Glasgow minimalist artwave with their sixth album release. I have done a previous review but hitting play 30 seconds in and I already feel this is something different. The tempo is that same patient, anticipation building, tuning fork vibration of keyboard sound. The mix is no longer a dark and swirling murk of life. Instead the water is a clear blue which allows every word to permeate to the surface. Paula has a flickering flame tongue whisper voice which has charged to the front for this record to take a captivating hold. This is an end of the night reflection sound. A secret to treasure, not a proclamation to share. It is a sound just for you in your most personal moments.
Antidote – Ok starting with a bit of a deep cut here. It just has that lovely opiate blur sway to it. Mazzy Star soul with a bright lights big city feel. It perfectly captures what this record does so well. Pulls you out of your head with the smallest amount of chaos necessary to grab your attention.
We Don’t Want To Sleep – Lovely transporting intro of life teeming summer days with the buzzing sound of insects growing in a tension of life. I love the bright energy and sleepy tempo in equal measure. It skirts that line line between excitement and dream. This is a musical experience built on delicate balance. I love the effortless nature with which it sits on the head of a pin.
Overall: This is not the album for every moment. It’s specialized, a perfect construct for that lazy eyed moment of introspection in the foggy haze between excitement and dreams. Jonathan Skinner is a master artisan in crafting rich tapestry using efficient material. Paula is a siren holding your imagination as your consciousness flickers between this world and the next. Instead of looking for a sound which is fine in many moments. Seek out a sound which is perfect in it’s own time.
The Sinister Guitar Lord of Sacramento CA James Perry returns with a long anticipated album which releases June 4th 2021. I’ve been a fan of the hard rock edge and dark overtones of Ashes Fallen for a while now. This new record finally fully embraces the goth aspects of the gothic rock. I feel like the scene has been so hungry for a voice of processive morals and guitar driven dark music. The other major step forward for this release is the collaboration heard on keyboard and additional guitars by Michelle and Jason. The seamless blend of these other voices in the song writing process really elevate and highlight the best aspects of James talent. The mastering by Gordan Young crackles with deep lines and definition. James voice has really found it’s internal confidence and writhes and strikes like a sea serpent bursting through phrases and throwing weight on those show stopping fretboard fireworks.
Top Tracks: Honestly this who album is a front to back jam with 10 strong tracks.
Vampira (The ballad of Maila) – A lovely tribute to the horror film icon. Both in the lyrical content but also the absolute face melting riff and gothabilly guitar tone. The vocals are attitude, snarl, and croon. Michelle adds in a lovely offset tone on the chorus which swells and solidifies. The back and forth guitar solos on the bridge are an absolute masterclass in movement and melody. This song is a 10 on the AFB scale. (Absolute Fuking Banger)
We Belong Nowhere – Filthy hard edge guitar intro. James has more of a chanting subtlety and blend with Michelle’s harmonies. The chorus is a beautiful hook that pays the first 6 months rent in advance on an apartment in your head. The soul and anguish of old school goth with the complexity and precision of King Crimson.
Shout out for the Delphine Coma shirt
Overall: I was absolutely floored by the step forward this album took from a sound I already loved. I feel this record solidifies Ashes Fallen’s place as one of the premier voices in the modern gothic rock scene. This is not only a must have album of 2021, but one I strongly suggest getting on physical media. The album holds such layered and intricate texture, you will want to deconstruct it on your best sound system. I’m stoked to have the band on an upcoming episode of the Sounds and Shadows webcast.
Exciting new shadow disco album from Kimberly Kornmeier set to release June 15th. This is a project that has been going since the late 90s but I am just getting on board. I regret waiting as long as I did because this album cruises that perfect wave of shake your ass dance beats and heady introspective lyrics. 17 tracks with 8 wicked remixes full of powerful names like Assemblage 23 and Adian Cane. Kimberly has a gorgeous vocal delivery that sits perfectly in the mix to be the star of the show while allowing the crackling energy of the dance beats to fire like a rocket breaking the atmosphere. The shadowy smoke is always present in the tone, but what really wins me over is the confident defiance in the delivery. Her voice has an indomitable spirit that fills you with hope.
Let It Burn – Opening title track and it’s an absolute burner. When the bell rings you start swinging and that is exactly what this track brought. Beautiful Blondie style delay vocals and sparkling crystal keyboard accents. The song feels so personal, like a story told while watching yourself from outside your body. I’m always impressed when a song can carry off a devil may care attitude without venturing into pretension. It’s one of those tracks you want to be playing in the club when you make your entrance.
Shed My Skin Feat Silence In Machine: A rattling builder with those same laser focus vocals and reckless abandon. Great mechanical demon contrast on the echo vocals by SIM. Again this concept of staring down the barrel of insecurity and trauma and striding boldly forward. This album continues to deliver a powerful voice for women in the scene.
Cold Machine (Assemblage 23 remix) – This is a a song I found so relatable. We keep getting colder and more desensitized to protect ourselves from the damage in the world. Yet in moments we miss that humanity, that vulnerability. It’s a boot stomping baseline and a message that smacks me right in the feels.
Overall: I am beating myself up I am just discovering Bow Ever Down but on the strength of this album I am going to dig through the back catalog. It’s fierce, it’s sensual, and it delivers a message of strength and power. When you preorder the digital album is available now. Final note, the cover art is a burning hellcat with fire eyes. I am obviously here for this.
Newest release from the spooktastic goth rock sound of Gloom Wizard from Mexico. I speak often of my current occasion with the Mexican “Darkscene” and this one is special as led by our Sounds and Shadows group admin Anibal.
From the opening bell I love the smooth sliding bass line mixed with the frantic feel of the video. The character is twitching like a possession victim. The suited demons are tormenting them and the piercing guitars make pin prick marks upon us. The vocals are a rhythmic chant, almost spell work to bind us and centralize the ritual. As the music builds in intensity and the distorted guitars slash away at our sanity the tormenting demons whisper promises and threats. The organic rock feel has a real Nick Cave energy in the gentle ballad full of murder and menace. A powerful narrative that leaves me hungry for this rising star.
Lineup:
Ani voice and programming and keys, Rich, guitars, programming, keys. Aurelio played bass
Interview:
Tell me where the name Gloom Wizard came from?
It would be fantastic to say that the name Gloom Wizard is a precisely crafted nomastic sigil created with precise attention to the Gematria of the words, much the way Crowley changed Alexander to Aleister because of the numerological value, but that would be a lie. In reality, my friend Jessica came up with the name during a trip down here to Guadalajara. I (Ani, vocals) tend to dwell on the more morose and dreary aspects of life as well as the more esoteric, so in conversation she described me as a “gloom wizard” and that really stuck with me. I formed the band about four months later and used the name.
When did you obsession with the Macabre begin?
In my case, it’s definitely always been there, even since I was a little child. I’ve always had a predilection for the more creepy, weird aspects of life and I was always the weirdo at school checking out books about aliens, magic, ghosts, and true strangeness. Kids would definitely look at my funny a lot. Furthermore, I’ve always been really into shows about these things like ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, and THE X-FILES. The older I got, the more I got into actually studying ritual magick and more comparative theology. Similarly, Rich has always been really into Medieval and Tolkienesque things, which usually go hand in hand with the macabre in some way. Therefore we often talk about those things during lulls in making music.
La Fiera (Famous Luchador Father)
Your father was an entertainer as well correct? Do you think this played a part in being drawn to pageantry?
My father was a rather famous and well-known Mexican wrestler from the eighties and early nineties. He’s pretty legendary in that sport; people will occasionally still ask me if I’m related to him when I give out my name. His whole thing was rocking a mullet and a rocker look with a leather jacket and the more I think about it, the more I think maybe I’m channelling him! I’m not particularly sure this aspect played a huge part in being drawn into the pageantry of rock, but I’ve certainly always been a sucker for all of the pomp and circumstance of the show, whether it be in movies or on stage or in the ring. My mom frequently took my brother and I to a lot of my dad’s events, so we were exposed to that early on and loved the rush of seeing these veritable deities playing out vast epics before our very eyes.
What was your inspiration for this video?
Well, I always knew the video would have to do with a person plagued by their secret darkside, but the video actually is quite different than the first treatment. Initially, the main character was going to be a monstrous looking man who went about his day in a really normal way, as if no one really perceived that he was a hideous abomination, only he could see that about himself and it really troubled him. The big problem with this was the variety of locations and extras and general logistics needed, which really blew up the budget. Ultimately, one late night at around 2am I got the idea to pare down the first draft and then reshape it into what it became. We filmed the video at my mom’s house in one of her spare rooms. Working within that really limited setting helped us hone the storyline to something we could record in a matter of three hours one Saturday afternoon.
What is your hope for the future with Gloom Wizard?
Just the usual hopes of a fledgling, small time goth band: Sex, drugs, rock and roll, crashing luxury cars, a couple overdoses, destroying hotel rooms, getting to make ridiculous riders, for the guy from BEHIND THE MUSIC to narrate our ordeals. Apart from this, we really just want people to listen to our music, watch our videos, and find a space for themselves in what we create. More than anything, we love playing live shows just because we get to see people get lost in the music, in the moment. We’re really looking forward to things opening up again so we can maybe plan some tours and big shows in the very near future.
Caroline Blind has a new single release of an old Sunshine Blind song complete with remixes of some of the biggest names in goth. I know getting that “old school” sound is the coveted concept of the day. One great way to insure it, get a who’s who super group of some of the best Old School musicians still in the game. Names like Ben Christo (The Sisters of Mercy, Diamond Black), Mark Gemini Thwaite (Gary Numan, Peter Murphy, The Mission), and Andee Blacksugar (KMFDM, Black Sugar Transmission, Peter Murphy), along with her former Sunshine Blind bandmates. Mastered by the always amazing Gordon Young
A bursting dark driver. It’s full of nostalgia both in the sound as well as the way it makes you think about your connections, your tribe. The song was from 1992 and played often in live sets but never found it’s way onto a Sunshine Blind cd, which is a crime, because it thumps. Caroline’s voice shows her range drifting between the ethereal and the broken glass grit of Johnette Napolitano. It really places you on a rocking ship in a storm of purple/grey skies and lightning flashes. It’s so exciting hearing from voices I grew up enthralled with showing how much they still have to say in the modern climate. The guitar work here is next level, a laser precision of crackling light. This track just makes me sway from the hard steady rhythm and the vocal intensity that only Caroline can deliver.
A perfect nexus for old goth fans and baby bats just finding the scene and wanting to feel connected to where we came from. Shine up your leather and hit the dance floor hard.
Our interview with Caroline !!
For those that want a musical education of people who built this scene featured on this single
