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You might say Witches Falls could be one of the most coolest names a place could be called and indeed it is a real locale, situated on Tamborine Mountain, in Australia. Gold Coast based Chiffon Magnifique, brain child of Jed A Walters, have sprung forth a darkwave single, also named “Witches Falls,” with an equally creepy video set in said area.

Echoing and ringing post-punk guitar on this track is really beautiful, setting the swirling tone, that sweeps you along for the ride. Walter’s vocals, deep and longing, beseech you for understanding, for one that finds the modern world, at times, so overwhelming, they need to retreat to the calm that is the quiet arms of the natural world. The video conveys the self doubt in a mind clouded in a tormented perception that they are forever alone and unwanted. The house full of curios, changes to the city (Vinnies’ Dive Bar), before a furious night drive to the Falls, and their majestic ancient rain forest, in which the “Witches Falls” resides.

What could possibly top this great track? Maybe the knowledge that in 2024, we can expect the debut album named Anxietika, which, with all the current singles, you know is going to be punching well above its weight with all the gothic goodness Walters puts into his music. The man is seriously talented and very heavily involved in the dark alternative scene in South-East Queensland and I cannot stress enough to watch this space because Chiffon Magnifique are just starting to hit their straps, so find your way to “Witches Falls.”

Witches Falls | Chiffon Magnifique (bandcamp.com)

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Scenius are a dark synthpop duo, hailing from Leeds in the UK. Composed of UK producer Steve Whitfield (The Cure, The Mission) and French singer Fabrice Nau, they released their album Life Is A Thing, back in May but we are going to touch upon the single off the album, “Chinese Room.”

There is a simplicity to the track that makes it entrancing, almost dream like. The sound of electronics harken back to late 70s and early 80s acts like John Foxx, Gary Numan and German pioneers, Kaftwerk. Nau’s vocals are seductive and unhurried, with that French accent only enhancing the cool of track.

Together with the video for the single, I do feel “Chinese Room” is a reference to heroin. The video is a party slowed down, where those participating in the drug use are only existing in the moment and Chinese rock is a euphemism for heroin, a la the Ramones single “Chinese Rock.” I do love the throwback nod to past electronica heroes, but they have a distinct modern touch all over this track. You should listen to the “Chinese Room,” but be warned, you may become addicted to Scenius.

Chinese Room | Scenius (bandcamp.com)

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Peak Flow are a darkwave duo from York in the UK, and their debut single “Running To You” was released in June, but who are we to hold back on a great track?! Not I. James and Jools have said they draw inspiration from post-punk icons such as Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cure, and Jesus and Mary Chain.

From the beginning keyboard notes, this track promises to become stuck in your head, especially when it comes to the chorus. The vocals are clean and light in comparison to the wonderfully heavy bass. The storyline is from the perspective of two people, where one is still in love and the other no longer feels any empathy for their lover. Honestly, this is such a catchy tune and should really be something that graces the dancefloor with other songs such as Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”. Just saying, if people give Peak Flow a chance, then “Running To You” might become a classic.

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September was a big month for some really good electronic music and Sweden’s Hatif, most certainly delivers some quality releases, which leads us to the new single “Heredity.” Under license to the label Town & Towers Records, the duo of  Markus Majdalani and Johan Eckerström, seems to not currently have an album attached to this new track.

Photo by Daniel Kwon

The electronic clicks take up a flamenco style rhythm and Majdalani‘s singing is smooth and entrancing, then it kicks up an extra notch of cool with the harmonising. The synths move from light to dramatic keeping you on the edge of your seat, while the programming spasmodically still clicks and whirrs.

I’m going to be a bit cheeky and say Hatif could be channelling the spirit of another classic Swedish band Covenant, and that is not a bad thing with the harmonies and building electronic textures. Hatif have said their music is easy to listen to, and I have to say I completely agree with them. “Heredity” is part of the growing legacy that Hatif are putting down.

Heredity | Hatif (bandcamp.com)

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From the late 70s, into the early 80s, KISS were at the height of their musical success, and well known for, at the time, the outrageous makeup and stage outfits. October is Halloween month, and Michigan based Coley Kennedy (voice, keyboards, electronic drums, songwriter), has released the single “Just Like Kiss (Halloween’83),” which is about dressing up as your favourite original KISS character, to go trick or treating. He is joined by Pete Javier (guitars, bass guitar), Hattie Blue Kennedy, (vocals) and Jude Kennedy (vocals).

The bass guitar is like the death nell of a church bell, while the rhythm plods along at an equally purposed pace. Coley Kennedy’s vocals utterly compliment the eerie atmosphere, like a dark memory of a nightmare that you might have had trouble waking up from. ‘Take your candy and run‘ because we can be “Just Like Kiss (Halloween ’83),”scaring old ladies with Coley Kennedy’s grave post-punk affair. Which KISS member will you be?

Just Like Kiss (Halloween ’83) | Coley Kennedy (bandcamp.com)

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The latest single from Robots In Love is here, with a video included, for the track “Gossip In Your Head.” Ex-pat Aussie, Elenor Raynor, who is based in Ōtepoti (Dunedin), is the driving force behind the project, and the other current members are Alex Burchell on drums, guitarist Pierre Higbee and bassist Tony Lumsden.

“This year, friends The Sound Key played me some of their music and I was particularly enthralled by a song called ‘Gossip in Your Head’, and so it was recorded in the Robots In Love studio with Pierre Higbee on guitars and Alex Burchell on drums. Alex then produced a remix which was even more atmospheric than the original recording, emphasising the haunting vocal harmonies. The depth of emotion in the remix captivated everyone who heard it, and so it became the A-side of the single release: a masterpiece of beautiful dark pop.” – Elenor Rayner

The gossamer tendrils of this song are hauntingly beautiful and are only enhanced by Rayner’s delicately phenomenal vocals. The words are weighted by melancholy, as the speaker seems to have an internal discussion, torn by the voices that feed self doubt, plucking at mental health. I love there is such a simplicity to the music that showcases the play between the vocals and guitars. Robots In Love have most definitely brought out the darkness in “Gossip In Your Head,” and it is a jewel of a track.

Gossip In Your Head | Robots In Love (bandcamp.com)

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Ashes Fallen are a band that have been releasing music, in the goth rock/post-punk style since 2019, and September brings us the offering of a new album, Walk Through Fire, recorded at The Chapel 1898. Members are James Perry (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboard, drums), Michelle Perry (keyboard, vocals, percussion) and Jason Shaw (guitar). If the name James Perry seems familiar, then you would be correct as he is also a member of industrial rock group Deathline International.

Photo by Kevin Vonesper

Your pointy buckle boots are going to be knocked off just from the opening track. “Damn Me” is steeped in guitar fuelled angst, while the chorus of “The Last Mistake” is punchy with a punk vibe, though shrouded in gothic peeling synths. Southern gothic is alive and kicking with “Reborn In The Cleansing Fire,” as you are immersed in the Fields OF The Nephilim like drawling guitar and ride across the high plains of self destruction.

“Remember Who You Are” is a really glorious track in my humble opinion, between chiming synths, clean guitar, and the soaring vocals in the chorus, just make this so dynamic and anthemic. The idea that everything is far too busy busy oozes from the “New Normal” as the majority in the lower socio-economic strata struggle with less money and higher expenses.

Social media has made a mockery of what is normal in many ways, and this is reflected in “Anxiety Society” and the recognition 6 representations. A festering wound will become a “Scar” and though there is a lament within this track, there is still a whisper of hope and there is a hint of Killing Joke’s “Love Like Blood” in the guitar work.

Even in the face of doom, real love is often all we have to hold onto and “At The End Of All Things” is an ode to this love without condition in the face of insurmountable odds, bleak and yet heart touching. The last track is another brilliant number in the vampiric vein, “The Blood Is The Life,” as the delicious synths and evocative vocals drench you in dark delights of the creatures of the night.

This is an album with a lot of commentary on modern living and is politically charged, which for me is great to hear because music can often express ideas and emotions far better than other conduits. The rage in “Remember Who You Are” is palpable, as the band observes the erosion of basic human rights….even autonomy over our own bodies. Ashes Fallen are definitely nailing the post-punk ideal of music that matters, and with each release, they just keep getting better, so please check out Walk Through Fire.

Walk Through Fire | Ashes Fallen (bandcamp.com)

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SEVREN NI-ARB (synthesizers, computers, programming, vocals) and
ESTEFANÍA (vocals) are X MARKS THE PEDWALK, and the Munster electronic aficionados have dropped the first video “Fading Waves,” that heralds the coming of their latest album, Superstition, which is due out in November on the label Meshwork Music.

Paramedics race to save the life of a young man, laying on the ground. The music’s rhythm heightens the ambulance crew’s attempt to restart his heart, as it fades away and flatlines. The casualty joins the multitudes that these courageous first responders cannot always save. There is something sublime about the play of synths and vocals, beautifully tinged with thoughtful sadness. X MARKS THE PEDWALK, as always, are masters of the synthpop genre and “Fading Away” is aimed straight for your heart.

Superstition | X Marks The Pedwalk (bandcamp.com)

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X MARKS THE PEDWALK | SUPERSTITION | meshwork music (meshwork-music.com)

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Berlin based NIGHT NAIL have a new album, Fates Explained, out in November on Metropolis Records, but September sees the post-punk project dropping the first single, “Narcoleptic Dream Catcher.”

The wonderful jangle of guitar fills the air and is joined by the trickling sighs of Valentina Veil (VV & The Void), which help set the tone of the track. Pete Burns of Kill Shelter fame, graces us with the meaty bass lines that support NIGHT NAIL’s entrancing vocals.

Produced, mixed and mastered by the ever busy Burns, “Narcoleptic Dream Catcher” sweetly drips post-punk goodness, that would easily get a gothic two step going on the dancefloor. Both delicate and swirling like the motes of smoke of extinguished candles, this phantasmagorical NIGHT NAIL single, does not deserve to be a sleeper.

Fates Explained | NIGHT NAIL

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We are lucky at Onyx to have the premiere release of the video with single “Luftmangel,” from Vlimmer on the Blackjack Illuminist Records label. Berlin local, Alexander Leonard Donat is a man whose energy knows no bounds, as this new single does not appear on the brand new album, Zersch​ö​pfung, that dropped at the end of August, but rather a track that did not vibe with the rest of that particular album, yet worthy of its own release.

Donat’s vocals, as always for me in these recent releases, really make his music a bit special and there is no exception in “Luftmangel.” The bass laden electronic undertones, serve to highlight the throbbing and pulsating synths, a juxtaposition of heaviness versus buoyant light. Those dark accents just make your senses quiver in delight and you can hear a harkening back to early Gary Numan.

‘“Luftmangel” (German for “deficient air”) is about my grandmother and her final days. She didn’t opt for any life-prolonging measures when she was diagnosed with pneumonia on top of feeling absolutely exhausted due to decrepitude. One day before she died, lying in a hospital bed, she told me that she had a nice life and she was ready to go, which was pretty overwhelming for me. I was the last person ever she had a conscious conversation with, and I’m grateful for that. The song was initially written for the “Zerschöpfung” album, but at the end it didn’t fit the mood and, with a heavy heart, I decided to throw it off. However, to me it has some kind of old school, original Vlimmer vibe circa 2017/18, and I’m happy to release it as the new single.‘ – Alexander Leonard Donat

It is those dark tones that gives us the foreboding of something emotionally overwhelming and watching a loved one leave this realm is a sadness we bear and yet there is a gratefulness in being privileged to having them in your life. “Luftmangel” comes to us all, but there is so much beauty to behold in a human life and, indeed, in the single from Vlimmer.

Music | Blackjack Illuminist Records (bandcamp.com)

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