1990 was the year the iconic album, The Good Son, was released by Nick Cave andthe Bad Seeds. It spawned several singles, which included the slow burn wonder that was “The Ship Song.” 2023, and Lunar Paths has taken this classic track and given it their experimental, electronic sheen.
Walking in Cave’s deep, sonorous vocal footprints is no easy task, but female lead singer, DianeDubois, pulls it off with great aplomb. The synths in the background are a constant, swelling and dropping, voluptuous in their role and the live drums of KevinHunter are an excellent accompaniment.
“The Ship Song” has always been a rich track, which is why it has been covered by quite a few bands…. mellow and smooth with an incandescent dark beauty that has been brought to the fore in this latest version by LunarPaths.
French industrial-darkwave project, DivineShade are ending a successful year, with the release of the single “Heaven.” This track, as well as previous single “Oublier,” will be included on the album Fragments Vol.1, which will be dropping April, 2024.
Instantly attention grabbing, within the very first bars, and when the electronic drums thunder in along with the vocals, you are not disappointed. Wavering between the sweet beseeching and writhing angst, backed up by thrumming fuzzed out tones, it all courses through your veins, infecting your senses with the sheer vehemence of conviction.
“Heaven” is indeed a glorious track, magnetic in the way it calls out to the listener and utterly enjoyable. It brings together aspects of industrial and darkwave, with a sprinkle of coldwave nuances, which the French have always been so good at, blending them into something very special. “Heaven” is waiting with Divine Shade.
Creepy creepy, in Melbourne city, where gothic delights pervade in the form of Velatine and their new single, “Nothing To Do With You.” LokiLockwood is the man with the plan, with IngaLiljeström, the siren, and it is out on the label SpookyRecords.
The electronics have the air of unquelled domination and Liljeström launches into a story of a woman maligned by many, but, it seems, through her own volution, found herself in order to make her life better. The vocals are languid like molasses and just as rich.
Liljeström’s singing, in both tempo and sound, reminds me very much of JonetteNapolitano of ConcreteBlonde (a personal favourite), combined with the ringing guitar and synth/programming of Lockwood, framing the story and focusing us on the tale at hand. Maybe it has “Nothing To Do With You,” but everything to do with Velatine and this really strong darkwave track.
2007 saw the birth of Swedish EBM group Spark!, with original members StefanBrorsson (vocals) and MattiasZiessow (synths, programming), dishing out the beats. However, in 2013, Brorsson left the band, citing personal reasons, leaving Ziessow to continue on. Fans can rejoice, as the lads are back together in 2023 with the single “66 Ton Krom,” which will be on the new album out in 2024, on the ProgressProductions label.
The direct translation is ‘66 tonnes of chrome‘, and with the frenetic pace of the rhythm, they can only be referring to a large vehicle, such as a big shiny truck. And behold there is a big shiny buff truck on the cover! Brorsson’s vocals dance between the programmed electronics that come on in rapid succession, while the synths rip down the road burning rubber with those beats.
There is something quintessentially Swedish about the EBM that comes out of that country, and it not just singing in the native tongue. A lot of joy can be felt from “66 TonKrom,” as if the break the guys have had from each other, galvanised their sound. Industrial electro-pop from Spark! that is going to get your motor running.
In the mid 80s, Tears For Fears were one of the huge names in popular music, topping the charts. One of their tracks is the still well loved “Mad World,” and MadilHardis has released a cover of this iconic number.
Echoing, delicate singing of Hardis is the absolute focal point, with the electronics simply haunting the background. The Tears for Fears version was for the disaffected, while this new cover is ethereal and not bound to this world.
Pretty sure that I have said this in the past, but honestly the vocals are simply angelic in nature, touching that place within you that causes involuntary shivers down your spine. Otherworldly and poignant, with the ability to drag out emotions of even the most coldest of hearts, this is “Mad World” by Madil Hardis.
From Louisville, Kentucky, the duo of StephenBeasey and BrianCain are the darkwave band WhoSaw Her DIe?, and have released in December, the EP, Ignoring The Serpent.
Oh dear, “Emma” it seems is a stalker, who doesn’t understand the word no, looking to control the subject of her misplaced affection. The vocals deep and foreboding, as they tell of Emma’s indiscretions and unhealthy obsession. Angels can be found in many religions and not all are the light bringers which many pray to now. Rather, they are often avenging beings and this is the premise of “Angel Of Old.” There is a beautiful mix of synths and guitar, that play and intertwine throughout the track, all set to a spritely dance rhythm.
The last track is “Ignoring The Serpent,” slower and far more introspective. The serpent is the metaphor for evil and the premise is that no matter what happens to a person, we can hold onto that which makes us a decent human. The guitar sprinkles this lament with light while the synths and vocals are the grave warning of the loss of this humanity.
Who Saw Her Die? delves into the synth based sound of the 80s and marry it to the far more modern darkwave drone with sparkling guitar work. It really works for them, as they write about the human psyche, the paranormal and how they feed into each other. Don’t be ignoring this serpent, because the bite is quite intoxicating.
The daring 80s synth inspired duo from Doncaster, PeakFlow, have released the remix for their single “RunningToYou.” And in that vein, we invite you to enjoy this new dance mix extravaganza .
ChooseEuphoria is the latest album from UK project TheResonanceAssociation, released in 2023. The brain child of DanielVincent and DominicHemy, has been around since 2006, and according to their Bandcamp page…. ‘They seek to produce hallucinatory music to transport the listener to uncharted realms of space and time.’
The first track off the rank, “ForceMajeure,” leaps out at you, its enthusiastic rock guitar with walls of sound bursting forth joyously, adventuring like a cosmic snake. The electronics continue this journey of sound with “Invocation,” more subdued than “ForceMajeure,” but equally full of intonations throughout, as if the solar winds are gracing your ears in the background. “The State of Things” is semi angelic, though some of the effects are near paranoid inducting, especially with the slowly played guitar and it has been combined with a rather psychedelic froopy video. Cool liquid bass lines are the backbone for “No Fear of Falling,” with wailing synths crystalline and smooth, even when faced by the solo guitar reaching out the listener.
There is something very early 80s about “SomeKind” that I just cannot quite put my finger on, but it is hypnotic and all together far too enjoyable, even with the computer created sirens. I somehow doubt the track “TripHazard” is about unfortunately falling over one’s own feet, but rather, flights of fancy, and as we all know, some journeys are fraught with real dangers, such as minding the gap, which perfectly leads into “Elsewhere.” Again, we are within the winds that whip around the meandering guitar, courting you to go along for the laid back ride. We finish with prog odyssey “SpaceTimePolitics” which kind of reminded me of a scaled back version of PinkFloyd’s “Journey to the Heart of the Sun,” full of lulls that build up into Hendrix like explosions of guitar.
ChooseEuphoria is an eight track album, and indeed TheResonanceAssociation have done exactly as they said they would, using music to transcend our space and the current limitations, opening up movement and achieving wonder, as well as creating textures via experimentation and instrumentation alone. Choose life and ChooseEuphoria.
NaturalDarkness is the new album offering from German born, London based MadilHardis, with twelve original tracks and six remixes, meaning not only is there quality, but you are getting quantity too!. Hardis is known for her gloriously angelic vocals, married with very emotive musical scores that she has created.
The first cab off the rank is “Absence,” settings the tone for the album. Crystal like shards of life experience and poignant, filled with longing that is heart felt. “Crucifixus” has those deeply religious tones of devout exultation given by angels to the heavens in the form of vocals. The track “To The Heart” floats with an internal rhythm and the ever-present piano, caressed by the synths, as if trying to bring comfort, all the while Hardis‘ vocals soar above. Just one of the songs that showcase her talents.
One of the shortest numbers is also, for me, one of the most sublime. This is “Disintegration,” and it is one of those songs that can just cast you adrift on a forlorn sea. The title track, “NaturalDarkness,” has a rather preternatural echoing air, haunting and ethereal, as if yesterdays spectres are waiting at the vale.
That is just a taste of NaturalDarkness, from a lady with an abundance of natural talent. MadilHardis carefully entwines classical tendrils with electronic ones, weaving music that is otherworldly and, at the same time, grabs your heart strings.
Mobile phones have become a staple of modern living. We constantly check them and break into a cold sweat when we cannot find them. New Zealand’s FrauKnotz, explores our dependence on social media, though the single “Cellular,” as more and more people live their lives online rather than in the real world, and where popularity is the acknowledgement of others on these platforms.
There is a delicacy about “Cellular,” and maybe it is something to do with the lack of a rhythm section, relying on the piano to carry the music, but it is also in the vocals, a blatant honesty. You can hear the British early 80s, post-punk influence in the track, where there is a purity of simplicity and passion, giving the song a core of undeniable strength.
MizaanTurner is a fourteen year old dancer from Taranaki, and it was they who choreographed the video for the single, making the video for FrauKnotz, aka LaurenNottingham, an alluring affair. Mobile phones are a marvel that have definitely changed a lot of things for the better, and yet, as “Cellular” soulfully points out, it has also caused isolation, anxiety and changed the way we see ourselves in relation to the world..
Onyx Music Reviews 