Italian band, Codice EGO,are back with a new single, “Errors And Repairs“, which is off their soon to be released EP, Rainbow’s End.
A whirlwind of guitars and shifting drum rhythms greet us. The vocals are an island, constant amongst the rolling instrumentation, telling a story of how something happened to them without any known reason, weaving her spell, drawing you into the musical web.
The EP is based around a sudden and unexplained illness, experienced by one of the band members. “Errors And Repairs” is part of this story, a disconnect between the sickness and struggling to comprehend why and how. This is a deeply personal journey, laid bare for the listener by Codice EGO in a raw and yet stunning track.
Jarrad Robertson is the captain of the scurrilous pack Sea Lungs, with Andi Lennon as the vocal navigator and linguist, while Robertson and first mate Micheal Johnson steer the musical course. “Parlour Tricks” is the latest single which has magically appeared on Bandcamp for your listening pleasure. (Ignore the 12th of April date, because it is available NOW!!)
If you haven’t guessed from the cover photo, it is about those that dabble in the occult for an audience, deceitfully conjuring up the dead, using smoke and mirrors, for fame and money. “Parlour Tricks“is decidedly heavier than previous tracks, with a more deathrock drone of guitars. Lennon never misses a beat, which is amazing with his wordy lyrics that would be tricky for less nimble tongues. The lumbering death march for those passed, and a message for the living that no amount of incantations from charlatans can communicate with the dead. Sea Lungs are here to say. It’s all a “ParlourTrick” but rock on anyway.
Antipole & Paris Alexander are hitting us hard and fast with the singles, giving us the release of their next in the form of “Midnight Shadows“. This is the second single off the album Crystalline, which is slated to be out on Young And ColdRecords as of May 12th.
Echoing sexy whispers, hang between the electronics. The guitar filters through, caressing the synths as they proceed forwards, shrouded in moonlit monochrome. It almost feels like the spirits of the past are crying out in the electronics, trying to hold you between worlds where time stands still.
Dreams, reality, or something in between? A trick of the light has given us this gorgeous darkwave track that is letting us peer through a gauzy, rhythm driven other world created by Karl Morten Dahl (Antipole) and Alexander. Beware of “Midnight Shadows” or you might fall under the spell of Antipole& Paris Alexander.
For myself, the name Girls Under Glass is heavily entwined with my memories of the 90s. The German gothic industrial icons are back baby, on the label Dependant Records, with a new single “We Feel Alright“. Even more exciting is the fact that on June the 2nd, the album Backdraft is being released, and this is the first album for Girls Under Glass in eighteen years.
The first strains of electronics made the hairs of the back of my neck tingle, before we are plunged into a maelstrom lead by guitars, which yet again morphs into synths, melding with those very guitars. The vocals break through with lyrics of finding hope and enduring companionship.
Verdict is… it’s so, so good. I feel ultra nostalgic, and I admit that my eyes teared up with pure delight hearing this track. Girls Under Glass have lost none of what made them so great, and it seems time has tempered them into an even more powerful force. Not only do “We Feel Alright” but Girls Under Glass sound pretty great after all these years.
Infacted Recordings released on the 24th of March, the new single “Already Dead“, a combined effort from TEKNOVORE (Greece) & J:dead (UK).
The beats when they kick in are like a heart in the midst of going into tachycardia, racing it feels at a hundred miles an hour. Psytrance bombastic swirling synths combine with J:dead’s vocals going from sweet to ramping up the fucking gravity with his trademark growling.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any bigger, they smack you up the side of the head with the FabrikC remix that literally stomps. Jay Taylor is definitely not dead, with the screams being ripped from his body as the music slams into the realm of harder industrial.
And for good measure, they have The SaintPaul remix, heavy techno with scintillating synths, that lifts the track into a futuristic realm, spinning you until you are dizzy.
Wow. Just wow. If you tell me you are bored listening to “Already Dead” three times in a row, I think we might have to pronounce you, dear listener, as D.O.A…. an ex parrot pining for the fjords. It’s bloody amazing. The guys, TEKNOVORE and J: Dead, have smashed this and kudos to the remixers for their superb skills. It kicks arse and like a drug, you’ll be coming back for more.
New Zealand is the Land of the Long White Cloud or in the tongue of the original occupants, the Māori people, Aotearoa. For a small country, a lot of talent resides there. Frau Knotz is the solo project for New Plymouth electronic artist Lauren Nottingham, and 24th of March is the release date for her second single “Runway Of Reality“.
Some things in life are like that little red dress that is worn a few times and then forgotten as it is no longer needed in life, like a persona. Frau Knotz is your narrator in this song, a noir styled track, with an 80s electronic pop sound that tinkles like stardust and dowsed in shimmering darkwave vocals and rhythms.
The video features Frau Knotz as the Pierrot made-up usher of the theatre, while the stage is graced by the beautiful Erika Flash. The music video compliments the track beautifully with the near sepia tones. Join Frau Knotz on the “Runway Of Reality“, so you might also enjoy her dulcet tones while getting your groove on.
If you haven’t checked out the new goth rock single, “We All Rise“, and the accompanying video from Chicago based band, The Bellwether Syndicate, then maybe you should. William Faith and company ramp it up with an anthem off the soon to be released album, Vestige & Vigil, out on the label Sett Records.
The drums thump away, drawing our attention, with the beautiful guitar sound that The Bellwether Syndicate is becoming so well known for. However, that is nothing compared to the huge belting chorus that surges forth with such conviction and pure anger towards a culture and system that holds people back, preaches money hungry religion as your only salvation and that is discriminatory towards people (especially women, trans and those of colour) who are even losing autonomy over their own bodies . ‘WE RISE ABOVE OUR STATION, WE ECLIPSE THE LIGHT OF NATIONS, WE REVEAL THE FARCE, FOR ALL TO SEE‘….. Faith is nearly snarling during the chorus’. The most poignant verse for me however is, ‘The will to swim against the tide, To break convention, In the great divide, To dare to dream‘ which signifies a universal fight for what is right and not what is doctrine.
Faith has a very sonorous voice and sometimes you forget how much punked up rage he can muster and it is glorious in this track. The video goes from being just William and Sarah Rose Faith on the streets, and becoming a black mass marching down the street. A wonder to behold and “Rise” is a song that needs to be echoed until the world becomes a better place.
What is a parable? I suppose it is a story retold in order to teach a vital lesson, and it is also the latest single from US band, A Cloud Of Ravens. “Parable” is the next single off the highly anticipated new album, Lost Hymns, which is to be released on Nexilis Records, as of the 28th of April.
Ominous, brooding and dark are definitely words that come to mind. This is the most electronic song yet by the duo, almost alive and drawing heavy breaths. The vocals guide you down like velvet and build you up for the amazing chorus that pushes you sky high.
How many times does mankind have to play out the same futile scenarios without learning from them? This is the premise behind “Parable“, which has never been so obvious in this day and age where we are meant to be civilised, yet nations still act with barbaric intent. This is A Cloud Of Ravens’s last single release and like the Oracle of Delphi, they bring a warning that no good can come from this stupidity, wrapped in a gorgeous track called “Parable“.
Lunar Paths is the Trans-Atlantic goth duo of Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter, and the 15th of March saw the release of a new single, “Silvania“. The band have said the track is based on the werewolf like creature, Loup Garou, from the Margaret Atwood novel Surfacing.
Layers of electronics waver throughout, chiming sleigh bells and drum loops, build a sensuous myriad of a swirling moon bound soundtrack, into which the vocals, sumptuously croon to you, which has a wonderous Siouxsie Sioux style. A vibrant ode the Lycan kind, with the wilderness in their blood that rages, driving them a little insane in the pale light of the Goddess Diana. A pertinent song for a band called Lunar Paths and “Silvania” might have you howling in delight.
Seems those guys from The Drood have a new single with video called “Hallow” out on the label eMERGENCY heARTS. Join me in listening to the experimental, dulcet and alternative tones on offer with the extra joy of a video!!
You are entering the zone of The Drood, so don’t adjust the horizontal or vertical because this is where sounds of the electronics takes on a life of their own. A psychedelic trip into a world lived, perhaps online, where humans look for attention and adulation, as if their existence depends on it. There are trap like rhythms mixed with a slow burn reverse tape feel. Even more fun with the music video, so check out the trippy “Hallow” from The Drood.
Onyx Music Reviews 