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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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The end of June saw the new single from the UK’s Paris Alexander and Eirene called “Blood Line” released. The duo often collaborate creating dark synth music and the best place to find their music is on Bandcamp.

There is no disappointment with “Blood Lines,” from the pulsating synths that revolve building up the tension, spilling into Eirene’s exquisite vocals. There is even delicate vocal play between Eirene and Alexander and if you listen carefully a guitar also subtly creeps into your subconscious.

You could say there is tension in this track and maybe it is from the knowledge that even though we live, we are also in the process of dying. Eirene and Alexander are very good at creating sensuous music that can hypnotise the listener into moving involuntarily to the rhythm. “Blood Lines” is yet another example of this prowess.

Blood Line | Paris Alexander and Eirene | Paris Alexander (bandcamp.com)

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For us kids, of a certain age, 1984 was a time of huge musical hits, and the Summer filled with the sound of Laura Branigan’s “Self Control.” Toronto’s Jay Draper & the Subterraneans have revived the single, that was incidentally originally released in ’84 by Italy’s Raf, and now has been included in the soundtrack for the new horror movie MaxXxine. I guess this guarantees something a bit dark……

The original (Branigan) version was kind of a rock anthem with these big punctuations, followed by aahhhs, and this is something you should not expect from Draper. Draper has drawn on the electronic side of the force, while his singing is delicate and spidery, ramping up the creep factor during the verses. Do not mistake the delicate for weak as there is steel beneath, cold as the looped winds that sweep through “Self Control,” and it feels like there is a grieving lament in the powerful chorus. There is also a bonus b-side “Ascending to the Moonlight City” and this perfectly fits the mood as an instrumental piece, darkly lit by synths, casting their gloom on grim streets.

Hearing this track with Draper’s vocals is a bit of a spin-out being so used to Branigan’s, as I am not sure if I have ever heard a male cover, so that is pretty cool. He has created an attention grabbing atmosphere , which one might even say wavers between euphoric and claustrophobic, and this seems to be enough to cause shivers down the spine in complete delight. Yeah I can still hear the aahhs, but this is such a great choice for a horror movie and I have to say that I listened to this one too many times….addiction is a terrible thing *happy le sigh*.

Self Control (Single) | Jay Draper & The Subterraneans (bandcamp.com)

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Norway’s Mayflower Madame is back with a new single called “Paint It All in Blue.” This is the second single off the yet to be released new album, Insight, out on the Night Cult Records label.

Photo by Astrid Serck

Looking at the cover, there is a hand with a wedding ring and the lyrics most definitely allude to a relationship where someone has given everything to another and it hasn’t been a healthy partnership. Their signature dark and heavy bass is present with the flowing dreamgaze guitars. The vocals reverberate sublimely as we are drawn into the song.

It is interesting that hands seem to feature so prominently visually for Mayflower Madame and it makes me wonder if it is about the act of holding onto a person or an ideal and the pleasure or pain that this can cause. “Paint It All in Blue” is blissful post-punk, holding you in a sea of forlorn and of course this is a beautiful thing.

Paint It All in Blue (single) | Mayflower Madame (bandcamp.com)

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Markus Majdalani and Johan Eckerström are the duo that make up Sweden’s darkwave act Hatif. In 2022, they debuted their album Everything Is Repetition and there you can find the track “City Beneath the City,” which has been given a music visualiser.

The song eerily rings true of current events, countries enduring a state of war where the streets, houses, schools and everything people have ever known are obliterated in air strikes, searching for family and trying to survive. A man on a loop, walks down a street, surrounded by debris, towards the light while you listen to the dulcet tones of Hatif, “City Beneath the City” is a great track to revisit, and if this is your first time listening to Hatif, then you should check out their album.

Music | Hatif (bandcamp.com)

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Some of my favourite bands are based in the ephemeral shoegaze sound, and I am going to thrust before you Talking to Shadows, a four piece from Baltimore, who Onyx last reviewed when they released the single “Soma.” Band members, Cat, Ron, Greg and Alex, dropped the single “Valentina” on the 26th of June.

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to Cat’s singing, then you are missing out. Smooth and evocative, that only enhances the dreamlike quality, swirling around your ears along with the guitars. There is that wall of guitar noise that lifts you up and takes you away….all of it wrenching a little at your heart.

It would be a shame to try and dissect the lyrics, which have both a visceral pain and at the same time utterly poetic, meaning you should just sit back and just lose yourself in the dark depths of that which is “Valentina.” Cat and the lads are influenced by possibly the most wonderful dreamy guitar group ever in Cocteau Twins and it shows. No, they aren’t Liz Fraser and Co., but then I would be disappointed if they were a carbon copy, and this is Talking to Shadows making their own beautiful music.

Valentina | Talking to Shadows (bandcamp.com)

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Polish industrial rock band Inside Her dropped the new single “Nikt Stąd Nie Wyjdzie Żywy” in May…….. yep, unless you speak Polish, you might kill yourself saying this title which more or less translates to no one will get out of here alive. The track features the vocals of Justyna Gryka and this is the second single off the soon to be released second album.

And it all started with a beat and the rumblings of a bass guitar, before the track leaps out at you. There is the introduction to the deep male vocals followed by a female whisper above, and surprisingly the synths are so light within the within the heavy crush of guitar. Gryka plays between demure and power singing, slipping easily between modes, holding her own, while the guitars soar from harsh to classical metal. Always there is that bass guitar. These guys remind me a lot of Germany’s Eisbrecher musically but Inside Her definitely pushing their own sound.

it starts with the feet | inside her (bandcamp.com)

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Tāmaki Makaurau lays in the Land of the Long White Cloud, aka Aotearoa, aka New Zealand and is also the home base for the three piece punk rock band BURDENZ, who have released their debut single “CULTZ.” Members Jimmy Coldham (vocals, guitar), Alex Ross Smith (bass, backing vocals) and Alex Gallagher (drums) are also involved in bands such as NUGGIEZ, Coffin Club, Jang, Shotgun the Couch and Soul Stroke.

The guitars rumble, soar and dominate in “CULTZ,” winding and fluctuating along with the equally eviscerating vocals searing the air without compromise. They drop into a false lull before once again descending into the vortex of instrument versus man.

Loud and unashamedly balls to the wall punk rock, not over produced and BURDENZ really know how to play. “CULTZ” is a pretty cool debut single from the fertile music scene that is bubbling away in New Zealand.

CULTZ | BURDENZ (bandcamp.com)

https://instagram.com/burdenz.band

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South Australian’s Brave Mistakes is now a fully fledged band, going from a solo project originally, created by a guy who thought he would challenge himself in putting out one song a month. That is pretty good going and says a lot about the character and song writing abilities of lead singer Garrett Cooper.

The vocals are very reminiscent of a soul filled Brian Ferry, combined with bitter sweet lyrics of love , because as we all know that love can hurt just as much as it can fix broken hearts. There is a wonderful play between the guitars that swirls into your ears, with the drums underpinning it all.

“Aching Enough” definitely draws on the alternative Australian sound, and you hear the reverberations of guitar bands such as The Hummingbirds, The Huxton Creepers, The Triffids or even The Screaming Tribesmen. This one really does pull at the heartstrings and there is a longing, leaving us waiting for more.

Aching Enough | Brave Mistakes (bandcamp.com)

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Minneapolis based band, autumn, have been honing their post-punk music since their three member inception back in 1994. Julie Plante (vocals), Neil McKay (guitars/programming) and Jeff Leyda (bass) released their new single “catacombs,” in May, with William Faith (Bellwether Syndicate) recording, mixing, mastering and producing at 13 Studio. This track is off the new soon to be released album, songs about dying, out on Sett Records.

There is something warm and inviting in the tone of the guitars, rich and deep. Julie Plante is quite mesmerising as their lead singer and she sings you a song of love but in the end everything dies, and it all feels so fleeting. Sometimes memory is all we have and that we live on in the memories of others..

“This song really hits on many of the big themes still circulating in our lives right now, but it really came together during the COVID lockdown time. I knew my dad was nearing the end of his life, and I was finding myself really trying to make my peace with this fragile world and my own limited time in it. I was also really dealing with solitude in a way I hadn’t ever before: recognizing that we are each born alone and will ultimately die alone, and yet we are never alone… Much of the video footage was shot up north in the woods in the coldest part of winter, and that too felt right to me. The starkness of a northern winter landscape has always spoken volumes to me of the thin line between life and death.” – Plante

The music video is beautifully shot by Faith, between a snow laden forest and the group playing together. Bones might reside in “catacombs,” but those remains hold stories of lives with great loves and this track is genuinely a lovely gothic ode to life from autumn.

catacombs | autumn-us (bandcamp.com)

http://autumn-us.com/

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