Now that a have your attention (all credit to my favorite lyric in this album), welcome! Today I’ll be reviewing an album that I instantly wanted to sink my wiener into as soon as it was sent to me.
Male Tears is a synth pop duo consisting of James Edward on vocals and synthesizer and Spencer Jackson on keyboards. The duo makes synthpop that reminds me of Culture Club and OMD mixed with the soundtrack from this SNES game I used to play as a kid called Plok. You see, Plok is this small yellow man throws his fucking limbs at enemies and travels to different islands looking for his flag. Some heartless asshole took Plok’s flag and boy is he pissed off. Well, I’m getting sidetracked here. So let me jump back into this review.
Overall, this is a solid fucking album. Each song has an early impact even though each track is compact. Songs are well structured and don’t overstay their welcome. They pummel you with catchy synth hooks, just the right amount of marimba leads and tickle you with these 80s pop vocals. Also I want to note that the drum programming here is phenomenal. A little goes a long way with drum programming. For example in the song “Let’s Pretend“, the drums are mostly a rock beat with some analog drum flair, but in the pre chorus, the back beat switches from 2 and 4 to the snare hitting on 3 which I geeked out about because it really broke up the flow of the song and kept it interesting.
“Human Errorz” is another example of a synth pop classic that breaks from the albums electro thudding and gives you this off-kittler rhythmically stunning example of what Male Tears is giving you. Some of the drum patterns here remind me of Steve Gadd’s intro to “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover“.
Did I mention hooks? Each song is layered with the classic 80’s production tropes you’d expect and does it so well in a way that none of the tracks feel too busy. You’ll come across thicc Italio-disco bass lines with gated stabby sawtooth chord progressions and glassy pads, but on top of all of that are these absolutely baller melodies that act like those old filters at the bottom of swimming pools. Instead of overwhelming you, they keep you glued to each track. Future X has a hook that only shows up only in the fade out, which I thought was dope.
If I had to pick a favorite from this album I couldn’t, so here’s two. “Creep Distance” is a winner for me. The vocals really stand out in this track and the all around groove made me keep coming back to it. Also it reminds me of that Cars song that plays in the scene in Billy Madison where the principal gives Adam Sandler the card where he says he’s horny. “Adult Film” is also a winner for me and also where the title of this review comes from. This track is so fucking catchy and it has some straight forward erotic lyrics that I’m always a fan of.
Every song on this album is worth checking out if you want retro synth jams loaded with hits and erotic themes. My only critique is that sometimes the vocals get lost in the mix with all the reverb, bit fuck it. Its still a fantastic album. I’d love to see Male Tears put a more modern twist on their next release to keep things fresh as well. This album was released on Valentines Day the cassettes are already sold out, so get some more of those available because I want one.
The most invaluable attribute of an increasingly global community is the discovery of our shared – and often, surprisingly unified – experience of the world. Even as we languish through the isolation imposed on us via a global crisis, we can reach across vast expanses, foreign borders, and cultural divisions to find that, ultimately, we have more to connect us than we have to separate us.
Hence, the uniquely relatable Indonesian three-piece, Camlann, and their 2020 studio album, the aptly titled The Forgotten Lost Fragments. Listeners will find themselves immediately transported to the soundscapes of their misspent youths, with authentic, vintage-feeling grooves that harken back to the New Romantic golden age of the genre. The songs feel familiar and oddly comforting, yet spiked with a dose of the unexpected, an added ingredient that lifts the recipe.
Namely, the most novel feature of Camlann’s sound is vocalist Ony Godfrey’s haunting tone. Often acting as a rhythm instrument, the vocals will then suddenly take flight and soar above the surrounding backdrop, calling to mind the heady, bright tone of crooners like Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright – but stripped of pretense and glamour, and flooded with simple, refreshing sincerity and a distinctly feminine nobility. One feels less that they are merely listening to an artificially-cultivated performance, and more that they are sneaking a peek into a carefully-guarded diary.
Hummable tunes are augmented with classic, almost Santo and Johnny ‘Sleepwalk’-style guitar melodies – also Godfrey’s contributions, creating a dreamy lightness over the solid fabric of the drum-and-bass combo. The arrangements are straightforward, but layered and colorful, employing unique effects and pleasantly disorienting quirks, provided by bassist Bayu Triyudanto and synth/keyboardist Fauzan Pratama.
The 10-track album is a much-needed lesson in brevity; Camlann has a knack for knowing what they want to say, and being cleverly succinct in their approach. There is no wallowing or luxuriating in the mire here; the songs are considerably brief, most of them having gotten their point across in less than four minutes, with no need for further embroidery or gilding the lily. The charming, palate-cleansing sorbet of ‘Il Prologo’ clocks in at just 45 seconds, but its impact is effectively made, and the album wouldn’t be the same without it.
Standout tracks include the title track, which artfully drops the listener into Camlann’s world and sets the stage for an introspective, intimate drama. ‘What’s The Worth Of Living’ employs a lilting, rolling guitar theme that brings Camlann’s genuinely skilled musicianship into sharp focus. ‘Father Johannes’ sails in on the wings of a sweeping, cinematic theme to introduce the album’s eponymous central character, a mysterious figure whose headstone graces the memorable cover art. ‘The Ballad of Us’ provides a subversive twist on the notion of a conventional love song, with Godfrey’s vocal prowess on full display, grounded by the staccato heartbeat of a string quartet. ‘New City, New Hope’ positively shimmers with its many layers and sophisticated arrangements, peppered with an exuberant horn section that feels right at home among the album’s vintage-seeming accessories.
Formed in early 2019 by a trio of Jakarta middle-school students, this often surprising outfit also includes their own producer, Chariszan, and a co-songwriter, Arachne – both of whom share the distinction of their bandmates of being under the age of 17. Rare as it seems to encounter a young band with such a direct focus and clear intention, Camlann are proving that the upcoming generation has their own perspective, and plenty to say. I had the fortune of speaking via email to vocalist/lyricist Ony Godfrey about the band’s history, inspiration, and point of view.
Sounds and Shadows: Your enigmatic name is both mysterious and memorable. How did you arrive on ‘Camlann’?
Ony Godfrey: Camlann’s name comes from the well-known Arthurian legend, specifically from King Arthur’s final battle, “The Battle of Camlann”. I and Chariszan thought that we wanted to find a name that is easy to remember by people, and has a connection with legend or myth, so we chose the name Camlann.
S&S: How did you find one another?
Godfrey: In early 2019, I started posting covers of my favorite songs from my favorite artists (mostly The Smiths and Joy Division) on my old Instagram account. Somehow, this attracts Chariszan’s attention, and she asked me if I wanted to make a Post-Punk/New Wave band with her. So I said yes, and that’s how Camlann was born. It was never really taken seriously by Chariszan and I, before I graduated from middle school and moved to a public school in Jakarta, and met these two boys who later will be my closest best friends.
Around September 2019, my classmate, which is Fauzan, asked me if he could join the band as the synth player and composer. He told me that he’s a massive 80s New Wave/synthpop enthusiast and wanted to play in an 80s synth-dominated band. So I said yes, because we have the same interest in music and because he’s a very gifted synth player and composer. After that, Fauzan asked his friend, which is Bayu, if he wanted to join the band to play bass. So there you go, that’s how it all started.
S&S: What inspires you, and your sound?
Godfrey: I got inspired by a lot of things, but mostly by some real events that [are] happening in my life and some important events that happened in this world in general. I got influenced a lot by Morrissey’s songwriting since the very beginning of Camlann until this day. It’s funny to see that some people thought that these dark, depressing, and melancholic lyrics are based on my life, when in fact it’s all fictional and based on my imaginations. Well, most of them are inspired by some real events in my life, but I twisted those actual, real events into something fictional and mostly dramatic. I took these realities as a ‘host’ for these lyrics, and [I] twist these events into something fictional, dramatic, and definitely not personal. I love using real events in my life as a ‘host’ for these melancholic and gloomy lyrics, haha!
S&S: What turns you on, and puts you in your creative mindset?
Godfrey: I really love to add some religious and historical elements in my music. I was born from a non-religious family; my parents are Protestant, but not religious at all. But then one day, a life-changing experience happened in my life. I felt the presence of God, and I started to buy a bible from a local bookstore near my house and learn Catholicism all by myself. A year later, I got baptized as a Catholic and I’ve never been happier in my life. Since then, I’ve decided to include some Catholic references in my lyrics.
All of us are massive lovers of the 80s, especially Fauzan. So then we decided to create our own universe for our music, where in that universe, we’re living in the early 1980s. That’s also the main reason we take a lot of influences from 80s popular culture and sounds for our music. Fauzan’s presence and contribution in this band is very, very influential and basically, without him, Camlann would never have this current sound. So we owe him A LOT, and I feel like he’s very, very underappreciated when in fact, he’s the main composer of this band.
S&S: What turns you off, and how do you reinspire yourselves?
Godfrey: The struggle of mixing our influences into our music would be the main reason. I got influenced mostly by The Velvet Underground, The Smiths, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Emma Ruth Rundle, Russya, and Xmal Deutschland. Fauzan was influenced mainly by Alphaphile, Depeche Mode, Soft Cell, Suicide, Donna Summer, and Molchat Doma. Meanwhile, Bayu was influenced mostly by The Cranberries, Hole, The Doors, and Joy Division. Sometimes, we struggle on mixing these various influences to Camlann’s typical sound, and it took us almost a year to find our own sound.
We usually reinspire ourselves by brainstorming our different influences together and sharing new music that we have just discovered lately, and then starting on gathering these new ideas into one unity. You will definitely hear this new sound of Camlann in our upcoming album, ‘Circa 1983’; this album is a fresh start of Camlann’s sound and image as a band. We will definitely go in this direction from now on – a ‘Dark Disco’ band, a mixture between classic disco and 80s synthpop/New Wave sounds with modern Darkwave sounds.
S&S: What would your listeners be surprised to learn about you?
Godfrey: We’re definitely just some random high school students with their own life interests and their own dreams. We are definitely not ‘dark’ or ‘gloomy’ when we’re not being these images we play in Camlann. We just happened to play in a dark disco band – that’s why we look gloomy and dark in our band pictures, haha!
Also, I’ve heard many people think that I have a deep voice. But actually, my talking voice is quite high-pitched. That’s why my father got really shocked when he heard me singing for the first time!
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It may seem counterintuitive to imagine steel-gray, 1983 Sheffield skies scattered over wet cobblestones when one is listening to an Indonesian synthpop trio, but it is exactly Camlann’s relatability and reverence for their influences that makes the music feel mature and expertly crafted. There is common ground to be found here, freshly updated and uniquely flavored with subtlety and precision. Encapsulating a wide spectrum of genres and techniques, Camlann are proving themselves to be one to watch as they continue to develop their sound. The Forgotten Lost Fragments feels like poring through the memory box of an intriguing stranger, where one finds treasures that reach across time and borders to become cherished once again.
Sitting down to write and absorb for the first time in a few weeks. I love the way my boundaries keep getting stretched further by the sounds I am hearing. I feel like the Goth/Industrial genres are a buffet of ever widening flavors to test that adventurous streak in my heart.
SYZYGYX and ELZ AND THE CULT – ANXXX – Two of the sexiest bands on Cold Transmission team up for this razor hot single. Trying to put this in a box of genre or previous sound is a herculean task beyond me. This is found metal sculpture sounds, wet leather, and heavy breath. Static glitch dance beats are a 3D computer image of horror pop fingers on the back of your spine. Elz’s voice is captivating and sensual. Luna steps outside her breathy whisper to scream out with terrifying demonic exultation. The result is a horror film spectacle that leaves you frozen to the floor. Elz spoken word poetry shows a William Burroughs raw creativity and free form emotional overcharge. Everything these bands do is glorious art. Working together it is a powerful and un nerving statement.
Actors – Strangers – Another single, another amazing slow tease from Actors. This song has a synth heavy influence with wonderful understated staircase guitar. The energy is star crossed and introspective. That kind of infatuation that rattles your DNA and leaves you be lost in the journey of knowing someone that first time. The change in bass players really adds a bright bursting color to the tone. Jason takes the reins on the vocals here and every phrase is a come hither lilting rise. The way he sits in the mix like it is the scenery of this story. This album can’t come soon enough.
Echo Haus – Deth Werk – New single from Echo Haus, one half of Chicago based Lorelei Dreaming. AJ does a focus on electronic imagery and scenery in their music. This one instills a picture of a hospital intensive care unit. The thrumming heart beat blips and tension. The journey seems to dive into the patient around 1:27 and becomes a part of the blood stream. Twisting and turning past organ and system. I love their ability to transport you with frequency and modular shift. Sometimes I want to focus on the words and energy of music. Sometimes I want to to hide behind my eyes and drift through the world. Echo Haus is the latter.
aliasynesthesiamusic – Stop Go – Beautiful twisting tension track. I feel that sense of Bjork surrealism pop with shadowy edges. As though she is a character in a Mario Brothers adventure. City hopping on angel wings from one cloud to another and never able to escape this digital prison. One of those solo ritual dance songs made for your alone time in your room. A true imagination fuel mind gripper. This really gets me excited for the future releases. Beautifully produced and expertly crafted.
Burnt Souls – Desolation – An Australian recommendation from Ant Banister (Sounds Like Winter) who is always a spot on source of great music. I love the complexity of emotion and overlapping sound. They have some flavor of The Church and even The Smiths but Colin Gallagher has a unique and delicate voice that really slips through the cracks of it’s own ground. It definitely rides that lo-fi throwback tone which sits perfectly within itself. The drum transitions flow like water through a rocky path. Every emotion seems to find it’s focus without screaming out. I love the steady control and thoughtful precision. This is one of those albums you can throw on and feel something different each time. Be drawn to a new aspect every time. This isn’t a record of bangers, it’s one that needs to be absorbed.
The Ghost Of Bela Lugosi – No Way Home – I can’t take a trip to Australia without visiting my good friend Vin Price. Every single he puts out is a master class in song writing and creativity. I know I say this every time I review him but he is staggeringly underrated. This track is a beautiful synthesis of the past and future with barbed hook guitar riffs, cascading tempo shifts, and ensemble cast vocals (even though it is all him). It’s a wobbling stumble through streets with broken lights. Following the voice of the one you love to certain danger. A power your can’t ignore. Every time I hear a new TGOBL track it instantly becomes my favorite.
Klack – Deklacked V1 – Matt and Eric are back at it once again. This time they have brought all their friends to share in the power of the Klack. To understand the power of Klack you need to grasp the friendship of the members. This in turn becomes a contagious connection which draws in the artists in this scene like moths to a flame. You can feel the affection of all these artists to these songs as they lovingly craft new lights and blips to make them their own. Assemblage 23 , Sweat Boys , Null Device, Caustic, and many more put the tender heart in a blender and spew forth visceral blood and guts to fling at the walls of your dance hall. If you love EDM/EBM no one is doing it at a level higher than Klack.
Hello titty bois and titty girls, this is Eddie LaFlash from Decent News and until Ken decides I’m too shitty at writing reviews I’ll be doing this for a while. Today I’ll be covering a single that Ken sent my way. IN FIRE AND IN BLOOD by ∆AIMON.
First off I’ll start with the title track. I want to start off by saying that this single has an incredible mix. Starting with these reverbed piano swells that lays a base melody for the track. It lays down a catchy yet ambient passage that gets interrupted with a cascade of strong ass synth pads before these Dave Gahan-esque vocals punch you right in the feelings. The song structure here is good, it directs you exactly to where the progression should leaving you with a very non jarring listen which is exactly what a great track like this should have. I would’ve preferred the female vocals to be a little higher in the mix, but that doesn’t matter because this track holds its ground so well.
Now we move onto the title track except this one has Wrecked in parenthesis. Now remember that bit I said about track one being a non jarring experience? Well, if you’d like a more jarring experience then the Wrecked mix will blow your fuckin pp off. While all of the elements and structure are present in this version, the kick has a breath of punchy distortion added aswell as some more frantic and upbeat hi hats. Dynamically, this has a little more looseness in the groove. One of these versions is guaranteed to tickle your fancy.
Track 3 is a cover of Scarecrow by Ministry. Now I’m not the biggest ministry fan (surprise) but that in no way effect how I feel about this cover. The crows in the intro got some “OOOOOO” points from me. That combined with the driving bass and the buttery sawtooth lead makes this track a nice long smooth drag off a cigarette. Then the chorus hits you abruptly and you get a little spooked and you drop your ciggy into your lap, but its okay. It’s a good spook, and you just go back to smoking your cigarette.
Overall, its a great listen. There’s alot of variety between the 3 tracks in this single that should hit everyone’s taste buds. ALSO, ∆AIMON gets even more “OOOOOO” points for having acoustic drums on this release. Not that that matters to me, its just cool to see and it definitely shows with how dynamic the percussion is on this release.
As 2021 begins and the world continues it’s isolation we find comfort where we can. For me that has been finishing an album, enjoying our ShadowBook Facebook group, and finding amazing new music to drop my hard earned duckets down for on Bandcamp day. The first Friday of every month Bandcamp gives all of it’s proceeds from album sales directly to the artist. So let me fire through what will be taking up residence in my ever expanding collection.
Stoneburner – No Light No Spark – It is fairly well known Steven is a friend of the page. That is why I appreciate it so much he never makes me forfeit my integrity by consistently putting out increasingly amazing albums. In this one he calls upon an army of Industrial compatriots to remix some of his recent work. (Bellhead/Assemblage 23 / Machines With Human Skin / Dogtablet/ Sister Sarin / Stabbing Westward / Joy Thieves / Bativia / Hollowboy / Pill Brigade). It’s always a joy to here material you love, reimagined by other people you love. Often they do something I always want to hear from Steven, which is giving even more clarity to his concepts and poetry.
Standout Tracks: All of them.
Amnesialand(Dogtablet – Soldier Ant Mix) Static strikes like brushes, a machine powers up, Steven’s rapping flow is clarified and direct. I love how the drums slide off the beat behind him.
Are You There The WayI’m Here (Assemblage 23 Remix) A slow and deliberate grind that isolates the lyrics. Striking hard on the front beats. Just wave after wave of giant stone wheels crushing the land before it.
No Light No Spark (Terror Management Theory version) Giant and terrifying in it’s scope. This track stomps around on iron legs with drunken fury. A stalking beast of a song.
You can never have too much Stoneburner in your collection.
SINE – DesolateDistrict Feat. Chris Connelly – This is an absolute burner single that came out last year. It’s starburst drums and satin vocals, weaving through a shattered landscape. Then it adds in Chris Fuking Connelly. I love this call and answer flow of the vocals. The power of the drum beats shakes your spine. This song is a dance club hit every place in America needs to be thumping through a system. When Connelly is the icing on your cake, that is one hell of a cake. Hot poetry like this “The name’s contagious, written in smoke You force fed energy, starved and soaked You misread crime when you look at decline Desolate district dissolute signs”
Die Robot – Frantic – Portland’s cybernetic punk energon cubes released this single in May last year. It’s that perfect synthesis of funky electropunk and smash your face flying robot fist. Great mixture of voices and sensual inflection. I got done stomping my feet to this single and picked up the whole discography. My advice is get this and then when your legs can’t dance anymore build better ones out of broken robot parts.
I Ya Toyah – Out Of Order – Chicago/Poland’s favorite one women sound extravaganza has this eagerly awaited sophomore EP out 3/26/21 which is now available for preorder. So far one single is available and just like every time Ania puts out something new, my jaw hit the floor. Instead of napalm energy, this new sound is a cutting laser or focus and complexity. Like a fine wine every moment it lingers in your throat offers a new flavor and tone. This is a must order and early contender to be on albums of the year. It’s so seldom you see someone with the talents of Ania work as hard as she does at her craft to grow exponentially with each release.
Also a bundle package available Unisex T-shirt designed by Chicago artist Danesh Kothari, printed on soft and natural Bella Canvas, plus limited edition holographic sticker, and CD in 6 panel art wallet with 6 page lyric and art insert. Photos and art by award winning European artist Krzysztof Babiracki. 15% of each physical album sale goes to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to aid mental health cause. Ania is an amazing human changing the world with everything she does.
The Churchill Garden – Fade Away – Gorgeous new dreampop single with a team up of Andy Jossi and (Whimsical) singer Krissy Vanderwoude. This track is a tear rolling slowly down the cheek just as the sun strikes it to make it sparkle. I kept feeling my heart rise up towards my throat as layer after layer emerged and joined a cacophony of tender sweeping wind. Music to make your feel.
Luis Vasquez – A Body Of Errors – I hate to be that guy, that says I was at that one show. I’m just kidding, I love to be that guy. I got to see The Soft Moon at Berghain and it altered the course of my sonic life. This new solo album is a percussion driven instrumental masterpiece. Rising cities, cities destroyed, the screams of a dying age. Textural emotive hums infusing the body and blasting a prism of colors into the mind. I’m not usually one for instrumental works but just like anything when it is done at this level it is something that moves you. Future Sounds of London with the edgy tension of Coil. I want to be back in that bunker in Berlin riding the wave of this journey of sound.
Doors In The Labyrinth – The Shadow Of The Monolith – I love when a band has so many present influences that their is no effective way to categorize it. New album from the Pittsburgh native Josh Loughrey has a textured coldwave isolation crashing up against sizzling guitars and wilderness crooning vocals. Full album release is 3/15 but this first single is full of promise and explosive energy. I had the opportunity to see Josh open for Adoration Destroyed/Lorelei Dreaming and this is an artist with a bubbling volcano of passion ready to explode.
Collapse of Dawn – of dreams and nightmares – This is a sound that really leans into it’s album name. A sinister stalking wispy electronic sound. Both Saphirra Vee and Melodywhore contribute vocals and it is a powerful combination to give the shadow images both sensuality and dark intention. My personal favorite was “Silent Howl“, it managed to elevate the surrealism to further the dream metaphor. Just like a dream or nightmare I think the true star of the show were the tiny brushstrokes of sound you don’t remember you heard until later reflection. Everyone who listens will get their own story. I’m glad I heard mine.
Kandinsky Noir – DOM-J (Feat. Grabyourface) – This track immeadiately puts you back on your heels with explosive force and smashing guitars. Very old school industrial tone with a sharp high speed modern sound. The effect is made even stronger with a wonderful guest vocal by Marie of Grabyourface providing French lyrics. This one is even more special for me because the collaboration came out of our Sounds and Shadows group. A beautiful textured jam with teeth and blood.
Dissonance – Damage 1st Assault (Feat Melodywhore) Ok I am a long time fan of Cat Hall, she has one of the most underrated voices in modern electronic. So when I say this is my favorite track I want you to appreciate the weight of that. James lays down a filthy grinding beat that really let her voice off the chain. Puts me in mind of that aggressive feminine power of Lords of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Cult. All broken glass and velvet sass. I can’t wait to hear more from this powerful collaboration. The single also features some powerful remix work from Joe Haze , Machines With Human Skin, Steven Olaf, and more.
