Category: Review

Exciting new releases to cling to as the world slides into oblivion.

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Here I sit again with a tequila in hand sifting through all the glorious new sounds that crossed my electronic desk in the past few weeks. Already 2020 has promised to be an adventure of new music.

Sonsombre – “Lights Out” The hottest band in traditional goth revival have done it again. Fresh off their groundbreaking album “The Veils of Ending” Brandon Pybus and company have released a new single with that beautiful breakneck paced goth glory building anticipation for a new album. I love the staccato guitar pinpricks and Brandon’s deep rich croon. A promise of a world emerged in darkness waiting for you to join in this reborn culture outside the sun. This track makes me so hopeful for the future of goth music.

https://sonsombre.bandcamp.com/track/lights-out-2

Caroline Blind (Sunshine Blind) – “Heaven” – The third single from goth/Industrial royalty Caroline Blind. Continuing on with this acoustic shadow witch Stevie Nicks vibe of her recent releases. Caroline’s voice is a beautiful gift full of emotion and nostalgic blanket wrapping warmth. Ritch W of (The Wake) provides these driving rhythmic acoustic harp strike guitars to propel Caroline’s angelic vocals. While the winding dream of David Wolfenden (Red Lorry Yellow Lorry) electric leads wrap like tendrils on your sleeping mind. I keep being more and more impressed with each new single.

https://carolineblind.bandcamp.com/track/heaven

Dilk – “Hardship” – Sassy new release from our friends at Cold Transmission. Spanish based DILK has a breakneck electronic drum beat that put me in mind of Devo or Sigue Sigue Sputnik but with this rich darkwave edge to the vocals that held a melodic beauty keeping these sizzling dance beats in check. Something fresh and glorious to spice up your Saturday darkness.

https://dilk.bandcamp.com/

Helvete Inc. – “Filth” I loved this fierce mouth punch industrial tire fire from Baltimore. It has a definite NIN Broken feel with dangerous themes, slashing electronic noise attacks, and sinister counter culture poetry. I listened to this before going into work to dwell on my own hypocrisy. It’s sexy, filthy, and unapologetic with songs like “Goddess Heathen Fuck Machine”

https://hymnsovgolgotha.bandcamp.com/album/filth

Klack – “Move Any Mountain” Industrial dance gurus Klack doing The Shamen’s hit which is the most remixed song of all time. This scintillating dance drone with Eric and Matt chanting away to the cascading waves of retro synth glory. Yes please, every time.

https://klack.bandcamp.com/album/move-any-mountain

Dread Risks – “Errorcode” (Remix by Adoration Destroyed) I speak from experience when I say Erik and Ritch of Adoration Destroyed do the best remixes. This track is sinister, sultry, and full of snap beat attacks. The vocals are a whisper growl of agony full of broken glass and torture while the keyboards flow in lovely melody. Dance floor this now.

https://dreadrisks.bandcamp.com/track/errorcode-adoration-destroyed-remix

Electronic Substance Abuse Feat: Caitlyn of Corlyx – “You are safe here” This is a fearsome dance jam with vocals from the lovely and talented Caitlyn Stokes. It’s a floor destroying audio assault full of velvet and exploding sparkles. Turn it to 11 and stomp your feet.

https://esangp.bandcamp.com/

Review pf Glass Apple Bonzai : The All​-​Nite Starlite Electronic Café

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Band: Glass Apple Bonzai

Album: The All-Nite Starlite Electronic Cafe’

Label: Artoffact Records

So my first introduction to Glass Apple Bonzai was through this collaboration and I immediately fell in love. This song is beautiful, deep, and textured in a way that pays respect to the past. Yet was fresh and original. I had to apologize to Daniel. This album came out in 2019 and somehow just slipped through my fingers. So I started listening tonight and Holy shit, this is up there with the best Synthwave albums I heard in 2019. It’s passionate, it’s powerful, it’s crafted by a master of Synthesizer architecture. The idea of Synthwave music is such a carefully formulated construction of building blocks in perfect precision that even to a rookie it is so easy to hear when something is out of place. On this record nothing is ever out of place even for a moment. Daniel is an artist who uses every sound, every effect, every word to razor wire effect.

Sometimes in 2020 it is easy to get caught up in the fact that artists are creating music on the shoulders of artists 20-30 ect years gone. That we have this pressure to re-invent the wheel and say that we are doing something fresh that isn’t effected by the things we loved in the 80’s that came before us. I think one of the most entrancing aspects of this record is the unapologetic way it embraces it’s homage to the past while finding it’s own voice. The concepts, sounds, even vocal patterns pull heavily from 80’s pop music. Yet the concepts here are fresh. The vocals and lyrics are heartfelt. The technology allows for new possibilities. It’s like Daniel traveled to the past, had modern tech not available to musicians then, then wrote about life in 2019 within that framework. It’s not easy to pull this off and Daniel is a craft person who pulled together a difficult idea.

Favorite Tracks:

Radio: Gorgeous synth magnificence straight out of a John Hughes movie. It’s expansive, it’s beautiful, and it burrows into your head with lovely pop hooks. I can’t never get enough of this track.

Stormy Weather: I love the sensitive power of this track. It has a wonderful lyrical poetry. It builds and uses harmony like a synth itself. This was 80’s Duran Duran at it’s best and yet a song I never heard and wanted to.

The Fire (Of Giant Red Stars) – I love the change up here. The beats are off kilter and the background takes a dark tone in spite of the bright music. This song has wonderful layers. Reminds me of Pet Shop Boys in the hurtful intensity of the lyrics against the bright synths and dance beat.

Overall I can’t believe I never dived into this album in 2019. It should have been on my top 2019 list but I am making up for lost time. Find this record and play it often.

Unsigned Underground things you need to hear

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So I am locked in my bedroom on kitten nurse duty. Bottle of whiskey and cup of tea. Obviously 2020 has been a tough year to find time to write with the my kitties surgery. So lets fire through all the new stuff I am listening to right now and get a few thoughts 🙂

Band: Redwing Blackbird

Written by : Paul Baker

Lets start out with Colorado band Redwing Blackbird and their album “Too Klaus For Comfort”. So I’m not sure what is happening in Colorado but everything I hear from that state is blowing me away. Paul Baker has put together this self aware album full of camp, and spiraling darkness. Almost a batcave goth meets 90’s britpop. The guitars are thick and lofi in the best possible way. The vocals and lyrics are diverse in scope and never settle into a rut. It has a lot of progish complexity to the song writing with a lot of piss and vinegar to keep it real. I think the biggest compliment I can give this record is I can’t quite seem to put my finger on it no matter how many times i listen. Everytime I think the words to describe it are on my tongue it turns into a thousand spiders and slips through my fingers. It’s not clean or overproduced but in this case that works to advantage not defeat.

https://redwingblackbird1.bandcamp.com/album/too-klaus-for-comfort?fbclid=IwAR3_O28e_hY_OEMifpkAq6hmWiSYRG2rowBxTnk63ItFRwGnsHhJiYE7NoI

Favorite Tracks: The Spectacular Death of Margaret Fuller ; Too Klaus for Comfort; Devils Horns.

Band: Bring Her

Hometown: Pittsburgh

Next up is an album I should have already written about by now but have been in love with a while Pittsburgh’s Bring Her. Self titled album is out on digital and LP. The record has a very dark-electro disco feel. Nadine J has this lovely waterfall chant voice. It cuts through the synth waves like a knife and strikes and parries like a fencer. Puts me in mind of Kim Gordan from Sonic Youth. They really succeed in finding the place between obscure pretension and ear catching dance beats. I think it is a record that adds to every party and takes nothing away. It knows just how to fit in it’s own pocket. I love this is another self release underground gem.

Favorite Tracks : Curses Not Promises; Choose Me Move Me; Unholy Awake

Band: Shadows Beloved

Album: The Quiet Machines

Hometown: Maine

https://shadowsbeloved.bandcamp.com/releases?fbclid=IwAR13o8hI_ybB1XA1oZgWcTD8sG-gvxAt4NE2G9zJkC-BWs1MybsxcvNn5Os

Next up is The Quiet Machines from Maine. This one is personal, a dear friend Adrian Auchrome who I learned of as a Dj but was blown away by their original offerings. I love when a vocalist really finds their own path among the standard definition of what is suppose to be goth/industrial. Adrian has this wonderful over the top cabaret feel to the sinister dance vibe and old school goth. Their slushy meandering phrasing lines really carry you through ideas with a lot of emotion and grab hold of your heart strings like a horses reins. This was another 2018 release which I am just writing about now but I have had the chance to hear some of the new releases and they are a amazing progression from this already great concept. I love an artist that leaves everything on the floor and crawls towards you with reckless abandon and that is what Adrian has achieved.

Favorite Tracks: Chemistry (All I need); The Quiet Machines; The Formula

Band: Cliff and Ivy

Album: The Best of Cliff and Ivy

https://cliffandivy.bandcamp.com/album/the-best-of-cliff-and-ivy

Cliff and Ivy from Alaska have been such an essential part of the Goth scene this decade. We have review two of their albums and come to appreciate the way they lift everyone in the scene around them. This latest offering is a compilation of their albums in one steam lined offering of horror punk, goth, poetic glory. I really can’t think of an example of anyone who keeps in as real. They are authentic, brash, fierce, and always 100% in sync. This album really touches on all of their diverse styles and emotional intensity. Ivy is a poet of abstract imagery with her lyrics. This is a great way to experience all of their many masks and hardcore glory.

Favorite tracks: Superclass; Fossil Fuel; In Your Hands

Band: JH-X9

Album: Crime of Science

Hometown: Detroit (represent)

https://jh-x9.bandcamp.com/album/crime-of-science?fbclid=IwAR2A94xfVLu4h4ZRUbh779F3XF0TTlRowywAZ5DiE9E7hj4V1ae6RQvQDNA

Well this is awkward. My friend Victor Montes from Arizona sent me the EP from JH-X9 called “Crime of Science” and they are from my home state MI. This is some first rate dark digital snake slither darkwave. I love the confident spoken word chant vocals and static progression keyboards. Lots of sinister trip hop flow here. Only two songs on the EP but this is full of potential and all over my radar now.

Favorite Track : Crime of Science

In 2020 the music game is changing. We are lucky to have many great labels embracing and supporting bands. Lots of bands choose to go their own way and often it is these that push the boundaries and find new ground. Give a spin to these records and discover some today.

Sounds and Shadows Podcast #5 (Reviews of new releases we love)

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So we had a bit of a hiatus from the podcast and will be starting out 2020 with lots of great guests in our standard format. However we missed it so much Collin and I got rum drunk and decided to do a podcast talking about some recently releases we couldn’t wait to talk about. As always I will put links to all the bands we talk about below. Enjoy the tracks and we look forward to getting more great interviews for you soon.

Sounds and Shadows Podcast #5

First up was the epic return of Stabbing Westward

https://stabbingwestward.bandcamp.com/

Portuguese Dark Wave glory IAMTHESHADOW on Cold Transmission with a new video.

Heavy Water Factory new remix of Detroit Post Punk sizzle Schedule IV

https://scheduleiv.bandcamp.com/

Ukrainian Cold Wave Icy Men remixed by Kiss of the Whip off Cold Transmission

https://icymen.bandcamp.com/track/raindrops-kiss-of-the-whip-remix

Another Cold Transmission band Palais Ideal just released this wonderful new music video

We also discussed Electronic Saviors upcoming 6th compilation and Steven Archer.

https://stoneburnerngp.bandcamp.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Saviors:_Industrial_Music_To_Cure_Cancer

We have lots of great artists already lined up for the next few months so we look forward to bringing you the best in new dark music in 2020. Much love Sounds and Shadows

Review of Scary Black: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

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Scary Black

From: Louisville KY

Release date: 12/26/19

https://scaryblack.bandcamp.com/album/are-you-afraid-of-the-dark

https://www.facebook.com/scaryblack502/

This is a really exciting new traditional goth release from Louisville KY band Scary Black. I love the return to early roots I am seeing in the scene as of late. Rich and flowing with that Sisters of Mercy fender jazz tube amp guitar sound. Filled in with delicate and impact heavy synth lines. The album is diverse and places a huge emphasis on lyrics and poetry. Singer Albie Mason has a powerful and deep bass voice that really holds in place all the high end moving parts. It has the quality of a large moving glacier full of ice and magnitude crawling towards you with cold beauty.

I found myself in love with the ability of the songs to be modern and direct. Then switch hard to a campy Anne Rice Vampiric romanticism. I’m a huge fan of bands that can go over the top without losing meaning and credibility and Scary Black really drives that stake through the heart. A lot of bands these days can create a beautiful sound that pays homage to the past. It seems the harder task is to have poetic lyrics that capture that same level of meaning as The Cure and Sisters. That to me was the true magic of this record.

This is a complete album (One that made me upset I had already completed albums of the year when it released). Here were some stand out tracks.

Stay in Your Lane – Those beautiful muted guitar lines with sinister delay. Albie’s voice sinks to the lowest register and bellows out a powerful whisper full of menace and beauty at the same time. The synth lines are gorgeous with a very New Order feel to add a New Wave feel.

A Few Things I Hate – Holy creeping through the cemetery drinking a bottle of Merlot and smoking clove cigarettes. This song really transported me back in time. A horror movie soundtrack feel full of foreboding atmosphere. The vocals whisper a secret you have to reach for and it creates a powerful effect.

Are you Afraid of The Dark – The title track is such a beautiful break from form. Those creeping pan pipes sound build a lead in with a melody that sticks with you. Then the trademark delay sliding guitars. This one has so much of that overt vampire novel feel. It tells a story and one I am here for.

Overall I was immediately drawn in and in love with this record. It’s lovely, layered, and will require many more listens in the coming months to unpack. I questioned bringing this up but I think it is important to acknowledge. The Goth rock genre can feel fairly underrepresented by people of color and I love when an album of this quality also brings a perspective to this scene which hasn’t been heard enough. I really look forward to hearing many future releases from Scary Black.