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1990 was the year the iconic album, The Good Son, was released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It spawned several singles, which included the slow burn wonder that was “The Ship Song.” 2023, and Lunar Paths has taken this classic track and given it their experimental, electronic sheen.

Walking in Cave’s deep, sonorous vocal footprints is no easy task, but female lead singer, Diane Dubois, pulls it off with great aplomb. The synths in the background are a constant, swelling and dropping, voluptuous in their role and the live drums of Kevin Hunter are an excellent accompaniment.

“The Ship Song” has always been a rich track, which is why it has been covered by quite a few bands…. mellow and smooth with an incandescent dark beauty that has been brought to the fore in this latest version by Lunar Paths.

https://music.apple.com/kr/artist/lunar-paths/1652044158?l=en-GB

https://www.boomplay.com/albums/80104620

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French industrial-darkwave project, Divine Shade are ending a successful year, with the release of the single “Heaven.” This track, as well as previous single “Oublier,” will be included on the album Fragments Vol.1, which will be dropping April, 2024.

Instantly attention grabbing, within the very first bars, and when the electronic drums thunder in along with the vocals, you are not disappointed. Wavering between the sweet beseeching and writhing angst, backed up by thrumming fuzzed out tones, it all courses through your veins, infecting your senses with the sheer vehemence of conviction.

“Heaven” is indeed a glorious track, magnetic in the way it calls out to the listener and utterly enjoyable. It brings together aspects of industrial and darkwave, with a sprinkle of coldwave nuances, which the French have always been so good at, blending them into something very special. “Heaven” is waiting with Divine Shade.

Heaven (Single) | Divine Shade (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/DIVINESHADEofficial/

https://www.instagram.com/divineshade/

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Creepy creepy, in Melbourne city, where gothic delights pervade in the form of Velatine and their new single, “Nothing To Do With You.” Loki Lockwood is the man with the plan, with Inga Liljeström, the siren, and it is out on the label Spooky Records.

The electronics have the air of unquelled domination and Liljeström launches into a story of a woman maligned by many, but, it seems, through her own volution, found herself in order to make her life better. The vocals are languid like molasses and just as rich.

Liljeström’s singing, in both tempo and sound, reminds me very much of Jonette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde (a personal favourite), combined with the ringing guitar and synth/programming of Lockwood, framing the story and focusing us on the tale at hand. Maybe it has “Nothing To Do With You,” but everything to do with Velatine and this really strong darkwave track.

Nothing To Do With You | Velatine (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/Velatine

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Edward Butt and Liam O Callaghan are a pair of very busy Irish men from Cork, who you might know better as Arctic Lights. November 17th, was the drop date for their latest single “Melting,” which was produced, mixed and mastered by the guys. Told you they were busy.

From bongos, we are launched into aggressive sawing guitar and glitching electronics. The vocals are reminiscent of Trent Reznor and the staccato style of the Nine Inch Nails track “Perfect Drug.” An air of instability is created by the slightly exaggerated guitar warbling between just becoming off key, while the vocals really just say it all with lyrics like, ‘I’m sick and tired of your crazy shit.’

When your mental health has hit rock bottom due to another person creating issues or unloading their own mental instabilities, is what “Melting” is all about. The walking on egg-shells because you are no longer able to predict what is going to happen next. You feel it in the music, as if Arctic Lights are walking on that fine edge.

Melting | Arctic Lights (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/ArcticLightsCork

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2007 saw the birth of Swedish EBM group Spark!, with original members Stefan Brorsson (vocals) and Mattias Ziessow (synths, programming), dishing out the beats. However, in 2013, Brorsson left the band, citing personal reasons, leaving Ziessow to continue on. Fans can rejoice, as the lads are back together in 2023 with the single “66 Ton Krom,” which will be on the new album out in 2024, on the Progress Productions label.

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The direct translation is ‘66 tonnes of chrome‘, and with the frenetic pace of the rhythm, they can only be referring to a large vehicle, such as a big shiny truck. And behold there is a big shiny buff truck on the cover! Brorsson’s vocals dance between the programmed electronics that come on in rapid succession, while the synths rip down the road burning rubber with those beats.

There is something quintessentially Swedish about the EBM that comes out of that country, and it not just singing in the native tongue. A lot of joy can be felt from “66 Ton Krom,” as if the break the guys have had from each other, galvanised their sound. Industrial electro-pop from Spark! that is going to get your motor running.

66 ton krom | Spark! (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/sparksomfan

https://progress-productions.com/

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As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, Sebastian Sunkler will probably release a few more things before the year is out. So, November was the release for the new double sided single for STAHLSCHLAG, called Abhinivesha. “Om Mani Padme Hum” and “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo” will both be on the new album Amrita, which is slated to come out in 2024.

“Om Mani Padme Hum” starts with the charming chimes of temple bells, before the clever combination of harsher electronics and beats are injected into the track, becoming ever more demanding to be heard in the transcendental mirage of the universe.

The second track, “Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo,” has a much darker edge to it, forbidding and sharp. It echoes with the waiting ghosts of past, cavernous sounding, pounding and primitive, only promising enlightenment to those whom dare to cross those boundaries.

As always, STAHLSCHLAG have pulled something unique out of the basket yet again, combining rhythmic noise with accents of that which is ancient and otherworldly, creating a fantasy soundscape to lose yourself in.

Abhinivesha | STAHLSCHLAG (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/STAHLSCHLAG/

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Since the 2007 inception of Vancouver band, The Silence Industry has revolved around lynch-pin member Graham Jackson, with other musicians joining him when they are available. The single “As The Walls Close In,” is part of an ongoing project where singles will be released with art work, and each will have two exclusive ‘b-side’ tracks.

The beginning of the title track has that all-encompassing heavy bass, which I associate with early Tool, bubbling with latent tendrils of misgivings, leaning itself to a progressive rock feel. The vocals, crisp and clear, combined with that guitar work, definitely harken back to the roots of 90s gothic rock. The two ‘b-sides’ consist of unreleased versions of “Bags of Clay (Lofi Piano Version)“, which is full of slow burn longing, and “These Long Sunset Shadows ( A Dark Ambient Noise Jam),” that clocks in at just over twelve minutes and the description tells no lies. This is a melancholy at its ambient best.

Fluid and engrossing is how I would describe “As The Walls Close In,” as it beautifully mixes gothic rock with something a little more modern, and with that open door policy with other artists, that only piques my interest more. The single/EP is on Bandcamp for name your price, so you have nothing to lose and the real possibility of gaining some damn fine tracks from The Silence Industry.

▶︎ As the Walls Close In | The Silence Industry (bandcamp.com)

https://www.facebook.com/thesilenceindustry/

https://www.jamendo.com/artist/486633/the-silence-industry

https://www.instagram.com/thesilenceindustry/

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In the mid 80s, Tears For Fears were one of the huge names in popular music, topping the charts. One of their tracks is the still well loved “Mad World,” and Madil Hardis has released a cover of this iconic number.

Echoing, delicate singing of Hardis is the absolute focal point, with the electronics simply haunting the background. The Tears for Fears version was for the disaffected, while this new cover is ethereal and not bound to this world.

Pretty sure that I have said this in the past, but honestly the vocals are simply angelic in nature, touching that place within you that causes involuntary shivers down your spine. Otherworldly and poignant, with the ability to drag out emotions of even the most coldest of hearts, this is “Mad World” by Madil Hardis.

Music | Madil Hardis (bandcamp.com)

https://facebook.com/madilhardis

http://madilhardis.com/

https://www.instagram.com/madilhardis/

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As promised, Killtoys are back with “Departed,” the final instalment of the trilogy release of connected singles that includes, in order, “Blind God” and “Another Realm“. The Brisbane/Meanjin three piece, comprised of Mick Bristow, Stav Tsolakides and Bevan Bancroft, seem to be building up steam… so we are hopeful for an album release.

The guitar work, as always, is glorious, haunted by a whiff of horror inspired uncertainty, with deep sliding riffs, offset by the thrashing drums. The echoing and pained, or is it beseeching(?), vocals leave you with no doubt that the end is nigh, and Bristow welcomes the creeping shadows to come and take him.

Garry and Jess of Obscure Medium Art, have again created evocative cover art, mastered at 301 by Steve Smart in Sydney, and recorded at King Street Studio in Brisbane. ‘We are the dead,’ is the climax to the trilogy and that in the end, as humans, we come into existence, have free will to create our own destiny and that for all of us is the eventual passing into the veil, hopefully to be greeted by those loved ones that went before us. You are never alone with the “Departed” and Killtoys.

https://www.facebook.com/Killtoysband/

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Finnish musician Amanda Aalto dropped the single “Vampira” on December 1st. This independent singer, songwriter, and producer has been releasing music for the last ten years.

The electronics are almost in lament, with an innocence in the lightness, which is further enforced by the vocals. An ode to a female creature of the night, whom has had to accept her fate, never able to go back to her previous life.

I would almost say that “Vampira” wants you to feel remorse for the prejudice the main character has to endure, through no fault of her own. Simple synth lines, coupled with lilting vocals and you too can dance the blood bond with Amanda Aalto and her “Vampira.”

Vampira | Amanda Aalto (bandcamp.com)