Giglinger are a post-punk rock band from Finland, who have been around since the 90s. In December, they released a four track EP called React, which is also out on limited 12″ vinyl, and has its international release in the European Spring of 2024.
The first track “Murder,” greets your ears with a sonic front of guitar, which becomes layered with even more guitar and feedback, fed by the ever present drums. The vocals chime in, gravelly and forceful on occasion but this is all about the guitars being centre stage. With no time to waste, it is straight into “Chant.” Altered vocals are anguished and pushed to breaking point, while the guitars surge and boil
The rumble of bass and more completive guitar rolls into the glorious “MIA.” This possibly the most shoegaze like track and it is truly breath taking, whisking you away. “Prague” is the heaviest of all the tracks, in a progressive rock vein. Building in volume and strength, while the low vocals almost imperceptible, creeping in, before they ring out clear and stark.
There is something very familiar about Giglinger’s music and it isn’t that I have heard the tracks before, but rather it is more the way they evoke the love of soaring shoegaze guitar and the irreverence in sticking to a set pattern, rather following the music. This style means some pieces are much longer but in essence never feel over extended, A solid EP for Giglinger.
The new album Glimmer came out in April, but right now I am going to drag your attention to LunarPaths’ single release “A Star At Dawn.” It dropped in March for the duo of Diane Dubois and Kevin Hunter, and I think it deserves its own time in the moonlight.
A depth to the electronics, an undercurrent of something ancient in the Middle Eastern lilt of the vocals and instrumentation, while the drums pick their way on the odyssey. Like Venus at the end of night, Dubois‘ vocals light the way and are a bridge between the past and present.
LunarPaths are masters of intertwining darkwave with world music. Entrancing and exotic, they pour themselves into these tracks because they see the beauty in how an instrument sounds or can influence the overall ambience. I love the ability to express themselves in such an alluring manner and “A Star At Dawn” might my favourite to this date while following the LunarPaths.
Now here is a conundrum…. Washington based project Zabus has dropped two albums within three months of each…this year. Soooo, I have decided to showcase the latest release, The Future Of Death, which is out on the non-profit label SaccharineUnderground. JeremyMoore (Thee Rise Ov Sadistic Youth, Zero Swann, Garozde) started Zabus in 2023, joined by fellow musicians Peter Hallock (Garozde), AlkaneShimizu (ZeroSwann) and, for this album, JeroenAchterburg. By the way, is it just me or is the cover channelling NewOrder’sMovement?
From the get go, there is the jangly guitar with reflective echoing and sweetly morose vocals. The guitars do not seem to want to follow the script as evidenced in “Columbarium” where they go from Southern Gothic plucking to wandering through the track, all the while the electronics blow through in the background. “Subversion” is in the territory of causing your skin to gooseflesh with its haunting simplicity, slowly tracing ephemeral fingers, raising ghosts of 80s British post-punk bands in their wake.
Necro means death and graphs are a pictorial way of representing data, so possibly the track “Necrographs” is about wanting an organised knowledge of what happens after the last breath has left the body. The ability to quantify the final moments and beyond if there is one, “Necrographs” eerily drones with rhythmic oddities holding it together, while the synths wend their way, with the occasional instrumental scream into the void.
The drawling “Captor” leads you down a road of torment of when lovers no longer feel that pull and yet cannot leave, maybe due to fear. The heavy bass is beautiful in “Retribution,” married to the fabulous striking guitars and clicking beats. Honestly, the guitars are the feature of this track and I really adored it. We are thrown into the far more experimental and psychedelic “The All Light,” filled with reverb and distortion, and I can’t help but smile as it reminds me of Bauhaus in some ways. There is also some pretty intense imagery within the lyrics.
There is that Southern Gothic feel again in “BurstOppression,” and it is eloquent in both tone and vocal imagery, with a true sense of loss and complete hopelessness, dropping us in an expansive desert of mortality. Last track is “Solstice,” and it is poignant and dark. Perhaps it is looking back to a point in history where life was given so that life could continue, in the form of sacrifice or mayhap star crossed lovers, but it lets your imagination run wild with the possibilities.
Moore’s vocals are very reminiscent of IanAstbury and are a delight to behold. For me, this is the essence of gothic/post-punk music. There are the tried and true expressions of the style from the guitar flourishes, introspective lyrics, brooding vocals and looking through a romanticised lens, a vision of dark beauty encompassing life, death and spirituality. However there is also an experimental pushing of the boundaries, asking instruments to make sounds that they are not necessarily meant to make and not sticking to set musical formulae, which makes Zabus just that little more exciting. Both “The Future Of Death” and “TopographyOfIconoclast” are really worth treating your ears with, so you might savour the intricacies of weaving more traditional gothic, with something I would equate in the region of when you first hear EinstürzendeNeubauten and it just blows your mind.
Yeah, there was no way I was going to give up the chance to review an EP called Fuck, from a noise artist by the name of ConanTheAccountant. Is this all adding up yet and does he get upset by magic? We have not all the answers, but I can tell you that the three tracks on the EP have been woven with whatever noise that Conan (known to his friends as Ben) can push out of a Fender Stratocaster.
There might be a ghost in the machine when it comes to the first track “Of Death And Taxes,” as strange vocalisations issue forth from an miasma of laid back noise. It is off to the demon faire to see the “Clown Girl From Hell,” and she does sound like a sassy lass performing in a circus of heady oddities, where the music see-saws between show time and walking the tightrope. It seems to almost seamlessly slips into “Conan TheAccountant And The Cave Of The Cursed 1000,” where our hero shall slay all before him with his calculator as it computes and warbles, plodding down his foe with mathematical precision.
Why is this EP called Fuck? I really have no clue on that one, but hey, it catches your attention in case Conan The Accountant doesn’t. Rock noise with a tortured Fender seems the way to go and it is a fun concept, plus it is pretty amazing how many different sounds can be extruded from the one instrument.
Arguably, Robots In Love is one of the best dark electronic rock bands in New Zealand right now, lead by front woman Elenor Rayner (vocals, synths, programming), with AlexBurchell (drums), TonyLumsden (bass) and BrettLemmon (guitar). These very experienced musicians have dropped the new single “Unbreakable” with two bonus remixes.
A slow and purpose filled build up from the start, with the rumbling affirmation of the title, wrapped up in tendrils of a classical edge, enticingly liquid next to the unwavering, steeled vocals of Rayner. Of the two remixes, the first is the EBM remix by Rayner, which has adopted a faster pace, and has a really tribal ambiance with enhanced electronics, while the second, Magnetique remix, happens to be bandmate Burchell behind the desk, creating a second dance track that again exudes an indomitable spirit.
“Unbreakable is about how we feel the minute we walk on stage. It’s about being in the place where you feel at your strongest, and connecting with other people to increase that strength.” – Elenor Rayner
Oh my, for me Rayner exudes feminine power, not to mention wearing that lovely corset, made me think of that other female warrior, Xena, in the video, which makes my heart melt a little more for Robots In Love. This is a boot stomping affair, which I associate with epic anthems such as Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” with its positive declaration that doing something you love with like-minded people can make you “Unbreakable.”
From Athens, Georgia, you can find deathrock roaming wild in the form of Tears for theDying. The band’s current line-up consists of original member Adria Stembridge (guitars, synthbass, synths, vocals) and Cody White (guitar, bass) and we thought we would check out the single “Dancing Dead Girl” off the album In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun.
The beginning is reminiscent of Switchblade Symphony, delicate feminine vocals with ringing guitar work that tinkles down, and it mirrors that classic sound throughout. Entrancing in the extreme, the music flows mystically, and it leaving me wondering if the girl was dead before she danced or like the lass in the Hans Christensen tale of the dancing shoes, she expires al la Saint Vitus disease.
“Dead Girl Dancing” is thoughtful and sweet, in that ghoulish gothic way and Adria’s vocals are quite lovely, but trust me when I say that this band can be heavier when they want to be, yet it is nice to hear this side as well. Tears for the Dying are one of those hard working bands, and you will often see them on Facebook, on the road touring, so if you get the chance, get out and check them out
Brisbane based dark rock band, Killtoys, isn’t+ looking for your approval and instead is bringing you a tale of a vampire love story in the form of the new single “MyConfession.” Mick Bristow, Stav Tsolakides and Bevan Bancroft are our purveyors of this murky world of the undead.
There is something very 80s post-punk about this track and possibly it is the big soaring jangle guitar that is so infectious, working in conjunction with the thumping rhythm section. An immortal soul in love with a human, unsure whether to leave her be or take her into the dark embrace so she might be his forever.
Recorded, mixed and mastered at King Street Studio by Mick Bristow, and the cover art was created by powerhouse duo Jess and GaryJones of Obscure Medium Art. The band have again proven that their style never stands still and is always evolving. Quite frankly, I really love this bold sound that reminds me a lot of the early 80s classic goth bands.
Paul Devine is a wordsmith, a musician, a composer, a scholar, a historian and at heart a humanitarian. The single “Leader of the Free World” (2024) has been born from the stark reality that Donald Trump might win the next North American election, even though he tried to usurp the White House in a coup in front of the whole world and equally is one of the most sexist and slimy humans in the public eye, that has absolutely no remorse for anything he does or says.
The thrumming bass and Devine’s snarled punk vocals, sneer at the propaganda of making America great again through guns, extreme Christianity and perversion of laws. He is the leader of the free world is the sing song chant, because in the end, it as all a joke. Angry guitars and booming drums highlight the truths of how backwards things have become as women have lost rights to their own bodies and racial tension overwhelming.
Not that I think this sounded wholly like TheClash, but I think JoeStrummer is probably sitting somewhere with a smile on his dial. “Leader of the Free World” takes no prisoners and tell no lies. This is a protest, taking a stand against a rising tide of misogyny and intolerance, in the hopes that history does not repeat itself, plus it is an ace song.
Warning… this is a Guns’nRoses free zone! With that said “You Could Be Mine” is a single from Australian band S:Bahn and the second track dropped from the album LoveSongs, that will be released on the 12 of April. The band is made up of DikDetonic (vocals,guitar), KristianBrenchley (guitar), ReneSchaefer (bass) and DenisLeadbeater (drums), with additional vocals by LouiseLove.
It has been noted that the start of this track is very much inspired by the BlueOysterCult’s “Don’tFearTheReaper” and indeed it really does have that tone, however it doesn’t stay that way for long, resolving into sounding like TheSmithereens. The duet between Detonic and Love was described as Meatloaf like…. mmmm, no. It is decidedly far more like the rugged Aussie intonation of Detonic, dancing with the sweeter vocals of Love. And that might be the crux of this track. It is the Australian indie rock bar song of flirtation and after all, it is from an album called LoveSongs. “You Could Be Mine” (back off Axel).
Since the late 1990s, JiJianhong has been a much vaunted musician of the experimental crowd, especially expressing himself through live recordings, a reflection of his home town Fenghua, in China. Melbourne independent based label, RambleRecords has released SoulSolitary, a two track album which runs for nearly forty-five minutes.
Blasts of chords greet your ears before the free form jazz infused rock guitar leaps forward, sometimes with great vigour causing vocal outbursts. The wave after wave of sound assaults your senses, vibrating and prolonged chords hang in the air searing your brain before becoming a monastic chant, timeless and floating. “SolitaryMan” goes from attacking to eerily haunting, with Jianhong the resident ghost heralded by what could be described as Tibetan long horns, yet this is still his guitar. There are moments of listening to the wind that suddenly disintegrate into a maelstrom of noise.
The feedback In “Waterfall” is immense and impressive, stretching forth like a hand searching into the world, and finding thorns and open spaces. Lakes of placid water with creatures below dart around, in their own sphere of existence where the noises from realm filter down muffled and inconsequential. And all the while the waterfall churns the water, oblivious to everything else around it.
What was Li Jianhong thinking about when he recorded these?…well unless you ask the man, then we will never know and I guess this is a part of experimental music. It is mean to provoke and everything is up for interpretation. It is a journey you take with the creator and Solitary Man is engrossing.
Onyx Music Reviews 