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. MaxMason (drums, backing vocals), Michalis Fragkiadakis (guitar, backing vocals) and RoryDickinson (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.
DirtFactory are a pretty industrial lot, literally, bringing out their fourth album in just as many years, on the ViralRecords label in Australia. Brothers MichaelGillman and DanielAllen have brought forth the plague in the form of DyingPlanet, that has been mastered at AbeliskAudio by the HOSTILEARCHITECT himself, MitchKenny.
Callum Dodds from RAZRWHP is on guitar duty for the first track “Destroy It All,” bringing the grating metallic taste, as well as finesse, while the lads truly are upping the ante with an electronic onslaught. “Bones” is the single and the dance of the dead goes hard, laying bare the futility of flesh and belief for everything is going to become dust. We are now in the “Houses of Worship” and there is a palpable 80s feel to the music and Allen’s vocals only add to the disillusionment in commercial religion.
We are going to be visited by the siren called Brianna Smith, the lead singer of RAZRWHP and there is no disappointment here, with her delicate vocals in direct contrast to Daniel’s almost spoken word. She is the angel of death while he is the disease in the title track “Dying Planet.” It could be said that “IndustrialJesus” is a form of worship of KMFDM and NitzerEbb, irreverent and damning of broken religious systems and in that vein is the rather catchy “Antipope,” with it’s rapid fire electronic beats and a fantastic use of vocals.
Does “Mod Matrix” mean modified matrix? A throwback perhaps to the movie The Matrix and how you could download anything you wanted to learn straight into your brain…but then do you know what is real and what is not and the music does not spark any kind of hope for a good ending. “The Body is Dead” has this very cool rhythm that instantly grabs your attention, while the synths climb and fall in tale of cybernetics gone wrong. The calm before the “NuclearStrike,” as the track slowly builds towards midnight and ultimate fallout, taking out you out with extreme prejudice. Track ten is the last and it is the menacingly named and airless “Coathanger.” Why airless? The song has the atmosphere of smothering with its oppressiveness.
This, for me, is the best vocal outing for Daniel, as he seems to be settling more into the role and having guest musicians is a nice addition. I have to say I really enjoyed “TheBodyIs Dead” and my top choice would have to be the collaboration with Brianna on “DyingPlanet.” I already know the lads are already creating more music, and watch this space for a new project from Michael. All is doom and a Dying Planet from Dirt Factory.
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.
Hisham Zreiq is a Palestinian visual artist and film maker living in Germany. He is also an electronic musician and the Goddess Asherah Project is his outlet of experimenting with ambient soundscapes which in essence could be a soundtrack for one of his movies. August has seen the release of the album The land of Joy, which contains thirteen instrumental tracks.
The album is full of light with its chimes, oriental styled sounds and rhythms. It flows with the titles fitting so well and the feel of each track is conveyed through the music. “Delight” invokes a taste of India and it truly is a delight to listen to, while “Frisky” has playful bleeps that run at a whirlwind pace. The land of Joy should be listened to when you want to unwind or need to be taken away to a place where you can be free to dream. The Canaanite GoddessAsherah has the power to grant you joy in the electronic world.
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 PedroCode, from IAMTHESHADOW, to release the single “Walk With Me.”
Ja’kob
PedroCode 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,
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 ForRain” 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.
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.
Dutch musician, JelmerLuimstra, has released in June, the new EP, Words under his project name AprilAfternoon. The EP contains four tracks of diverse electronic goodness.
You have to wonder what someone is going back to when they say they are ‘going back to the bitter end.’ Yet here we are with “I’m Going Back,” a boppy poppy track, completely at odds with the lyrics. The delightful “Modern Lovers” was the recently released single, which kind of reminds me of a mix between Culture Club, Nik Kershaw and Ultravox… you know, that sprinkling of 80s magic.
Actually the beginning of “The Chorus” was giving me “Always the Sun,” (The Stranglers) vibes, however the lighter pop comes streaking through and you get a bit of a rap/spoken word into the mix from Luimstra. My favourite track off the EP has to be the shadowy and more thoughtful “Walking Through Your Day,” as it asks ‘if not now, when?‘ The track has this slick futuristic feel through the electronics and a war of light versus the dark fought via those synths.
Words is very much rooted in the 80s electronic sound that so many great bands used and inhabits many memorable tracks. As I have said, the gem is “Walking Through Your Day’ which I really love. It’s a track that makes you want to hear it again, plus the other three tracks are pretty great as well. From April Afternoon, it’s not just Words, as there is music as well!
HeatherShore and KeganHeiss 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. HemlockForSocrates always seems to pull off the coupling of ethereal and bohemian, creating something beautifully evocative.
We are going back to January of this year, and DirePath are a Greek darkwave based band, who released their debut EP, Unloved. They describe themselves as a darkpop duo who are unsure on how this story ends yet, and this, gentle folk, is all I know about them
This four track EP kicks off with “Distance,” and almost instantly I am hit with the fact that the vocals are very much the focus rather than inhabiting within the music itself which is refreshing. This is a mixture of guitar and synths both having their time in focus, and somewhere I am sure I heard the voice of a female singer delicately chiming in. A winding guitar intro guides us into “From The Dream,” leading you along a path of memories past. The synths light the way, as the the pace picks up and the guitar drives us on.
The title track “Unloved,” has a very early 80s feel to it and a bleakness, as if nothing can fill a hole, as the lead singer bleeds out, and yet there are still these amazing jangling guitars tethering us. “ThePath” has a beautiful play between bass and guitar. It wavers between sorrow and intense loneliness, yet there is still a glimmer of hope.
Dire Path seem to be a mix of 80s post-punk with modern darkwave, and the more you listen to the tracks, the more you realise how intricate the musicianship is. With Unloved as their first release, we will be watching with great interest how they grow and what they do next. They might admit they are ‘unsure how it ends,’ but I would say it is is a pretty wonderful beginning.
Onyx Music Reviews 