The latest album from Canadian dark synth artist Daniel Belasco releases this long coming and extremely personal album about dealing with the passing of his oldest brother in 2021 on Distortion Records. Daniel has continued to amass respect from music insiders for his song crafting expertise and beautiful compositions. Remaining largely underrated by overall mainstream audiences in spite of his infectious melodies and retro style.
Daniel has a true gift as a tunesmith. An ability to find complex hidden paths to the most infectious melodies. His voice is big. A bit golden age superhero cheese, that could easily veer into tongue and cheek. It’s the honesty in the lyrics that make it ring genuine. That makes that big blasting tone so powerful. This is a record that never hides behind walls. It has a Saturday morning cartoons with a bowl of cereal innocence, stained by the wisdom of one thousand heartbreaks.
Daniel Belasco says: “Brother Bones is, quite honestly, the most personal album Glass Apple Bonzai has ever released.”
Toys: – I really love the range Daniel shows here. For someone known for synthwave, this track brings a prog rock complexity and skill level on base and guitar. Dare I say it has a Rush style of instrument mastery and purity of lyrics. I’m not sure if he is doubling his voice for these harmonies or having a guest, but the effect on the chorus is beautiful.
The Changes In Your Heart: – I’m always a sucker for the track on a great record that seems to pull in a different direction. Most of this album has a sense of recalling happy memories. Thinking on a way to move forward from loss. The Changes In Your Heart has a much darker tone that plunges into murky waters. The psychedelic breakdown lends a further note of spiritual introspection. This was a perfect note of contrast that made every other track burn brighter.
Everyone needs to get Klacked! I have been a big fan of the EDM super band team up from Madison WI “Introducing the 1984 Renault LeCar“. The band is comprised of Matt Fanale (Caustic/Daddybear) and Eric Oehler (Null Device). It always strikes me when I listen to Klack these are two long term friends having fun. You can hear it in the music. An effortless communication that makes every track feel like a dialog without singing to each other. The samples have a glorious tongue and cheek blend of listening to LA Style and beating Portal at 2am. Eric and Matt have such contrasting and distinct vocals that expand the dynamics of looping dance beats.
Klack has built our foundation on revering our influences and electronic past while moving the genre forward and beyond. Klack‘s mission is bringing the world together under the beat. Join us. Klack with us, as we are the keepers of the beat, and we are the ones that move you.
Favorite Tracks:
Beat Unity – Glorious glitchy bleep bloops with a gravelly chanting refrain. They are the keepers of the beat, the ones that move you. Taking a simple concept and executing it with no margin for error is a bold and beautiful thing. It makes me want to dance, dance all night long.
Dot Dot Dot – I had to call out this track because Eric has such an underrated voice which features heavily here. Brilliant Pete Burns Dead Or Alive vibes. Sassy and stinging intricate layers which return to a vocal hook.
Let’s Go To Berlin – To anyone who has gone to Berlin in their 40’s and thought “24 year old Ken would have thought this city was the coolest place in the world, but 44 year old Ken needs a nap. This song hits on every note of slamming beat, and self aware humor. I love when a book “A Confederacy of Dunces” for New Orleans as example, turns a city into one of the primary characters of the story. This track perfectly encapsulates the city of Berlin as an American middle-aged tourist. I was transported back in the best possible way. There is true power in a song that can take you somewhere without a passport.
Foto: Arne Müseler
Modern Production is another great example of two great artists paying homage to something they love and having fun. It’s so easy to get lost in a sound when you can hear the people playing it are just as big a fans as you are. When Matt and Eric put out this album, Matt put out an essay of some of the modern promotion techniques used to get folks attention. I ask Matt to include it in the review.
So let’s talk promoting a new album. It’s time to talk MODERN PROMOTION! It’s long, so apologies in advance. Hopefully it’s interesting.
We finished Modern Production in January. For a breakdown of our workload, Klack works like a restaurant– Eric is back of house in the kitchen, and I’m up front taking care of the guests. I come up with the song ideas and write the lyrics and find samples and Eric works on the music and production. We offer tweaks to each other’s side of things to tighten everything up, and ta-daah! BRILLIANCE!
And when it’s all finished I take over to promote it (with his input of course).
In the past we’ve always released albums as a surprise to ride the momentum and energy of the reaction. This time I wanted to be more “traditional” with the release, as we’d already built some steam when we released Beat Unity as a remix single (Eric did several remix styles) and “Body2Body2Body” with remixes from an amazing newer artist (Crystal Geometry) and legendary ones (Portion Control). I also handled an extended DJ remix I did that went to our DJ list.
So that’s where we’ll start…
Last year we compiled a list of all the DJs we knew who wanted to get our stuff early. We added people as we discovered them and now have a couple hundred on the list. I used a macro in Mailchimp to send them their own Bandcamp codes. Why that instead of links to a Google Drive or Dropbox? Because when they download the album in any format they want we start building the avatars on the album page. Optics is sometimes a small thing, but it’s a) Nice to see a bunch of people already checked out your album, and b) We can see how many codes were redeemed.
In this case about half of the codes sent out were redeemed. Some emails probably got caught in spam filters, and some people probably forgot. 50% was my goal anyway, as that’s higher than previous codes we’d sent out. Success.
Next I made a plan to contact any media sites friendly to me over the years to get the the album early. I wanted those sources to get as much advance notice as possible in case they were interested in interviews or writing about the album, as most are DIY and have a lag time. We got a few interviews out of it as well as some better-than-usual press coverage. After all, we wanted to get as much enthusiasm towards the album as possible, but in that challenge I also wanted to come up with ways the album could get attention and stand out promo-wise from the pack. Then it came to me: promo flyers.
I figured since online is a quagmire of algorithmic horsefuckery that PHYSICAL promotion may get noticed more. If nothing else it may have surprised a few folks seeing something other than social media promotion. I contacted a ton of pals who are DJs in the U.S. and Canada who had semi-regular nights and asked if I could send them some. Almost all of them said yes. I got the info for flyers to Eric (including the “LONG LIVE THE NEW BEAT” catchphrasey-thing I came up with) and he designed them. We also included QR codes to our Bandcamp and Linktree for ease of access. Prices for high quality flyers are pretty damn reasonable these days and the turnaround was incredibly fast.
While doing the flyers I worked separately on getting a lyric video for Weight of the World together so we could get another track out, and we thought Weight had the most appeal to it. Always put your best foot forward.
In terms of online stuff I tried to build up our Instagram and Tiktok presences, just to have more avenues to find potential fans (especially younger ones). Our numbers didn’t go up by thousands, but after liking a bunch of newer artists in a similar vein to us we got some more traction there.
We kept dropping little nuggets of content we thought would get people excited, like the aforementioned lyric video and that we were doing vinyl as well. Basically I wanted to roll the content out intermittently, but always wanted it to be something a chunk of people would be into. The more cool information the better.
In regards to the vinyl, we considered waiting on producing it until after the release was out so we could gauge interest, but ended up just going for it as we’re very confident in the material and Synthicide was crazysexycool and said we could release the three tracks from our split cassette on the album. More value = PROFIT$$$!!!
I sent Weight of the World in to Spotify’s editors for consideration, as well as discovered how to send it to Bandcamp’s editors. I didn’t hear back from either, but it was good to practice and for Bandcamp I now know it’s an option.
The other big thing we pushed was pre-saves on Spotify. I even ran an ad on Facebook for a week to see if that would inspire more. We didn’t get a zillion– maybe 40– but I wanted to spike our numbers on streaming services as hard as possible. We prefer people get the album on Bandcamp (ideally spending a few bucks), but still to stream the crap out of it otherwise.
The flyers came in and I packaged them all up about a week before April. We also sent Klack the Planet stickers with them so people could put them on their laptops or cats or something.
We had previously gotten in touch with Post-Punk Magazine, who had done a great story on the Body2Body2Body video, and were able to push the album and Weight of the World there. We were able to time the story to get out the week of release, and ultimately released the album the Thursday evening before Bandcamp Friday to capitalize on the relative lack of email notifications going out then, as opposed to the onslaught the next day. We also let people know when the limited metallic silver edition and “regular” editions were going on sale the next day.
When it comes to Bandcamp Fridays I hyperfixate on the numbers like a freak. When things slow down after the initial push (especially for the vinyl) I hit Facebook groups with info on the album, as well as Instagram. I don’t want to overdo it with posts to Bandcamp followers, but another reminder email later in the day always gives us another spike in sales/downloads. The same with another post on my wall here. There are so many places to post it’s good to space them out. I also do a big “thank you” post on our Klack page and on Bandcamp because we are INCREDIBLY thankful, but it also serves as another reminder to get those last people in there to push our numbers up a bit more.
Yes, it’s a lot of work. Yes, it can be tiring. Yes, it’s worth it if you’ve built a foundation and make it fun for everyone (especially yourself).
So how did we do, and were the monetary investments worth it?
In short, pretty damn great. We didn’t get thousands of downloads, but we did get our biggest sales day to date. A lot of that was for the vinyl, but either that or shirts helped our previous largest sales days. We had a ton of people grabbing the album for free, which is to be expected. About 1/2 of the people paid for it (minus the DJ codes that were already claimed), and a decent percentage of those people paid more than we would have expected.
We’ve always gone the pay-what-you-want route with Klack. When we say “Klack is for everyone”, we kinda mean it. We just want our music in people’s ears. Most everything we do is in-house (literally) so our overhead is minimal minus promotions. Plus we believe in our klackprodukt and people pay what they can, often generously. We hope they stream it on their platform of choice, too. Then we make money on both ends.
We had some solid improvements on Spotify. For the first time ever we have a song doing better than the Hatari remix that was put out a few years ago. Our followers and plays are also up significantly and the album looks to have been already saved by twice as many people as our last release.
Modern Production also topped a bunch of the charts on Bandcamp (where we’ve now got dozens of new follows to promote to) and was the lead mention on pages like Synthpop Fanatic and some other sites, which had never happened to us before. That’s a big win to me. Lots of firsts.
The biggest relief was that the vinyl sold very well. At this point we have about 25 copies of the ltd edition left and most of the regular edition. That’s what we wanted, however. We’ve made enough back to pay for the entire run plus most of our promotion and still have a lot to sell at shows and online. That’s a great feeling.
Some other small perks popped up. One fan hooked us up with a German store to help with some European distro, and we were directed to another potential place to work with. It’s not a zillion copies, but this allows us to get our albums into the European market more and ideally if they sell we can build our relationships further for the next release. We’re also hopefully taking the DAC by storm again. We don’t expect Modern Production to top the charts like DEKLACKED did for like 5 of the 6 weeks, but we hope it will do well again.
I still have some things to do, like get the album up on Soundcloud and keep a FB ad going for a bit if it looks like it’s getting some attention. We did a great “unofficial release” show in Milwaukee to celebrate our new effort, which went really well. We can only also hope all the reviews are as amazing as Kollektiva’s, which just came out.
I think overall I did a pretty damn good job promoting the album given our limited budget and me not doing something of this size in years, let alone having it be organized. The response to the album has been amazing so far, so now we just need to keep maintaining that momentum. We’ve had several hundred downloads so far and sales keep coming, so fingers crossed Modern Production stays in people’s minds for a while. We’ll be doing our best to keep it there.
We’re almost three weeks out from the release of Klack’s Modern Production and things are slowing down a bit. The big push is over, but now we’re relying on word of mouth and a lot of “fingers crossed” things to happen, like positive reviews (heck, just REVIEWS) and play from DJs that might turn someone new on to the new release. Yesterday was the first day we had no downloads for the album on Bandcamp, but that’s the longest we’ve got to the best of my recollection before it happened. Our Spotify numbers have dipped some but I’m using a boosted post on here and all the other Meta bullshit to try and boost those numbers a little bit more. Regardless, things are still moving positively. I could blame Taylor Swift’s new album, but she didn’t top EBM in Bandcamp so I don’t see her as a threat.
Whenever I see a new review (and fortunately they’ve all been really positive) I make sure to thank the reviewer and post it on the Klack page. The big thing that happened this week was we debuted at number one on the German Alternative Charts. The DAC is a DJ poll of a few hundred DJs, most of which are European. We’ve fortunately always done well there, but this was a real confidence boost when you normally see significantly bigger names debuting that high (Cassandra Complex, who we bumped to second, for instance). It doesn’t mean that it will translate to more sales, but the optics on it are great and it’s nice being recognized by a lot of people we don’t know for our hard work.
I’m holding back at posting on Bandcamp to not lose anyone. We continue to have a nice uptick of followers and I don’t want to jeopardize that. I’ll post when the vinyl is in, most likely. That should stoke the embers enough to move some more sales and not annoy anyone too badly.
I need to step up my Tiktok stuff, as I haven’t said much there recently. Instagram is chugging along, and Threads is whatever. It all helps incrementally and is easy to post on (and free), so I’ll keep hitting it. I’ll also hit the Facebook groups when more reviews come in so I can toss some more quotes in for the album. The key is to have SOMETHING to talk about that’s worth hearing. It doesn’t need to be earth shattering, but something to keep people interested and motivated in some small way to keep paying attention.
By the way THANK YOU AGAIN to everyone who generously helped us push the downloads over another mountain top. We hit a pretty big number for us, and Modern Production is already the 11th most downloaded Klack release in LESS THAN THREE WEEKS. We aren’t doing Boy Harsher numbers but we’re staying in the game, and continuing to push the release weeks after it’s out is imperative to keeping ears on it and making sure it’s not forgotten in the next wave of releases.
tl;dr- We’re in maintenance mode, just hoping the word keeps creeping out, that new people give the album a listen, and that everyone else who already likes us keeps downloading the album. It’s not as much about the money (much as we can use it), it’s about building and strengthening the foundation for longevity.
I have been awful about writing to you all about the latest and greatest darkscene releases this year. It’s time for me to start making up that up. My goal this year is to dive a little deeper into feature pieces on bands and releases. Doing quick hit articles with multiple bands tagged is still valuable for getting the word out and combining fan bases. So if you love dark music and this scene, read about the bands you already know. More importantly give a chance to some you don’t recognize and please share these reviews. It costs nothing and help folks find new music to love. I appreciate everyone who supports us. Go see live music in underground venues. These bands are The Cure/Joy Division/Depeche Mode/Sister Of Mercy of tomorrow. You can see them now for under 20 dollars.
Tears for ʇhe Dying – Dead Girl Dancing (single) – Nothing feels better than watching something I already love, re-invent itself into something new and glorious. Tears For The Dying has become my favorite in a new wave of death rock. Adria and Mick have an exposed truth you cannot put a mask on. It shines with feral chaotic beauty burning outside modern popular refinement. Dead Girl Dancing is a delicate and subtle shine blasting through the cracks of traumatic armor. I love hearing a playful tone in Adria’s singing and phrase. Mick also shows wide range with this wrist flick fencers beat. This song reminds me that sometimes the most goth thing of all isn’t to wallow in despair. Instead to celebrate the beauty of the macabre. A dream which for some might be a nightmare, yet to those who want to look beyond convention, a midnight dance with the animated dead. Sometimes I fear Tears For the Dying is too honest and strange to ever feel the embrace of mainstream audiences. I hope they do find the attention of our darkscene. Other artists in the know, know Tears For the Dying.
See me, hear me, take my hand Let’s go for a walk in the boneyard See me, hear me, take my hand Let’s dance in the fog
Bootblacks – When You Want – Speaking of rebirth, the Brooklyn post punk band Bootblacks who I have heaped praise on many times have done some introspection, a lineup change, and a total sonic reboot. When it is a band you already love, it is natural to worry, if I already loved where they were heading, will I still after a 180? It’s a beautiful twist of fate when the new direction makes you fall in love over again. There is a lot of excitement right now around the “Dark Italian Disco Sound”. It seems to be the next hot thing. “When You Want” is a flame laced single that embraces modern American Dark Disco. Something brash and confident that leaves pretention at the door. I’ve never heard Panther embrace such elegance and clarity. Those raw fuzzy energy waves from “Thin Skies” have become sharp lines and complex movement. Whatever that special “it” factor that Panther and Barrett had, they managed to bring it with them. Riding the cusp of the next natural progression.
Isaac Howlett – House of Cards – By track three of this review a pattern is emerging. Another phoenix rises with a new sound and pallet. Isaac Howlett of the atmospheric darksynth band Empathy Test releases his first solo venture. Without a live drummer this single stays light on it’s toes. It sparkles and spins on a fantastical dancefloor. Isaac’s always beautiful voice glows warmer and wider. I feel a real “Power, Corruption, and Lies” tone in the music. I think Isaac’s vocal talent elevates the original concept in many ways. Excited to see where this new feel takes us next.
The Joy Thieves – The Heart of the Worm – Since Dan Milligan started The Joy Thieves it has been growing in membership to include over 50 members. Bringing new talents and skills to add to the color palette. Now it ranges all the way from living legends to…me. As in previous releases TJT tend to build around a vocalist in each album. The Heart Of The Worm goes back to one of the first Joy Thieves and Dan’s oldest friends Mathew Clark (Mary’s Window). Tragically Mathew had a stroke that left him with a long road to physical recovery. “Spilt Milk” embodies Matt’s trademark snarl and purr style with a crunchy new metal riff. The drums are dialed in so tightly you really feel the walls closing in. Then the chorus blows the roof off the building to scream to the heavens. It’s something special to play together so long, in so many projects it gives a song the hive mind feel. When timing becomes so precise you wonder if they used some kind of telepathic link. Track 2: Relentless features Chicago Industrial standout Mike Reidy on vocals is a frothing beast bends each phrase to match the pitch shift riff. I love when industrial leans into a groove.
ACTORS – In Real Life – It’s impossible to mention the resurgence of post punk next wave music without discussing Vancouver based band Actors. The first single of 2024 throws every color at the wall with precision and efficiency. This track is beauty celebrated, an emotional sculpture drawing your ear towards a captured moment.
Also the Actors are going back out on the road. I’m going to see them on Sat 4/27 at Fixation Festival in Detroit. I need to make it clear, in 2036 there will be two kinds of people in this scene. Those talking about how they saw Actors for less than $20 back in the day, and those complaining about the price of tickets they are still going to buy. It’s not too late to be the former.
Intrusive Pinky – I Hate You, Patriarch Fuck! – Modular duo of Jackie and Diana, a bit of Melloncampiness there, which came to my attention being the first signing of Jean-Marc Lederman’s new label Les disques de la pantoufle. If I was to pick 5 names I considered experts of knowing something has quality in the modern artistic scene, Jean-Marc would be on that list. So lets turn up the studio speakers and get some first impressions from the debut EP of Californias Intrusive Pinky.
Past Midnight – I like to think the first track of the first EP from a band is meant to send you a message. Right away the message was clear. Ken, you are not the demographic the song was aimed at. Still, you know badass when you hear it. This beat goes against the grain, still finding a pulse your heart is drawn to follow. Spoken throwing star cadence throwing sharp words at random intervals from the palm. Finding some equilibrium between hook and chaos that gives this slow electric club stomper a jazzy soul. You have my attention.
We’re The Meow Meow Generation – Give me that glitchy flapper energy like trip hop on a runaway train. Lately I’ve seen a modern trend of new video games to use advanced graphic versions of pixel art to bring the focus back to the story. This track feels like the music version of that ideal. It’s bright, bold, feather boas at a 90s Detroit warehouse rave.
I’m already invested hook like and sinker and need to have these folks on for an interview soon.
LEATHERS – Crash – Brand new single from the shimmering jewel reverse personality of Actors. Also on Artoffact but with a focus on the arm hair chills stunning voice of Shannon Hemmett. A slippery synthpop symphony in slow wide arcs. I love when a songs lyrics take you on a mystery. Hints at a story that feels familiar but lingers just out of your reach. I’ll admit to playing and reading the lyrics 5 times to reflect, and I am not done yet.
BRIDES – Doom Profits – From the moment Adrian started this lofi Norwegian dark rock project it has stirred in me a desire to proclaim the soul of traditional goth has returned. He even calls it “Norwegian rock band Brides”, refusing to acknowledge the word goth. Just like Doom Profits who came before him. Wielding these slithering guitar riffs like a Bo-whip demonstration above a thunderous bass hook. Leaning into his own voice with rough textures on higher range to create his own tale of woe.
Nothing Left For Love – A slow driving croon with fog curling over the lip of a chasm. Lyrics that are utterly beyond hope and have given over to the void. This song takes a simple vamping riff and dials it into that exact median dot so many have searched for. Listening to this is like playing chicken with true darkness. You keep expecting a moment where the author diverts and shows it was all pageantry. He never blinks. Never
“And these dreams that spill out of my head Drip from my tongue and crawl up my throat Until I vomit them out on the page Or in a song”
Heartquake – A scorcher foot to the floor right off the line. This song is a black muscle car with flames and exposed chrome. Siren emulating synthesizers trail behind dangerous slides over broken city concrete. Hard dirty motion that doesn’t slow down as it goes around the curves.
“A shakey kiss From trembling lips Earthbeat Heartquake Skin crawls Fingers quiver Tongues slip Tendrils slither Tracing scars Unwrap the heart Muted howls Nervous touch”
Lyrics by Augustus Watkins Music by Garrett Neal Vocal Engineering by Carlos Bueno Mixed & Mastered by Garrett Neal
Photo by Tom’s 1 Hour Photo, Los Angeles
We are extremely excited to premier the newest video from electro sass artist Apology Kink. This project is the collaboration of Augustus Watkins and Garrett Neal. The song and video transport me back to a pure desire to be adored. Dancing free from insecurity to Yaz “Upstairs at Erics” with an innocent abandon. Leaning hard into the pop aspects of synthpop with a self-aware snark that boroughs into the ear to let the lyrics shine. Available on GIVE/TAKERecords where Augustus is part owner this single marks another high energy synth explosion.
Apology Kink exudes sultry, cheeky charm. The LA-based project turns out captivating dark synthpop where goth allure flirts with anthemic dance floor-ready production, as pop charm looks on in seductive approval. Dripping with vintage synth production and adorned with modern hooks, Apology Kink is the brainchild of musician Augustus Watkins, building on his pedigree as a singer-songwriter (Bijou Noir), producer (Tulip Tiger), and darkscene emissary (DEATHDANCE) while folding in shadowy theatricality and iconoclastic queerness.
In February 2024, Apology Kink debuted with a rendition of “West End Girls,” which Sounds and Shadows called a “glitchy synth sass take on the iconic Pet Shop Boys hit.” For his two first original songs, “Cult of Your Touch” and “Let Me Be Your Heartthrob,” Watkins has teamed up with frequent collaborator Garrett Neal (Usonia, Holidae, Netflix, HBO).
I have had the opportunity to review the first few singles from the 3rd album of next wave goths fastest rising stars Twin Tribes. Now it is time to dive deep and discuss the deeper concept of the latest record Pendulum. Joel and Luis have always held a special place with Sounds and Shadows. The first album I reviewed was the 2018 debut “Shadows“. Thus the name Sounds and Shadows. I have been lucky to see them preform live in multiple cities and each time is an intimate emotional journey. I see people posting all the time lately about the exorbitant ticket prices for legacy bands like Depeche Mode or Sisters of Mercy. Twin Tribes are out on tour now in their prime playing the type of shows people will talk about 20 years from now. You can be a part of this sparkling moment in darkscene music before you have to pay big venue prices.
“Pendulum” – The rise of Joel and Luis as the face of the next wave of goth has been a burning meteor that has generated excitement for crypt keepers and baby bats alike. Their talent, romantism, inclusiveness, and dedication to dark themes struck a resonance in this community that has bridged generational gaps. A pendulum is a device created by physicist Léon Foucault designed to always return to balance. Like most great bands I have known through my life, Twin Tribes have embraced their return to balance with a transcendent third record. That perfect moment between the raw passion of youth, and the clarity of experience. This is one of those records people will talk about ten, twenty years later. Those discussions with friends that brings us together. I am going to dive deep on this one. Say more than I should. This album is a perfect still frame in time, which needs to be remembered.
Recorded and mixed by: Charlie Vela at Casa Panchita Studios in Weslaco, TX
Mastered by: Doruk Ozturkcan
Artwork, layout & design: Keeley Laures
Track 1 – Absolute – A pendulum starts by swinging to the absolute before returning to balance. Our journey starts the same way. A crackling synth instrumental to establish the myth of this tale. Cascading crystal waterfall to send you falling towards the rocks.
Track 2 – Another Life – I love this fast paced silky CurePornography delayed bouncing riff. The vocals set a furious different tone with sharp slashing delivery. A separation with a promise to find each other again in another life. The pendulum swings back towards hope.
Track 3 – Sanctuary – A place of refuge or safety. This is fitting as a return to what I would call “classic” Twin Tribes sound. Darting bassline, with resonant reverb guitar. Great transition here from verse to chorus that really opens the sky to show Luis’s range. “The prophet is dead His master has called The fall, the fall upon us all” we swing faster towards a hopeless outcome before our return to balance.
Track 4 – Monolith – A single great stone often in the form of an obelisk or column. This song has a beautiful alien resonance. Some forgotten advanced technology so foreign it is more like magic. The vocals stand forward in the mix to offset this pinball manic bounce of the bass. This track is an unmistakable modern classic.
Track 5 – Temperance – The idea of restraint when a powerful truth is discovered. The inclination to plumet headlong into something dangerous can be so strong. This chorus build has a double bass drum trill hat feels like a charging horse trying to break free. “If the truth is waiting for us Can’t you see The end is the beginning A conspiracy”
Track 6 – Paradox – To hold two contradictory truths in one thought. This brief but sparkling instrumental track is the transition point of the story. A question with no answer.
Photo by Jen Jeffery
Track 7 – Cauldron Of Thorns – I hate to play favorites on a record as beloved as this. I can’t help hearing that perfect gateway from the dark romantic poetry of The Cure “Pornography” and modern darkwave synthesis. The mix on this song is a true masterpiece. Sitting in a place of balance measured in micro sonic connection. Although it sits at track 7, this is when the pendulum passes a moment of perfect zero.
Track 8 – Sangre de Oro – I’ve talked with Joel and Luis about the importance of including a song in Spanish on each album. The Latin goth scene boasts some of the most devoted fans and talented bands. Which sadly is often overlooked in American and European markets. Sangre De Oro or Blood Of Gold is that track on Pendulum. The tempo races forward again and features a captivating acoustic twang to contrast the layered delay guitar riff. Beautiful and delivered with a different level of vocal passion. Just like Fantasmas from the 2019 album Ceremony I hear a connection and soul here to make a third single to capture the imagination.
Track 9 – Eternal – To be everlasting, to transcend time itself. This track certainly glows with life. The tempo bounces back up and the guitar line has a jazzy swing. The call and answer of the chorus vocals gives a duality to the spiritual; conclusion of our adventure. This might be the track with the most mass appeal. It’s gorgeous and full of hope.
Track 10 – Meadow – The farewell song of this emotional opus. A sultry reflection that harkens back to the path Twin Tribes has walked. One thousand translucent fairy wings dancing in a twilight forest. This song is a fantasy and a promise of more dreams to explore.
Twin Tribes are defining the next generation of darkscene music. A quality and depth of soul that has captured the imagination of the past and present. I fell in love with “Shadows“, I became a believer with “Ceremony“, but “Pendulum” is the best record to date. Give it a spin and become a believer with me.
