Gothenburg, Sweden is possibly one of the best named cities if you are in a darkwave band and admittedly the quality of music from this one place is quite extraordinary. From Gothenburg is Angels In Shade and this is the premier of the single “Out of Time,” on the label BLCK_FLWRS.
A driving dancefloor electronics beat out a sense of urgency, before joined by the lo-fi vocals. The synths are like a racing heartbeat, with rivulets of higher chords highlighting the dark. The lyrics are about how we are running short on time.
As humans, we live a finite life span, just as everything in the natural world, though with global warming, and ergo, increasing natural disasters, putting the Earth on a possible deadline. “Out Of Time” is a great darkwave track from Angels In Shade. Sure, they are a bit mysterious, but man they know how to touch us through the music.
The lads of Silver Owls are from Cork, Ireland, and the duo have known each other it seems for a lifetime. John Haggis and Eddie Butt lives have been entwined with music, especially with the project Emperor of Ice Cream (1991-1995, 2000-current), and now Silver Owls, spawning the shoegaze single “Blinded by the Darkness” in July.
The beginning is almost diaphanous in its simplicity, with the vocals as the most important point, setting up the narrative and like the video, the singing floats. And like an ocean, things change quickly, where the music swells between the guitar and electronics, creating that front of shoegaze noise, which is glorious, yet ebbs and flows. A shoegazing melting pot of delicate and joy, would be the best description of “Blinded by theDarkness,” and it truly is a joy from Silver Owls.
Stars and the Underground are a New Zealand shoegaze/darkwave project first created by John Mason, (ex-Winterland) and John McDermott (ex-Headless Chickens), and have been joined by guest vocalist Hannah Berry (Talmar) for the new single “Echolocation.”
Angelic vocals drift up introducing us to Berry, her lilting utterances in complete contrast to the far deeper vocals of Mason. Actually, Mason sounds like he’s channelling Carl McCoy, and the lyrics speaking of second sight due to an all encompassing darkness, could just be the cherry on top. Darkness can feel like torture, yet it cannot stop these hearts from finding each other.
Imagine, if you will, that Fields of the Nephilim had incorporated early Sisters of Mercy, but had become a bit more whimsical, nor did they require the clattering Dr Avalanche (drum machine), as the live drummer (McDermott) is far more nuanced. That somewhat goes towards what “Echolocation” sounds like, but also has this joyful shoegaze sonic wall of sound, which is great if you a post-punk loving human, though possibly bad if you are a bat.
Can a banjo be incorporated into a darker style music? Conceding the fact that it has been successfully used in a few horror movies, it would seem that like all things are possible. Enter the album Mountain States by New Mexico based musician Johnny Bell, an aficionado of the banjo. Bell (banjos, fiddle, shruti, cymbals) is joined by Andrew Weathers (guitars, synthesizers, cymbals) and the album out on Centripetal Force Records.
“Old Blood” has droning electronics weaving in and out of hearing, creating a disturbing bleakness in comparison to the vigour of the banjo, as if pointing to something that is at odds with the world. The tune is mesmerising at the end, as if it once held dancers to its rhythm.
The first chords jangle, causing a shiver up the spine before fingers dance across the strings, plucking furiously in “Caldera Repose.” It sounds near effortless in performance, with the banjo singing refrains inside its own tune.
At seven minutes and fifty-one seconds, “Secret Cities” is the longest track and it is a slow burn. It is the drone that holds the track together, unrelenting in the background, allowing the banjos to attack, recede or fill the spaces in between. It is not happy nor angry, but rather in the moment of breathing and knowing we are where we are meant to be,
It calls back to an era of U.S. expansion and pioneering of the wilderness. Of a life lived in a land filled with great beauty and wonders, that could just as quickly turn on you, meaning small joys like music are everything. You feel the past reaching through each track, with Bell as the conduit, adding his own lived experiences, tying the past to the modern era, living with those ghosts, but looking towards the future as well.
Life leaving you feeling feeling a little flat or even a bit lifeless? Have no fear for Tricie andthe Phantom Punks are here, bringing you an undead joie de vivre with a cover version of The Misfits “Vampira·” Tricie Texas, Phantom 1, Phantom 2 and Phantom 3 are the psycho-punks ripping up this little dittie.
The original track has that heavier Misfits‘ style and the unmistakeable growl of Danzig, however this cover lends so well both to the rolling gait of the drums, as well as the jaunty guitars of the Phantoms. Of course the creme de la creme is the joyfully bright vocals of Tricie, that lifts “Vampira” into feeling as if it fits the band like a silken mourning glove worthy of twisting the night(mare) away to.
A debut single has emerged from Pontefract, West Yorkshire. The shoegaze trio of Adam Higgins, Calvin Hazelhurst and Dan Greaves are Void Club, and the first release ever is “Things Fall Apart.”
I hear the influences of The Jesus and Mary Chain in the wall of sonic guitar noise, that almost whimsy of The Stone Roses, especially in the echoing guitar lines, but the vocals are unmistakeably in the vein of Ride. That wonderful style of singing that just soars with the music in perfect symmetry. Lyrics only consist of ‘Things fall apart. From an end, make a start‘, however that just gives the track a more anthemic feel, because there is always the ability to pick yourself up after everything crumbles. Anyone that has Ride as an influence is alright by me and Void Club hit all the sweet spots in this irresistible first offering.
Who are Walty & Malik? Some might say they come from LA, California. Others could allude that they might be tad bit gothy. What is definitely provable is the fact that this duo of Walty (vocals, midi instruments, mixing & mastering) and Malik (guitar) have released their debut single called “Restraint, Recognition.”
The track is a bubbling cauldron of musical styles. The start has a grungy feel, that instantly became heavier, with hints of Type O Negative, but that could be Walty’s deep melodious vocals that are unhurried. There is almost definitely the influence of reggae rhythmically, and for me this makes “Restraint, Recognition” a bit unique, as those beats are incorporated with droning guitar of Malik, and those synth lines that add a dark edge. Yes, it is gothy, however more importantly, it feels cultural and alive, like Walty & Malik have added their own essence to the fabric of the music. That is one pretty cool debut.
Ria Aursjoen (vocals, keyboards), Stephan Salit (guitars), Randy Gzebb (drums) and Jay Denton (bass) are US based Octavian Winters, a peak choice goth rock outfit, and their new single is “By The Stars.” Cherry on top is being recorded at ‘Studio 13‘, and produced, mixed and mastered by William Faith.
Ethereal is the first word that comes to mind from the first tantalising chords of guitar, threaded by the angelic vocals of Aursjoen. There is a gradual swelling in the music, a blooming sense of joy, that is hard to not get hooked into.
“The song has the feel of a sea voyage. The images for me were always ones of the vastness of the sky and the sea, and the feeling of the magnificent beauty of the world. The call and answer vocals are like two people calling back and forth across a valley. It’s meant to encompass that feeling of transcendence when you take a meta view of life and of the natural world, and just fall into the beautiful patterns of it all.” – Ria Aursjoen
“By The Stars” is an ode to the innocence of youth and the promise of possibilities, compared to wisdom and perspective in the later years. Floating the sea of life is not always predictable and sometimes we have to be present in the world just to experience it. Both the sentiment and the track itself are beautiful and gorgeously layered, woven delicately by Octavian Winters.
Low Munroe is a post-punk/gothic project based in Naarm/Melbourne, and Mark Sergi (vocals, keys, guitar) is the man in the creative darkwave hot seat. The newest single has been released in June, called “Desire Limbs.”
Photo by Jacinta De Agrela
The rhythm section undulates and throbs, as the heartbeat becomes more rapid. The guitar strips you bare in comparison to the warmth of Sergi’s vocals, which implore to be passionately wrapped up and removed from the present.
The cadence and attitude is stark reminder of a younger Nick Cave, but the music itself hails from the British post-punk scene, with the understated drum machine and angular guitars. The tone overall is charged with eroticism and longing from the shadows, with Low Munroe sculpting a dark promise for your ears in the form of “Desire Limbs.”
Some albums are capsules of the past and travels that could be the stories for many of us in our younger years. When listening to Skateboarding to Concrete Creek, an experimental instrumental album by Puncture Kit, delivers those warm feelings of childhood Summers and wonderment of the general world, as we look back. Dave Osbourne is an ex-pat Aussie now found in the United Kingdom.
The low, warm tone launches, fading in and out like memory in “Brown Shorts and Berries,” where you can almost hear the cicadas chirping in the background. The drums are wavering between rhythmic and arrhythmic, while a guitar drones, cradling those beats.
Welcome to the world of hijacked sleep in the psychedelic “3am Diary.” The male orator explains that is not your body betraying you by withholding sleep, but rather spiritual shenanigans. It is like entering the Twilight Zone as the echoing last word fades into the growing swell of guitar and the drums grow in strength, becoming a maelstrom of agrypnia causing noise and the voice continues, as if trying to hypnotise.
I am not sure what it is about the track “Concrete Creek,” but some of the drumming reminds me of sun glinting off glass and sandstone. The simplistic key notes are repeated over and over, almost childish in opposition to the far more darker undercurrent of electronics.
Here is the disclaimer…. a skateboard was murdered in the creation of this album. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to the gods of music, and let’s face it… who doesn’t like a good sacrifice?! Skateboarding To Concrete Creek is kind of a study into using drums, guitar and electronics in experimental ways, not only to extract different textures, but also using the music to paint scenes that can effect you viscerally. Puncture Kit has imbued Skateboarding To Concrete Creek with humour, warmth and possibly visions of another life lived, and that takes a lot of talent.
