As I write, California is on fire, and Vince Grant, the man behind LA project The Sea At Midnight, sent me an email about his new single, “Our Beautiful Destruction,” and all proceeds from the song will be donated to victims.
Was this track written before the fires? The vocals wrench at my insides with the lyrics about the world being consumed in flames and Grant’s voice is truly gorgeous and swept up in the whirling guitar and synths in the chorus.
‘burning so brightly against the night sky the ashes are raining sparks and ashes are all that’s left the smoke hides the pain of all that remains of our brilliant destruction our brilliant destruction smoke hides the pain‘
My heart aches listening to this track. I live in a country where every Summer is a terrifying wait to see if bush fires will take hold…. the last huge infernos being in 2019. Lost lives, lost property, watching both wildlife and domestic animals perishing. “Our BrilliantDestruction” sadly seems to encapsulate this situation perfectly. If it were released without the LA fires, it would be considered a evocative song, but currently it means everything. It is name your price on The Sea At Midnight’s Bandcamp, so I encouraged you to give a little to help in “Our Brilliant Destruction.”
Antipole, aka Karl Morten Dahl, from the currently frozen land of Norway, and ParisAlexander of the not quite as cold UK, have just released a new single. This post-punk/coldwave track is called “Sad Lover(Desolated),” and I am not sure if this ties into anything, about seven years ago, they had another song called “Shadow Lover.”
My breath slows as I take in the drum machine beats with the bass guitar’s deep rumbling, which is old school post-punk in the style of PeterHook (JoyDivision), drawing you in. The lead guitar work is seriously sublime, and delicately echoes, supported by the equally lightly winding synths. Alexander’s vocals are smooth and subdued, reeking of cooling dusk, and yet still intensely moving.
The music video is shot between the snowy pine forests of Norway, and an old church in England, with an attached graveyard. This heightens the stark reality of loneliness and inevitable death, but it also pulls into focus that “Sad Lover (Desolated)” is also about realising that snow covered scenery is beautiful, or that there is an austere dark peace around the tombstones of those long gone. It is finding the elegance and grace in that which could be seen as desolate. Antipole & Paris Alexander have delivered another perfect track in “Sad Lover (Desolated).”
2024 marked twenty years making music for Nottingham goths, In Isolation. After two decades, lead singer Ryan Swift and bassist Mike Sinclair have decided that they need to move on with life, though they have given remaining members, Tony Ghost (drums) and John Berry (guitar,) their blessing to continue with the In Isolation moniker if they so wish to do so. They are celebrating both the milestone and finale by releasing the EP Light In Dark Times.
The EP kicks off with the title track, “Light In Darker Times,” and it truly is a lovely post-punk single, dark and maudlin, with lyrics about what I can only describe as an unrequited love or the death of said love. The music is reminiscent of the Disintegration era sound of The Cure, between the curling synths and echoing guitars that speak of a deep melancholy. There is a charming innocence to “Middle Child Millicent,” until the guitars kick in. A girl with a name from the Victorian age, has found herself the unfavoured sibling, in comparison to her brothers. The Mission could have written this track I feel, especially with the wandering guitars lines and sentiment.
The name makes me think of the Japan single “Ghosts” and overall, “Phantoms” did give me a little start when I heard it, for it does throw you back into that early 80s. It is a sweet lament of wanting what the heart cannot have and unable to move on from the loss. “Middle Child Millicent (Mat Pop Extended Mix)” rounds out the EP, with far more synthpop flare and aplomb. It is amazing how different this is to the original and yet you can hear it is the same track.
Kids in shadow filled rooms and a myriad of phantasms connected to a heart denied…. this is how you get goths. And it might be an EP, but Light In Darker Times is an epic celebration for In Isolation to release. Is it the end? Who knows, however, the music lives on regardless
ST///LL (Stiiill) we last heard from in 2023, and these three brothers in musical arms have released a double single in the form of “Empty Room” and “Shout Out.” With members spread out over the UK and Ireland, they are gearing up for their second album to drop in 2025 but in the meantime, this is a taste of what is to come.
A lone piano plays, to be joined by an electronic beat and then the track launches itself with a hail of guitar, and the vocals exude a forlornness in the vein of IanCurtis (JoyDivision). The bass thunders with the rhythm while the guitar flourishes and the piano wanders through like a ghost in “Empty Room.”
“ShoutOut” is full of atmospheric synths, with a grittier energy and purpose. The guitars and synths meld into a cacophony of melodic noise in the chorus with the vocals punctuating the urgency of it all.
I really enjoyed “Shout Out,” but for me, “Empty Room” kind of grabs you, full of melancholic emotions. I don’t think it is intentional, however ST///LL have created two track that could be on a Joy Division album and this is never a bad thing.
In 1979, Gary Numan released The Pleasure Principle, which was his debut solo after two albums with the Tubeway Army. “Metal” is a standout track that is favoured by Numan and has been covered many times…. even by Nine Inch Nails. Rob Hyman (drums, synths, programming, production) and Jax Allos (vocals, bass) are Chicago based [melter], and they have put out their own version of “Metal.”
PHOTO – JASON KRAYNEK
Those flourished synth lines are the staple essence of this track, and they are very much present, but I am also glad that this is not a carbon copy. Having the altered vocals of Allos brings a new element, compared with the memory of Numan’s cleaner singing style. The percussion is just so strong and perfect in propelling “Metal” along.
This is definitely a gritty version that pays homage to a great track, and takes it on a more experimental tangent. A case of sweet and industrial tang that is satisfying to hear if you know the song, and a guarantee that if you haven’t, it is going to pique your interest in following up the original and the back catalogue of [melter]. “Metal” is such a great single and [melter] have polished it up and given it teeth.
Los Angeles post-punk band The Sea At Midnight are extremely prolific, with the latest single “Burning” dropping in November. This a cover originally written by V. Grant and Marco Cattani of Chemical Waves, who released the track on the album II (Emotional Violence) and also featured The Sea At Midnight.
The track evolves from a low rumble, into languid drum beat and drifting electronics. The vocals are beautifully clean and soulful, accompanied by the jangly guitar. There is a wealth emotion pouring forth and “Burning” elicits a visceral response in the form of tingles down your spine. The original form of this song was a far more electronic affair, and The Sea At Midnight has given it a darker ethereal feel that wells and bubbles with a longing that grabs you by the heart strings.
Religion and governance should never be mixed, but in the US currently, it is hard to see any evidence of common sense versus religious fanaticism. “Dead Gods” is the latest single from Vision Video, off their new new album Modern Horror, where Athens based Dusty Gannon and co. rage against the pricks.
PHOTO BY JEREMY SAFFER
A dissonance of guitar heralds the beginning and one cannot help but revel in the heavy post-punk bass. The synths strike like a high organ peeling while the giving of hymns in holy prayer, except they have the silken vocals that are calling out the double standards and misogyny that nationalistic Christians hold before them like they are actual scripture.
“Dead Gods” is catchy…. no it doesn’t break new ground, but it doesn’t need to do so. Gannon’s singing the chorus is still stuck in my head and you should take that as a good sign of a great track. You can hear the influence of The Cure and Chameleons, and as I always say, we need songs that unify the dark scene and politically push all the wrong people’s buttons.
As part of their spooky season, Kentucky’s Who Saw Her Die? religiously drop in October a few singles, and the latest is another horror movie inspired release in the form of “Pleasure and Pain” and “One of Us.”
If you haven’t guessed before, “Pleasure and Pain” is exactly how a cenobite from Hellraiser is going to love you and this is the premise behind the single. The version the band have put up first is the EBM mix and I have to agree in their choice as it really has that classic sound of Hellraiser’s weird modern techno wonder, plus that wandering synth line, matched with the spiritual abyss in the vocals, that vary from seduction to anguished.
The second track goes a bit more old school in the way of The Body Snatchers in “One ofUs.” It is a retelling of the motives of said snatching aliens, a morose dirge that is actually sympathetic of the horror baddies.
Even when October is done and dusted, there is always Halloween to be enjoyed for the rest of the year in tunes like this. To quote The Divinyls, ‘there’s a fine line betweenpleasure and pain,’ so why not choose both with Who Saw Her Die? They have such wonders to show you.
In 2021, Finland’s Suzi Sabotage released the anthemic single “Nazi Goths, Fuck Off.” Three years later, on the label Strict Tempo have dropped a version, remixed by the UK’s The Cassandra Complex, and one has to wonder if this song is needed now more than ever with the frightening rise of right wing politics around the world and the insidious tendrils tainting the dark alternative scene.
‘Far-right ideologies are not compatible with goth. Goth is rebellion against the mainstream and celebration of diversity – whereas Nazis and conservatives advocate for rigid conformity, which makes them at war against what goth is all about.
The goth movement has always taken pride in being a safe haven for people from all backgrounds, and if Nazis are made [to] feel welcome, it will become dangerous for people of colour, LGBTQ, women, and just anyone who doesn’t harbour fascist views.
So let’s show Nazi “goths” the door and keep our scene safe.’ – Suzi Sabotage
Rodney Orpheus of The Cassandra Complex has created a sense of urgency with the pulsating synths, which are like light against the stark vocals from Sabotage, plunging in a knife that exposes the reality.
For people that say that gothic/post-punk music is not meant for protesting and voicing dissent, we have to say what bin have you been living in?! “Nazi Goths, Fuck Off‘ is still relevant, now with extra polish and always enjoyable.
Florida based AstariNite, has clocked up ten years on the dark scene, playing people their brand of goth music. The latest album, out on Negative Gain, titled ResolutionofHappiness is their fifth, and one might say, most interesting yet. The band has been incorporating a more shoegaze feel into the music, a throwback to their influences such as DavidBowie and Lush. In between touring, lead singer MychaelGhost, was gracious in talking to us about the band and the new album, which seems to have been born of both grief and the strong bonds of friendship that hold this group together.
Congratulations on Resolution of Happiness, which I believe is your fifth full length studio. Astari Nite has been releasing music since 2014, so I am wondering how the dark alternative scene has changed since you first started out?
Thank you Adele! You know, I am not too certain about what I have released in the past though “Here Lies” and “Resolution of Happiness” are still mint to me.
Sometimes it’s easier for me to leave songs that I write in specific periods of my life, far away and alone. I find it to be therapeutic that way. At least for today, I feel that way.
During the band’s travels throughout the U.S., UK and Europe, I met DJs, Promoters, bands and wonderful people who support this vibrant scene.
With social media platforms available, it also seems that more and more people enjoy sharing playlists, spinning music online and being very vocal on what they love or hate. This world is massive and there is space for everyone to share and love.
I have heard the Florida darkwave scene is pretty big, so could you tell us how you started up the band?
I met Illia, the drummer for Astari Nite at a Roller rink. I was sipping on a soda pop, and he walked up to me and said, “I like your Jeans.” Shortly after he offered me some candy and he and I ended up skating to disco for hours.
We decided to start a band influenced by what we had blasting on the jukebox religiously!
It took some time to find our guitar player Howard Melnick and bass player / Keyboardist, Danny A.E. I guess it was all fine and dandy once we agreed that Abba, Bowie and PULP rule the school!
The new album has a dreamy quality about it, through the echoing guitar work and yet it has a beating goth rock heart. Can you tell us a bit more about the concept behind the album?
I guess jumping in from putting out the Here Lies album a couple of years ago, we wanted to steer away from the gloom. We wanted to do something a little bit brighter as a nod to the nineties, which we were heavily influenced by during this record. And I think jumping down and speaking about facts in my life kind of put color to what the boys in the band were putting together musically. I was able to tell more of a story rather than hiding behind this shade of gloom, I guess you could say.
PHOTO BY WENDY DARLING
I am gathering a lot of the writing and recording for the new album happened during the height of covid. How did all this help or hinder the creative juices?
The death of my brother and father had a great deal to do with my creativity. The decline of my mother also played a part! I can’t really speak on behalf of the band, though I know they guided me through what I was going through mentally at the time. They walked with me and allowed me to sing or say whatever the fuck came to mind. The three of them saved my life! They showed me how to breathe again without being so shy.
You gradually released a few singles in the lead up of the album, one of those being the mesmerizing “Bowie in Daydreams.” How did you end up writing this track, and for you personally, how big an influence is Bowie’s music?
This was a special time for the band and I! This period is what we call the “Summer of Love.” A lot of traveling with our circle was happening. We were totally in bloom.
David Bowie was the soundtrack to our lives during all these magical memories being created. This song was a perfect way to pay respect to his beautiful soul along with telling our own story. For me, it was another way of saying goodbye to my sweet brother, Ryan. I miss him every day!
Another single is “Necessity Meal,” and I am curious about the story behind it….so what is it all about?
Danny from the start was engaging a hybrid bass line very reminiscent of The Doors and Funkadelic. His idea was to have Howard add additional guitars in respect to an alluring Hendrix style anthem, which would surely elevate the chorus. Once it was gift-wrapped, the song met its glam rock introduction. Staying true to my sincerity, I speak of feeling messy during strange and unusual occurrences while normalizing innocence.
I hear hints of early Christian Death in this album and vocally sounding like Rozz Williams, especially in the track “Tongue Tied Galore.” Was this a conscientious thing or a complete fluke?
I’ve heard so much about Christian Death and how Rozz Williams was such a beautiful person. His music is something that I have never traveled through. Some of my friends around the block mentioned that I would love his records. In time, I am certain that I will get around to it. There is a time and a place for everything. Perhaps I am not mentally prepared as of yet. Maybe sometime soon fate will come my way!
Is there a favorite track off the album?
Tongue Tied Galore
Astari Nite is very much a live band, so has it been a joy for you bring new music on tour?
I do enjoy it a bunch though at times, not having enough space to play other favorite tracks can be such a drag at concerts. I want to make people happy! It’s just a crying shame at times that I can’t play every song that is expected.
Oh, the choices that we must make in life can really make you want to swim in the deepest ocean sometimes.
After ten years, what is it about being in this band and scene that compels you to create great music?
The goth / alternative scene is a big inspiration for Astari Nite to continue to write music! The people that I have met at concerts really make me smile the most. Our band has been fortunate to share songs with the world. I am also very passionate about meeting everyone at our shows. It is important for me to attempt to say hello to everyone who took the time to make the night special.
PHOTO BY ALEXA JAE PHOTOGRAPHY
Which bands right now do you enjoy or find inspiration in?
Abba, The Beatles, LUSH and Rosegarden Funeral Party! Yea that is where it is at currently. I’m digging all the colors that their songs throw into the sky.
What is next for Astari Nite?
Finishing up a new single that will come to life fairly soon, followed by an EP slated for a 2025 release! I’m in love with writing music. I feel happy and pretty in my current state of mind.
Although the Resolution of Happiness album was released this past June, being in the studio once again with the bandmates is the closest I will ever get to redoing a childhood that was stolen from me. I am at my best when I’m in a room with Illia, Danny and Howard. You know what I mean, love the ones you’re with!
Onyx Music Reviews 