Category: Review

Review of Black Nail Cabaret: Pseudopop

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Band: Black Nail Cabaret
Album: Psuedopop
Label : Dichronaut Records 
Members: Emese Arvai-Illes // vocals
Krisztian Arvai // keys, production 
Mixed and mastered by Krisztian Arvai 
Album art: Emese Arvai-Illes 
Album art design and editing: Stapel Design

https://dichronaut.bandcamp.com/album/pseudopop

https://www.facebook.com/bncband/

This video makes me want to stop what I am doing and start a revolution !

Prepare yourselves for one of Ken’s absolutely gushing reviews. Black Nail Cabaret is so far up my alley as it is a cooler than jagged steel icicles. Featuring a singer with a strong message and pithy lyrics. Unique blending of styles executed with perfect precision, and sensually delicious dance beats that make your heart go thump. I got lost in this album over the weekend and the video for Bete Noire is so glowing razor hot it made me want to run away and join the revolution. Emese Arvai-Illes has the kind of effortless power in her voice that put me in mind of the passion and snark of Siouxsie meeting the class and elegance of Annie Lennox. Listening to her sing in a wide range of styles without any noticeable effect on her voice is like seeing a master fencer in the Olympics snap through forms and striking your eardrums with effect in a way you cannot parry.

Lets talk music because BNC are not a pop star vocalist carrying the work. These songs are beautiful and diverse. Styles ranging from sullen ballads that have hints of a timeless smokey jazz underground , dance club anthems, and advent-garde textural builders. The scope is what sets this timeless work apart . Krisztian Arvai is a synth wizard crafting worlds of dance magic pulling beats and hooks like a puppeteer with strings. Emese would not need much to prop her diamond sharp voice but the music is a beautiful throne for her to ring out from. I think one of the other beautiful aspects is they really know where their strength lies, the focus does not go beyond the sounds they need to create the image. No extra parts for the sake of complexity. Which helps lend a focus to the words and music in a punk rock revolutionary edge. Ok, I’ll try to pick a few tracks but this is a whole album to hear in one go record.

Smolder to 1,000,000

Bete Noire – Ok this is how I first found them and this song is just a total anthem. The vocals are defiant and precise. The Line “I think I want to kill you but I believe in peace bitch” seems a tad tongue and cheek when written out but the delivery is done with passion and reverence. The beats and keys are thundering and make your feet stomp in rhythm. I want to march to the hills and eat the rich with this jam on.

Verge on the Creepy – For starters what an awesome song title. This song really reminded me of the beautiful elegance of an 80s Eurythmics classic pop song. It has such dark blending tone though. It’s full of longing and emotion. It’s one of those pop songs that transcends too deeply to be pop.

90S – Ok this might not be one of the darkest deepest tracks on this album, but it’s just fun. It’s such a different sound for Emese. Krisztian brightens the tone in these water fall keyboards. I can’t help but get lost in the nostalgia of a decade when I was the same age. It captures a moment in time.

Overall this album is exactly what I needed in this moment. It was gorgeous, and nuanced. It ran me through a range of emotions and was just one of those records so accessible and easy to fall in love with. This is both a dance party in your living room at 3am, and a rainy day laying on the couch with a cat and a cup of tea at the same time. So rare and glorious. Get this in your collection right away.

Review of Hante: Fierce

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Band: Hante

Album: Fierce

Label: Metropolis Records | www.metropolis-records.com

All tracks written, recorded and produced by Hélène de Thoury

https://metropolisrecords.bandcamp.com/album/fierce

https://www.facebook.com/hanteband/

The new album Fierce by by Paris France based Helene de Thoury is a bold sensory attack on modern darkwave sensibility. It attacks the concept of pop music in its effortless ability to face concepts and sounds that feel comfortable and easy to accept. It attacks a dark and artistic scene with ear haunting melodies and hook heavy rhythms that appeal to the senses. This album walks a razors edge between counter culture revolution and dance hall destruction. A true dichotomy in every brilliant track that forces the listener to question what is the edge of artistic expression and do I give a shit because this song is straight toe tapping fire. These songs are haughty, they are Paris in an unnamed nightclub at 3am. They are unfiltered cigarettes and dark lit rooms. The songs are full of sex appeal and understated intention. When trying to describe these flowing keyboard lines and subtle drum beats I keep coming back to the word effortless. The details of drum fills, swells, texture are all there in perfect precision. But it has that feeling that is so illusive and hard to capture of trying to sound cutting edge cool without all this fore thought. Like you just showed up and it happened. That is the essence of Hante.

The vocals and Lyrics embody this concept most of all. Helene never reaches, never uses anger or intensity to portray her emotions in these songs. She floats like a phantom in a flowing black dress smoke rolling behind her and she tell the story of strength and heartbreak in these soundscapes and city tales. These are songs I found myself lost in. Shadow puppets that surrounded me and captured me. I have seldom heard an album where the vocals and music found such perfect balance and never overpowered each other. This is a record to become lost in. A labyrinth of sound and mirage.

Are there familiar elements here, sure, it has a giant audio wave tidal wave of Cocteau Twins, a grinding sultry darkness of Anne Lennox. Yet the beats and music have a edge, a sharp razor bite that speaks to the modern sensibility that subtlety is not enough to define her. This is beauty that must be heard and viewed from a distance from fear of steeping to close to the fire.

Standout tracks:

Waiting for a Hurricane – Driving gentle waves of keyboard and dance hall beat. Builds you in an ebb and flow. Helene’s voice is a whisper and a promise. The chorus is a angelic choir of pop majesty. These drum beats are driving and haunting. Like a lost ghost with a eternal message. I hear you.

No Tenderness – This song features Aetervader’s majestic and heartfelt vocal lines. I found myself in love with the contrast and unyielding echos. It gave such an important change of pace of urgency and effort from Helene’s delicate and gentle emotions. When you hear an artist of this caliber you have to ask how would one add to this? Aetervader found a way without detracting from her glory.

Never Over– A dissonant creeping melody. I loved this song for pulling back everything else and giving the purity of Helene’s vocals a chance to shine in an echo chamber. The clarity and dynamics of the keyboard line made this track stand out. When the drums dropped around 1:47 the song took on a fullness and depth that really made it resonate to me. To feel like rain bouncing off streets on a twilight night.

Overall this album is an album that feels like a painting. An image captured in time and full of stirring emotion. I had never heard Hante’s previous albums and didn’t expect to become so enamored but here I found myself. It’s gorgeous, tragic, striking, it makes you feel something. Something fast, and deep. It is efficient, modern, and grabs you in its arms and rocks you to a place you can both feel gently or dive into. Take this journey. Feel this power.

Review of Mr.Kitty: Ephemeral

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Band: Mr.Kitty

Album: Ephemeral

Label: Negative Gain Productions

Members: Forrest LeMaire

In 2021 Mr. Kitty issued an apology for having an inappropriate online relationship with a minor. . Further details are available on Reddit, although the apology has now been removed from his social media. Going forward Sounds and Shadows will not be covering Mr. Kitty or his future releases. We hope for the recovery of his victim and family effected. As well as him getting help in addressing this behavior.


Review of IAMTHESHADOW: Embracing The Fall

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Band: IAMTHESHADOW

Album: Embracing The Fall

Lable: Self release

Members: Pedro Code – voices, guitar, synthesizers and programming. 
Vitor J. Moreira – Synthesizers. 
Herr G – Bass, guitar.

All lyrics by Pedro Code, except “Remembrance” and “Flowers come winter” (Poems by Friedrich Holderlin). 
All songs by IAMTHESHADOW; 
Guitars on “The skin” by Karl Morten Dahl 
Spoken voice on “Remembrance” by Chris Göllnitz. 
Mixed and mastered by Pedro Code. 
Artwork and photos by Butow Romey.


https://iamtheshadow.bandcamp.com/album/embracing-the-fall-2

https://www.facebook.com/pg/IAMTHESHADOWOFFICIAL/about/?ref=page_internal

Wow, this album absolutely blew me away. I don’t say this lightly. I keep listening to it over and over and I truly don’t know when I will hear enough. As we all know by this point I am an absolute sucker for a truly exceptional vocalist especially one that writes engaging lyrics that capture the darkness of the human spirit. Pedro Code’s voice is like a perfectly cut silk suit hanging on his form. Dripping with sensuality and beauty. It’s one of those sounds where you can truly hear the aesthetic of the artist just in the music before you even draw a picture in your head. It is deep and rich. It folds on you with it’s warmth and strength. I am reminded so much of Peter Murphy’s solo work by the effortless androgynous beauty of the melodies and high brow dancibility of these songs. Honestly if the music had been mediocre I still would be drawn in by this band. THE MUSIC IS NOT MEDIOCRE! Victors keyboards are creative and lovely. Wrapping the music in textures of Tones on Tail, Bauhaus, and more modern aspects like Bella Morte. The drum beats are tight and fierce. Herr G’s bass lines are driving and structured. I am honestly hard pressed to think of any of these aspects that are not firing on all cylinders. You can tell these are peak musicians who know and love each other because of the seamless communication happening in the song writing process. This is dynamic music that swells and falls through emotion but with an effortless simplicity of leaning against a pillar smoking a cigarette and just looking cool.

This album takes me back with it’s nostalgia but it also propels you forward. It has delicious pop hooks over the top of that thick bass lines. As a singer it is so difficult to have music with this deep romantic style and not sound cheesy, this album manages to transcend that cheese and have a truth that teeters just on that edge of too much. To attack the dark beauty observed in life with such reverence and passion. IAMTHESHADOW manages to stay just this side of a very serious concept without losing sight of itself. Understand how much respect I have for what was done in these songs. I’m truly at a loss right now. You always want to be moved and feel something . Add on top of this already amazing sound the the distinctive guitar sound of Karl Morton Dahl on “The Skin” and you have a memorizing creation which steps outside of itself and pushing the feelings within you.

Standout tracks:

The Skin – I am absolutely enamored with what is happening on every track here. However this song features Karl Morton Dahl of the incredible band AntiPole. His trademark textured guitars rich with notes of New order Movement/Reeves Gabriel – The Cure sound are plucking away like a gentle hard while Pedro is crooning a dark melody “Regressed I killed silence inside you, our flesh meets.” It’s romantic, it’s heartbreaking, it’s an intense wash of beauty.

Remembrance – The spoken word on this song is frightening in a Alester Crowley slippery drawl. The keys rise and swell. This is a deep cut that truly cuts with it’s emotional impact and sliding melody. Victor shows his ability to create subtle textures with keyboard lines and strike you with an avant garde style reminiscent of old Bauhaus tracks. Pushing you further into the place beyond your understanding. A place of imagination.

Closing – This is a dance hall burner with a falling minor key tone. It creates tension while the drum beats make an early New Order sense of loss and movement. Then Pedro’s voice is filling the space, filling your mind. During the bridge the song brightens and opens up with a dramatic flare. You are filled with a sense of hope dream like state. This song is the full gambit of emotion.

Overall this album is so strong, I know you can hear the gushing tone of my writing hear. I was moved by these songs. Shaken by the depth and the intensity. Pedro has a voice that is deep, sensual and beautiful. I needed this album, needed to hear it over and over. Buy this album and embrace what is possible when darkness touches the truth of artistic spirit. I can’t recommend this enough. In July I will get to witness this preformed live at the Cold Transmission festival in Cologne and I look forward to a transcendent experience.

Review: Lust for Nothing

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Band: Lust for Nothing
Album: Lust for Nothing 
Label: Sys2matik Records 
Members: Michael Sky – Vox, Guitars
David Sky- Live / Bass Guitar
Neko Sky-Live / Drums

http://lustfornothing.com


https://lustfornothing.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/LustforNothing/

Great new EP of Philly based Michael Sky of Sys2Matik Overload called Lust for Nothing. It’s a short album, 4 songs, but it has some real burners here and it is something you haven’t heard before. As someone who does a bit of this himself I am a total sucker for music that greatly contrasts the lyrics and vocals. This album really casts a night and day picture between the dark intense topic in the lyrics, and the bright fiery energy of the music. Sky doesn’t have a beauty to his voice. It is dark, deep, rich and really holds a rough sad edge. It’s odd, off-putting even. Yet it holds a true gothic bygone ring in the lower register. You can feel the emotion in his driving monotone chant. A bit of Ian Curtis and Peter Steele with a hint of an accent I keep waiting for him to say “Listen to the Children of the Night, what beautiful music they make” The lyrics call out of love lost and clinging hope. It is endurance and strength in the face of a bleak world. It is the sound I now associate when I think of Philadelphia. I spent a lot of time on the vocals but again the true uniqueness of this band is the musical contrast. These songs are bouncy, light, reminding me of The Church. They dance and fill your mind while Michael ties iron chains around your wrists. The push and pull of this effect is both unnerving and captivating. The keyboard lines are a beautiful anthem chorus and the bass lines are a driving pulse of an over excited heart. Neko’s drum parts are crisp and fierce and an ever present piece of order in this emotional tale. The songs really range widely in style but Sky’s ever present voice ties them together in a continuity that makes sense out of the chaos. There is a coolness factor to this music. You know the real deal when you hear it and this band sounds like they look, like they are. It makes the music ring true. Nothing I love the sound of more than genuine emotion cut down to the bone and blasted through an amplifier.


Stand out tracks could really be any but I’ll speak to a few.

Almost Anything – Holy shit this song sounds like the greatest club hits from Erasure or Yaz. The keyboards are entrancing and lovely. The rise and swell. They tickle and drive. Then Michael’s voice drops and it’s a heart wrenching cry. He would “Give you almost anything of what he had to face” I find myself at a lost with how to compare this feeling. Almost like the Mysterian’s 99 tears in how what you are hearing and feeling separates from the lyrics and messenger.

One Last Goodbye – When the music starts if I didn’t know better I would think I was hearing pop punk from the 90s. It’s warm, it’s welcoming, the drums are pounding away. Then Micheal comes in with a beautiful lilting series of lines about hope in the face of desolation. “We cried 100 tears between us, I hope you enjoyed the show” It’s an anthem and I want to pump my fist and cry at the same time.

This EP was too little for my taste. I wanted 10 songs of the enormous range and possibilities. However it is always better to leave them wanting more, and I definitely want more. Get this album. Rock it in the morning after a night spent too long in abuse. Howl at the moon with it and dance. I’m really excited to get a chance to play with this band and watch the energy of a crowd feed off of them. They are raw, they are real, they are Philly goth made flesh.