Author: luciazelenia

Educator by day, moon child by night. Formerly the queen of the Crypt. Currently draining the inkwells for SuperChatParty, Sounds & Shadows, and more.

The Birthday Massacre Announce Twelfth Studio Album ‘Fascination’ With Lead Single “Dreams of You”

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For two decades and some change, Toronto darkwavers The Birthday Massacre have solidified themselves as a force in gothic and industrial rock. From earworms such as “Looking Glass” and “Red Stars” to their most recent release Diamonds, Sara “Chibi” Taylor and Co. have a bevy of hits about them, and coming soon, they’re about to add a couple more to their already-extensive catalog. 

This weekend, the band announced their upcoming twelfth album Fascination. Due out on February 18th, 2022 via Metropolis Records. This record follows 2020’s Diamonds, which had such standout songs as “The Sky Will Turn” and “The Last Goodbye,” though the first single from the forthcoming disc is something else entirely. “Dreams of You” has biting guitars, enchanting synth and key lines, and Chibi’s time-tested vocal delivery. It feels like the end credits to a film or a TV episode, with its driving pace and thumping drum fills. It’s a throwback sort of song from a staple of the gothic music community, and serves as a fine first taste of Fascination.

The track listing for Fascination reads as follows:

1. Fascination
2. Dreams of You
3. Cold Lights
4. Stars and Satellites
5. One More Time
6. Like Fear, Like Love
7. Once Again
8. Precious Hearts
9. The End of All Stories

The album is available for pre-order in digital, CD, or vinyl formats, and releases on February 18th, 2022. The vinyl comes in violet or a limited edition violet splatter, but in either case they will not ship until summer 2022.

Listen to the single “Dreams of You” here:

Astari Nite Unveil NITE’s Pixie Remix of “All Else is a Curse”

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The muted energy and drab majesty of post-punk is still very much alive, and Miami’s Astari Nite are at its forefront. A relatively new act, the band’s first album Here Lies, released in May of 2020, was a stirring exercise in gothic rock, headed up by its singles “Dearly Beloved” and “Capulet Loves Montague.” While the band’s sophomore full-length has yet to be announced, 2021 began with a new single in “All Else Is A Curse,” followed by “Pocket Full of Posies” this summer. To cap off this calendar year, Astari Nite have given us a remix of the former, with the help of NITE.

Where the original mix of the song is more guitar-driven, letting open strings ring out, the NITE remix is a club track through and through, with more synth passages, a slightly quickened pace, and more prominent percussion. The kick drum comes through to drive the chorus forward, giving more of a bounce to this haunting and contemplative track. All told, it is a solid remix, and definitely something I could see filling a dance floor, though with a bit more energy than the old standard that is the goth two-step.

Best of all, the remix is available for free on Bandcamp (or pay what you want), so stream and/or download the Pixie remix of “All Else is a Curse” by Astari Nite and NITE here:


And if you haven’t heard the original mix from earlier this year, stream that here:

Aesthetic Perfection Gathers Chris Harms and Corvin Bahn For Industrial Holiday Ballad “Lonesome Ghosts”

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If reading the phrase “industrial holiday ballad” skeeved you out any, I assure you that you aren’t the only one with a raised eyebrow. While Aesthetic Perfection mastermind Daniel Graves is no stranger to ballads – the tear-jerking closer to Blood Never Spills Far From the Wound that was “Devotion” comes to mind – a holiday-flavored tune seems especially out of pocket. Leave it to the Austrian implant to shake things up once again, as he wraps up his 2021 twelve songs in as many months project with “Lonesome Ghosts.”

As Graves himself writes:

“Lyrically, it tells the story of our longing for connection, our desire not to be alone, and offers hope that there is truly a chance at redemption – we’re not all doomed to spend our lives haunted by ghosts of the past.”

Teaming with Lord of the Lost’s Chris Harms, who also mixed the track, and German composer Corvin Bahn (Crystal Breed, Perpetual), Graves brings us a lamenting number about the longing, the Sehnsucht if you will that comes with this time of year, and with the ever-present beast that is the ongoing pandemic breathing down our necks, this loneliness can feel all too magnified. 

Things start off soft, with a piano and Daniel’s voice, but by the time we hit the end, we have a guitar solo, a full orchestra, and sleigh bells ringing in what some call the most wonderful time of the year. Is it a quintessential AP track? Depends. Should it be someone’s first exposure to the king of independent industrial pop? Perhaps not. Is it a testament to the breadth of genres or subgenres that Daniel Graves can explore not only competently, but to a fair amount of success? Absolutely.

Check out the video for “Lonesome Ghosts” below, and stream/purchase the single on Bandcamp:

Riki Paints Broad Synthpop Soundscapes With Sophomore Record ‘Gold’

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Riki

When nothing feels new, we as humans reach for the old, extend a hand to what is comfortable and safe. Nostalgia reigns supreme as a result, as creators try to strike a balance between those creature comforts and a new monster altogether. In the synthpop and post-punk worlds, this struggle is pervasive, but making it look all too easy is Los Angeles songstress Riki. On her second record Gold, what was old is new again, as Riki takes a bold step forward in an institutional genre. 

“Lo” starts things off sonically in the late Eighties, especially in the quieter verses with a swelling, chime-laden chorus. The bassline is hum-worthy on this infectious opening track, before sliding into goth rock territory on “Marigold,” which might be my personal favorite track on the disc. It rides the line between bouncy and moody, maintaining a danceable rhythm with gliding synth licks. “Oil and Metal,” the instrumental intro in particular , wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Depeche Mode’s Violator, but while the track calls back to more familiar melodies, the shimmery synth work is what gives that recognizable tune a fresh coat of paint. The structure of the dueling vocal lines, one talk-sung and one emphatically crooned, is a nice nod to the song’s title as well.

The chilled-out, dub-informed “It’s No Secret” is a cloud walking number, with delay-steeped guitar interludes and a minimal drum part. It’s one of a handful of tracks with a smooth sax lick, giving a big city feel to this otherwise ephemeral song. “Sonar” is vocal-forward with a plucky bass groove. It is here that we see Riki’s full vocal range, be it her singing us to slumber or urging us closer to that old haunt. On the subject of old haunts, the opening to “Last Summer” is as post-punk as we get, with tubular bass lines and the odd chorus-tinged guitar moment. Aside from “Marigold,” this may be the most radio-ready, “puts the ‘pop’ in synthpop” track of the album.

Within “Viktor” lies the very definition of grey sky guitar, though the song is a synthpop number first and foremost. There’s a stirring beauty about this track, a reverent admiration of sorts. The final two tunes, “Porque Te Vas” and “Florence and Selena” are just fun, the former for its Latin flavor and hypnotic vocal melody, and the latter for its retro-futuristic flavors, and the return of that swinging saxophone. All told, we make our way back around to that Eighties synthpop flavor we began with, but the song is far from the same.

If her sound is this dynamic and sweeping on only her sophomore outing, imagine what Riki can do in the future. Gold is a joy of a record that must not slip under the radar of an avid synthpop fan. There is plenty to dance to here, but there’s perhaps even more to get lost in on a first or second listen. It’s fresh, and for a style of music that has one super-prominent touchstone or point of reference, that is nothing short of an achievement.


Gold is available now via Dais Records.