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Aaargh, I am running late and I need to show you a single from Bologna band The Peripheries! Out on Three Hands Records, “Colder Than Your Smile” came out in the beginning of June, from members Wiz (vocals), Udo (bass), Flaminia (the monster from the north), Giorgia (visuals), Morgana (beats, tailoring) and Arnar (guitars, keys, vocals). By the way, Flaminia sounds uber cool, like she is a wildling.

The track is doused in a pall of electronic fuzz, and the synths run wistfully, much lighter giving a great contrast to the wonderfully deep bass. Wiz is the lead vocalist here and his performance makes you feel all the one sided love whilst wearing all the cruelty.

The incongruency of the electronics and guitars is really great, kind of a throw-back to the early 2000s EBM music. I really like The Peripheries style and “Colder Than Your Smile” is brilliantly dark and a delight to listen to.

Colder than your smile (Sophistry remix) | The Peripheries (bandcamp.com)

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http://www.theperipheries.com/

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Is it a bird or a plane? Why no, it is London’s test plan, a post-punk trio and they have released their third single, “It’s Not Enough” at the end of August. Max Mason (drums, backing vocals), Michalis Fragkiadakis (guitar, backing vocals) and Rory Dickinson (bass, vocals) make up test plan.

The first fifty odd seconds is a slow reverberating crush of guitar and echoing vocals….which then explodes into a tsunami of noise. test plan goes from lulls into stressed and strained screaming, not only from their lead singer, but also the guitars, and all the while the drums set the course, faithfully driving the rhythm section forward.

“It’s Not Enough” is amazingly dark and forceful, blaring out in defiance in this play of words. There is a punk heart here, matched up with noise propelled melody, vying to be not just heard, but felt through your skin and sinking into your bones as only a good gothic rock song can, so check out test plan.

It’s Not Enough | test plan (bandcamp.com)

https://www.instagram.com/testplanband

https://linktr.ee/testplan

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Time for some dark shoegaze from WrocÅ‚aw, Poland in the form of haunting dale. This band has been around for about five years, but they have now released their debut single “time flies.”

A hail drums, followed by guitars, assault your ears, those guitars reverbing and clamouring, trying to swallow the echoing vocals. It rolls along before slowing right down, a mire of syrupy noise, then striking one last discordant push.

“time flies” blasts the cobwebs out of your ears, in the nicest possible way. The vocals just blend into the murky wall of shoegazed pandemonium and I really like the discord versus melody. A worthy debut for haunting dale.

time flies | haunting dale (bandcamp.com)

https://linktr.ee/hauntingdale

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When The Soft Moon’s Jose Luis Vasquez suddenly passed away, it sent a ripple of shock through the darkwave/industrial community worldwide due to the refreshing influence of his songs. LOVER/ABUSER is a relatively new band from Arizona and they have covered The Soft Moon’s track “CHOKE.”

Though the time signature is the same, this new version is saturated with reverberating guitar, so not necessarily less electronic but with a more metallic taste. You can definitely recognise “CHOKE,” but it is nice to hear that it isn’t a carbon copy with the cleaner vocals from possibly more than one singer. A tribute to a lost icon from LOVER/ABUSER, and maybe check out their other track, “Star Nursery” with it’s classical piano lit with moonlight.

▶︎ CHOKE | LOVER/ABUSER (bandcamp.com)

https://www.instagram.com/lover.abuser?utm_source=qr&igsh=cXEycGE5OWdpbng1

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The saying is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and this could be said for young Norwegian guitarist Ja’kob, son of yet another amazing guitarist Karl Morten Dahl, better known as Antipole. They have joined forces with Pedro Code, from IAMTHESHADOW, to release the single “Walk With Me.”

Ja’kob

Pedro Code has a voice that could make you melt with it’s luscious tones and his contribution of vocals and lyrics sits so very well in the guitar laden music being laid down. Those guitars roll and play around each other in a mesmerising dance, which is beautiful to behold.

The music video is set between a Norwegian forest and a shuttered room, a play of light versus dark, of open spaces in contrast to the claustrophobic setting Code finds himself in. “Walk With Me” is delicate and at the same time sombre with the smooth deep intonations of Code. Antipole is a man that can make a guitar speak volumes and I can also see a long career in the music industry for Ja’kob,

Walk With Me (ft. Pedro Code) | Antipole & Ja’kob | Antipole (bandcamp.com)

Facebook – Antipole

Facebook – IAMTHESHADOW

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I love me some perfect post-punk and sometimes it is made even better when there is a story behind. Los Angeles goths, The Sea At Midnight have dropped the track “Wait For Rain” and I learnt something about the Colorado River.

This is literally the perfect darkwave track, a mixture of spine tingling guitars and haunting synths. The chorus is evocative to the point that you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck raise as the synths sparkle against the dirge of the guitars.

Colorado is currently in drought and has been for approximately twenty years, which is a predicament I cannot even get my head around knowing what it is like enduring maybe four years, but knowing there will be huge rains later. The lyrics are truly disheartening, like you can feel the desperation of the farmers and residents as they watch their world become a dust bowl, desperate for soaking rain. The vocals are so very engaging and the music really beautiful. Living in hope and “Waiting For Rain” is a perfect song from The Sea At Midnight.

https://theseaatmidnight.bandcamp.com/track/wait-for-rain

https://www.facebook.com/theseaatmidnight

http://linktr.ee/theseaatmidnight

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Stuff has always been a great off the cuff description that could basically mean anything. “Stuff” is also the new single from Naarm (Melbourne) based duo Roles, who showcase their electronic eclectic experimental craft.

Yeah, the dulcet tones of Love are going to be the focus with the rather cute electronics bleating and blooping off-kilter, in a discordant fashion which makes it oddly endearing. There is the chiming in of a guitar to punctuate the beat and a feeling of whimsy throughout.

The video Roles has created for the track is them entertaining a beanie wearing skeleton, through the streets and parks of Melbourne as well as divining tarot cards and in general having a good time. It’s amazing!!! ‘Stuff” is quirky and just plain fun, rounded out by the music video, and let’s face it, growing up isn’t half as much fun as peering through the looking glass of a child.

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Home – Roles (rolesband.com)

Home – Roles (rolesband.com)

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Chris and Dexy Valentine are California based Magic Wands, a duo dealing in dreamy and shadowy shoegaze. Their latest single “Hide” has been released on Metropolis Records.

Gosh, this is a throwback to the 90s with the glorious dark shoegaze of acts like Lush and Curve, both vocally and with those swirling, shimmering guitars. You also get an In The Dark Mix where you can keep enjoying the reverbing dreaminess.

Fans of Twin Tribes and She Past Away should definitely check out Magic Wands if they haven’t already. The dark heavy tones are both dramatic and almost otherworldly, when awash with the decadently honeyed vocals in “Hide,” which is a smidge under three minutes and it will entrance you completely. All of this is good…. very, very good..

Hide | Magic Wands (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/themagicwands/

http://www.magicwandsband.com/

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If you are a fan of The Cure and David Bowie, then you would definitely heard of Reeves Gabrels, an iconic guitarist, who has been a member of The Cure since 2012 and was heavily involved especially in the Bowie project Tin Machine, Industrial metal aficionados, Derision Cult have created the single “Warning Signs” with fellow American Gabrels heating up the strings, released on the Glitch Mode Recordings label.

Let there be rock, and there was rock with a driving force of epic proportions. The vocals of Dave McAnally could strip the paint off a brothel, and he is joined by Sean Payne, Jesse Hunt and Brad Huston, as they crush the metal into industrial shards. Gabrels makes his lead guitar wail and seamlessly waltz through the carnage wrought by Derision Cult. The video, created by Empire Animae, is kind of like watching a whacky animated apocalyptic Mad Max version of the band, hyped up on acid, and it is amazing. You really need to view it in all its glory.

The world, it feels, has been falling into a dark chasm, pushed by war, fuelled by extremism and holier than thou righteousness. How did it come to this? Depends if you were watching for the hints or the “Warning Signs.” Derision Cult are going to attack your senses and they aren’t asking you for permission. They are screaming for you to open your eyes and see the whole picture. When there are “Warning Signs,” fuck the system.

Warning Signs (featuring Reeves Gabrels) | Derision Cult (bandcamp.com)

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Heather Shore and Kegan Heiss are the cool kids from Pittsburgh. Their cool factor lays in the fact they are duo behind the avant-garde post-punk project Hemlock For Socrates, who have a new single out, titled “You’re Not Here.”

Shore’s vocals are the focal point, lilting and mesmerising within the pulsating electronics. The guitar adds an air of experimental surrealism, as the track divulges a relationship where one never seems to get close enough to truly understand or know the other, as if they are hiding who they really are.

With “You’re Not Here,” you can almost taste the traces of sadness and frustration, while the static electronics give the impression of a glitch in the human. Hemlock For Socrates always seems to pull off the coupling of ethereal and bohemian, creating something beautifully evocative.

You’re Not Here | Hemlock for Socrates (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/hemlockforsocrates/

https://www.instagram.com/hemlockforsocrates/