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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)

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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/

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Beauty In Chaos is the gothy super group that revolves around lynch pin Michael Ciravolo, and the latest single “Holy Ground” featuring the vocal talent of Kommunity FK’s lead singer, Patrik Mata. Both this and previous single “Diving For Pearls” featuring Wayne Hussey (The Mission), can be found on the new album Dancing With Angels.

Photo by Kevin Estrada

‘A Watcher, a Supernatural Being, descends upon the planet below. He became transfixed, curious, & seduced by the women & Earthly pleasures & mysteries found. Ever since The Beginning this Being roamed the Earth creating Nephilim. What seems like an Eternity, The Being becomes a Fallen Angel, jaded, decadent, & tired having used & having been through every Earthling on the planet. The Fallen Angel shares its interpretation of how this planet used to be considered Holy Ground, but now it is not. The only thing that The Fallen Angel yearns for is to return back Home. Back to The Gate.’ – Patrik Mata on the premise behind the lyrics of “Holy Ground.”

Ciravalo’s guitar will call you into the sacred space that is the “Holy Ground,” with Mata serenading you from the perspective of a angelic being whom has fallen from grace. Both a beautiful and terrible tale with a soaring chorus that entwines the vocals of Mata and Ciravolo, that could be heaven sent and is very much Beauty In Chaos.

DANCING WITH ANGELS | BEAUTY IN CHAOS (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/beautyinchaosmusic/

http://www.beautyinchaosmusic.com/

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What happens when we have Boris Williams, best known as a part of The Cure and Jem Tayle who was one half of the now defunct Shellyan Orphan, join forces? It seems we get a Vamberator with the debut single “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps,” which is the first taste of the soon to follow full length album Age of Loneliness, out on Unifaun Productions.

For a moment, at the beginning, you are taken aback at some of the first musical notes, which could be mistaken for the baying of the Loch Ness Monster… well that might be an exaggeration, but it is kind of cool and launches into a rolling myriad of rhythms, piano, guitar and electronics. There is the amazing taste of a classical element throughout and Tayle’s vocals exude a confidence and perhaps a certain weariness, which lends itself to the theme of the song about the pursuit of hopes and dreams, but they are forever, seemingly, out of reach.

The duo are joined by Charlie Jones on bass and Joe Nye supplying backing vocals for “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps” and it is really a damn fine song. You might ask why and I will say this. Any track you can listen to multiple times, and you find new and exciting things within, is a treasure I find pure joy in, plus the more I replayed “Sleep the Giant of Sleeps,” the more I was sucked into it. Avoid disappointment and check out Vamberator.

Sleep the Giant of sleeps | Vamberator (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/Vamberator/

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There are many women from the small screen whom gothic culture adore, such as Lily Munster, Elvira and Vampira, but today it is the iconic “Morticia Addams” which coincidentally is the debut single from the London based electro-industrial band Pink Panther Project. Record label, The Circle Music, will be releasing the double album Intoxicating Embrace from members Uela, Alex K and Ether Mu in September.

True to form, the electronics are there, up front, promising a cracking darkwave dance piece. Uela’s vocals are breathy, perfectly complimenting the subtle electronics and all lyrics are sung in German, leaving you somewhat intrigued.

The Circle Music have put together a rather charming music video consisting of cuts from The Addams Family (1964/65) television show, which fits the track well. “Morticia Addams” is definitely worthy of not only being played on dancefloors, but also in personal playlists when you want a bit of pep in your darker music listening. I think we will be watching this space when it comes to the Pink Panther Project as I think they could be doing some amazing things.

Morticia Addams | Pink Panther Project (bandcamp.com)

Home – The Circle Music

https://www.facebook.com/The-Circle-Music

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Mon ami, lend me your ears for I will enlighten them with the music of The Antoine Poncelet Band, in the form of the May single “Drowning Men.” The band is made up of members Antoine Poncelet (vocals), Peter Quilla (guitar), Mark McClemens (bass, backing vocals), Justin Wright (drums) and Greg Bullock (keyboards), with Ingrid Larsen (backing vocals).

Tendrils of keyboard delicately introduce you to the beginning of “Drowning Men” before we launch into the twanging guitar, leading into Poncelet’s beseeching vocals. The drowning man, if you try and save them, could possibly pull you under and it is also a metaphor for modern life, that can grab you and take you under the unsurmountable waves. ‘What would you do?’ demands Poncelet as the dark bluesy “Drowning Men” grooves on. So what would you do? Save the man or listen to The Antoine Poncelet Band?

Drowning Men | The Antoine Poncelet Band (bandcamp.com)

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