicago based [melter], and they have put out their own version of “Metal.”

PHOTO – JASON KRAYNEK

Those flourished synth lines are the staple essence of this track, and they are very much present, but I am also glad that this is not a carbon copy. Having the altered vocals of Allos brings a new element, compared with the memory of Numan’s cleaner singing style. The percussion is just so strong and perfect in propelling “Metal” along.

This is definitely a gritty version that pays homage to a great track, and takes it on a more experimental tangent. A case of sweet and industrial tang that is satisfying to hear if you know the song, and a guarantee that if you haven’t, it is going to pique your interest in following up the original and the back catalogue of [melter]. “Metal” is such a great single and [melter] have polished it up and given it teeth.

Metal | [melter]

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Los Angeles post-punk band The Sea At Midnight are extremely prolific, with the latest single “Burning” dropping in November. This a cover originally written by V. Grant and Marco Cattani of Chemical Waves, who released the track on the album II (Emotional Violence) and also featured The Sea At Midnight.

The track evolves from a low rumble, into languid drum beat and drifting electronics. The vocals are beautifully clean and soulful, accompanied by the jangly guitar. There is a wealth emotion pouring forth and “Burning” elicits a visceral response in the form of tingles down your spine. The original form of this song was a far more electronic affair, and The Sea At Midnight has given it a darker ethereal feel that wells and bubbles with a longing that grabs you by the heart strings.

Burning | The Sea At Midnight

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Phillip Olympia (vocals, synthesizers, drum machines) and Jake Miller (guitars, synthesizers) are Virgin Birth, a band on Never Nervous Records and hailing from Kentucky. They released the single “Break Down the Air” on November 1st, which is the first single off the album Total Annihilation that is planned to drop in early 2025.

Out in the lawless cities, where society has broken down and survival post apocalypse is all consuming. This is what might happen if you had to live in a world ripped apart by nuclear war, and it is painted by the lyrics describing nuclear winter. A voice clip of a disaffected female hammers home the loss, all the while the more delicate rhythms are off-set by the heavy electronics’ droning.

Virgin Birth have said they based this track off the British movie Threads (1984) that is set in an alternative timeline where is nuclear war has ravaged the planet and the survivors scrape through in a brutal environment. Let us hope it never comes to this is the take home message, but you can still enjoy the brooding “Break Down the Air.”

Break Down The Air | Virgin Birth

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David Brichard is the vocals and Frédéric Hyat the guitarist for Belgium electronic band Dresscode, who released the single “Get Rid of Fears” in October. In the video is Florian Gilot who plays live with Dresscode.

Do our fears freeze us into being unable to act or live? This is essentially what the track is about, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Those first notes strike in and as we go on, I am starting to think some of that might actually be the guitar being plucked. The singing is congenial until we hit the chorus, and then they erupt into a far more glorious and harmonious raising of the voices at end the track. “Get Rid of Fears” finishes for me far too soon as I was really getting into, and then it ended, even though it is approximately three minutes long. Ah well, I love the whole finishing with a bang, and Dresscode have made this track smooth and it subtly ends up sucking you in.

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Accueil | Dresscode

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Boston based dark electro project Pneumagnosis has collaborated with Dissonance on the single “Let The Flowers Fall.” Cat Hall (Dissonance) has contributed vocals and lyrics while the music was composed by Scott Theleman (Pneumagnosis).

The electronics bleat and dance while Hall sings about finding the courage to walk away from a relationship, without trying to fix it or ponder what you did wrong. Her vocals waver and bound back in a cacophonist choir around the techno rhythms, which punctuate the wisdom of the words. This is a nice little collaborating trance inducing dance track between Dissonance and Pneumagnosis, in “Let the Flowers Fall.”

Let the Flowers Fall (featuring Cat Hall of Dissonance) | Pneumagnosis

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SEVERIN NI-ARB of X-MARKS THE PEDWALK has joined forces with his son LMX, and the collaboration resulting in the electronic project DUOPHONIC NOISE CONSTRUCTION. The single “Trauma,” has been released on the MESHWORK MUSIC label.

From when the rhythm kicks in, this is going to be a dancefloor killer. Looping electronics with NI-ARB’s vocals low and visceral, are at complete odds with the more dulcet tones of LMX, that create a dawning break in the overall frenetic pace.

There is something a bit old school about “Trauma” and maybe it is that connection to X-MARKS THE PEDWALK, yet the influence of LMX is felt with the more modern vocal style. It is a kin to talking about rough and smooth or steel and silk, and it works so very well together.

Trauma | Duophonic Noise Construction

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Religion and governance should never be mixed, but in the US currently, it is hard to see any evidence of common sense versus religious fanaticism. “Dead Gods” is the latest single from Vision Video, off their new new album Modern Horror, where Athens based Dusty Gannon and co. rage against the pricks.

PHOTO BY JEREMY SAFFER

A dissonance of guitar heralds the beginning and one cannot help but revel in the heavy post-punk bass. The synths strike like a high organ peeling while the giving of hymns in holy prayer, except they have the silken vocals that are calling out the double standards and misogyny that nationalistic Christians hold before them like they are actual scripture.

“Dead Gods” is catchy…. no it doesn’t break new ground, but it doesn’t need to do so. Gannon’s singing the chorus is still stuck in my head and you should take that as a good sign of a great track. You can hear the influence of The Cure and Chameleons, and as I always say, we need songs that unify the dark scene and politically push all the wrong people’s buttons.

Dead Gods | Vision Video

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October is always a good month for dark alternative releases and Berlin based VV & The Void dropped the single “DEVOTION (Release the Bats – Halloween Remix).” Valentina Veil is the VV (vocals, guitar, synths, programming) with Brandon Robert (bass guitar) and Phillip Haut (drums) making up VV & The Void.

Ringing, twisting and echoing envelops your senses between the dreamy guitars, billowing synths and VV’s romantically clandestine vocals. The bass deep and drone like, holds the ethereal rest of the track from floating away as it gradually becomes a wall of melodic noise.

The band is originally is from Melbourne, and any Australian goth type will tell you that “Release the Bats” brings forth the vision of Nick Cave and The Birthday Party and even though “DEVOTION” is not as punk, there is a rawness to them, like an open wound that never heals and they are wallowing in that experience. You can enjoy drowning in the experimental shoegaze of VV & The Void with “DEVOTION (Release The Bats – Halloween Remix).”

DEVOTION (Release The Bats – Halloween Remix) | VV & The Void

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