Author: Jaret S. Young

Music Writer and Contributor for Sounds and Shadows and Cave Dweller Music. Multi-Instrumentalist for Wake-Up Screaming. Pizza snob and cat lover.

Wicked King by Blood Dance

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Hailing from Mexico City, Blood Dance offer us a dark sojourn into the Goth/Deathrock realm with their new single, Wicked King.

The song starts with an eerie blend of synth and guitar and builds until the baritone vocals kick in with a lyrical cut-up taken from quotes of various notorious killers. A mid tempo beat remains consistent throughout the song while the guitar riff wails and a beefy bass tone holds it down.

Credit is due to Mesphisto Waltz’s Bari Bari for producing this track and creating a tight and full sound with all the parts coming through crystal clear.

Deathrockers should sit up and take notice of Wicked King, as well as the preceding Blood Dance releases.

https://blooddance.bandcamp.com/album/wicked-king

https://mephistowalz.bandcamp.com/

Starter (Single) by newphasemusic

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Newphasemusic is the new project from Daniel Henderson and it hits the ground running with its debut single, Starter.

As a drummer myself, I was immediately sucked in by the ball-breaking drums on the Geodome Mix, one of three mixes that will be available. Nice, sharp and tight double-kick metal drums dominate this track in a way that I wish more acts would consider; utilize different aspects of metal aside from the palm muted chugging guitars. The rest of the track is comprised of a looping siren-like wail, creepy keyboards, and vocals delivered with a whispered growl.

The lyrics convey a message to the listener that while everything around them may be going off the rails, it doesn’t reflects their own character or their decisions.

The next remix is made courtesy of The Joy Thieves. This one makes use of guitar riffs and comes off more like a straightforward rocker. The jazzy swing to the beat and overall bombast make me reminisce of Foetus back in the day.

SINE contributes the third and final remix and is definitely the most dancefloor-friendly remix of the three. A thick bassline holds this one together while the vocals are processed almost to the point of unintelligibility.

Personally, I’m very excited about Newphasemusic and the forthcoming full-length release, The Dark Side of the Earth. The Geodome Mix is already on my smartphone playlist.

https://newphasemusic.bandcamp.com/album/starter-single

https://thejoythieves.bandcamp.com/

https://sineofficial.bandcamp.com/

Backwater by Testube

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To be honest, I took my time reviewing Testube‘s Backwater. With 17 songs, there’s a lot here to digest. Plus, I wanted to make sure I was getting the big picture with every thing that’s going on and fully appreciating where the artist is coming from.

The backstory goes something like this: Jeff Danos sequestered himself to a cabin in the Ozarks for a VERY long time. During this time, he worked on the tracks that would become Backwater. So this is the culmination of over a decade’s worth of work.

In a way, one can tell that this has been an album long in the making. It seems like some of the musical ideas occurred to Danos at different times. Backwater covers a lot of ground. But don’t think of this as willy-nilly and directionless. Instead, consider it a stream-of-consciousness time capsule that shows how an artist can evolve and grow over time.

The songs range from accessible and radio-friendly to abstract instrumental experimentation, and sometimes both in the same song. Spoken word samples and analog synths have their time in the sun as old school industrial meets IDM meets the electronic end of Krautrock. Enjoy the smorgasbord.

In summary, Backwater is a cerebral electronic ride with interesting stops along the way, even if it’s not necessarily for short attention spans.

https://testube.bandcamp.com/album/backwater

Un Jour Virgule by Attention Fête

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One of the things I admire most about Attention Fête is their ability to keep me surprised. This time the French sound art band brings us Un jour virgule, a series of recordings that are claimed to be recorded entirely on the guitar. I don’t know how they do it. It takes a very deep dive into the world of effects to create these ambient noise collages that don’t sound droning and repetitive; especially on an album that is 14 songs long, but they pull it off.

Okay, so there’s no beat, per se. This is one of those times that percussion would have gotten in the way of what Attention Fête is trying say, in my opinion. There’s still enough going on here to keep your interest.

Whether you regard it as interesting background noise, the score to an imaginary avant-garde sci-fi film, or just the audible equivalent to an acid trip, fans of experimental music will find Un jour virgule rewarding.

https://attentionfete.bandcamp.com/album/un-jour-virgule

Midnight Wire by A Perfect Error

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When Re:Mission Entertainment sent me an advance copy of A Perfect Error‘s Midnight Wire, I was intrigued by what I read in the press release. It touts of a record that bridges the gap between ‘cyberpunk to mainstream pop.’ And sure enough, it does exactly that.

This is the esoteric brainchild of Toronto’s Cory Gorski; his conscious effort to bring dark electronics under a digestible, radio-friendly umbrella. And these ten songs deliver everything you would expect to hear in an electronic pop song, even if – at times – it’s put together differently.

The best way I can describe these songs is to say they have a “layered minimalism” to them. By that I mean that the songs seem composed of simple electronic elements combined with even more simple electronic elements until something more complex evolves. The end results are songs that seem as though any single aspect of them would be interesting but combined are even more compelling.

It seems like there’s as much sonic exploration as there is songwriting on Midnight Wire. Clever elements interplay with one another and sometimes the exploration leads the listener down a rabbit hole of textures and soundscapes.

I recommend listening to the record in its entirety in one sitting. I don’t think any one song gives you a complete picture of the ground Midnight Wire covers. Just kick back and let this record take you where it may. But if you put a gun to my head, I’d say that Hold On, Hang Up stood out in my mind with it’s sexy-yet-creepy saxophone accompaniment. Midnight Wire‘s whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

https://remissionentertainment.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-wire