Category: Review

Hanging Freud “Persona Normal”

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Glasgow minimalist artwave with their sixth album release. I have done a previous review but hitting play 30 seconds in and I already feel this is something different. The tempo is that same patient, anticipation building, tuning fork vibration of keyboard sound. The mix is no longer a dark and swirling murk of life. Instead the water is a clear blue which allows every word to permeate to the surface. Paula has a flickering flame tongue whisper voice which has charged to the front for this record to take a captivating hold. This is an end of the night reflection sound. A secret to treasure, not a proclamation to share. It is a sound just for you in your most personal moments.

https://hangingfreud.bandcamp.com/album/persona-normal

Favorite Tracks:

Antidote – Ok starting with a bit of a deep cut here. It just has that lovely opiate blur sway to it. Mazzy Star soul with a bright lights big city feel. It perfectly captures what this record does so well. Pulls you out of your head with the smallest amount of chaos necessary to grab your attention.

We Don’t Want To Sleep – Lovely transporting intro of life teeming summer days with the buzzing sound of insects growing in a tension of life. I love the bright energy and sleepy tempo in equal measure. It skirts that line line between excitement and dream. This is a musical experience built on delicate balance. I love the effortless nature with which it sits on the head of a pin.

Overall: This is not the album for every moment. It’s specialized, a perfect construct for that lazy eyed moment of introspection in the foggy haze between excitement and dreams. Jonathan Skinner is a master artisan in crafting rich tapestry using efficient material. Paula is a siren holding your imagination as your consciousness flickers between this world and the next. Instead of looking for a sound which is fine in many moments. Seek out a sound which is perfect in it’s own time.

Ashes Fallen “A Fleeting Melody out of a Fading Dream”

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The Sinister Guitar Lord of Sacramento CA James Perry returns with a long anticipated album which releases June 4th 2021. I’ve been a fan of the hard rock edge and dark overtones of Ashes Fallen for a while now. This new record finally fully embraces the goth aspects of the gothic rock. I feel like the scene has been so hungry for a voice of processive morals and guitar driven dark music. The other major step forward for this release is the collaboration heard on keyboard and additional guitars by Michelle and Jason. The seamless blend of these other voices in the song writing process really elevate and highlight the best aspects of James talent. The mastering by Gordan Young crackles with deep lines and definition. James voice has really found it’s internal confidence and writhes and strikes like a sea serpent bursting through phrases and throwing weight on those show stopping fretboard fireworks.

https://ashesfallenmusic.bandcamp.com/album/a-fleeting-melody-out-of-a-fading-dream

Top Tracks: Honestly this who album is a front to back jam with 10 strong tracks.

Vampira (The ballad of Maila) – A lovely tribute to the horror film icon. Both in the lyrical content but also the absolute face melting riff and gothabilly guitar tone. The vocals are attitude, snarl, and croon. Michelle adds in a lovely offset tone on the chorus which swells and solidifies. The back and forth guitar solos on the bridge are an absolute masterclass in movement and melody. This song is a 10 on the AFB scale. (Absolute Fuking Banger)

We Belong Nowhere – Filthy hard edge guitar intro. James has more of a chanting subtlety and blend with Michelle’s harmonies. The chorus is a beautiful hook that pays the first 6 months rent in advance on an apartment in your head. The soul and anguish of old school goth with the complexity and precision of King Crimson.

Shout out for the Delphine Coma shirt

Overall: I was absolutely floored by the step forward this album took from a sound I already loved. I feel this record solidifies Ashes Fallen’s place as one of the premier voices in the modern gothic rock scene. This is not only a must have album of 2021, but one I strongly suggest getting on physical media. The album holds such layered and intricate texture, you will want to deconstruct it on your best sound system. I’m stoked to have the band on an upcoming episode of the Sounds and Shadows webcast.

Bow Ever Down “Let It Burn”

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Exciting new shadow disco album from Kimberly Kornmeier set to release June 15th. This is a project that has been going since the late 90s but I am just getting on board. I regret waiting as long as I did because this album cruises that perfect wave of shake your ass dance beats and heady introspective lyrics. 17 tracks with 8 wicked remixes full of powerful names like Assemblage 23 and Adian Cane. Kimberly has a gorgeous vocal delivery that sits perfectly in the mix to be the star of the show while allowing the crackling energy of the dance beats to fire like a rocket breaking the atmosphere. The shadowy smoke is always present in the tone, but what really wins me over is the confident defiance in the delivery. Her voice has an indomitable spirit that fills you with hope.

https://boweverdown.bandcamp.com/album/let-it-burn

Highlight tracks:

Let It Burn – Opening title track and it’s an absolute burner. When the bell rings you start swinging and that is exactly what this track brought. Beautiful Blondie style delay vocals and sparkling crystal keyboard accents. The song feels so personal, like a story told while watching yourself from outside your body. I’m always impressed when a song can carry off a devil may care attitude without venturing into pretension. It’s one of those tracks you want to be playing in the club when you make your entrance.

Shed My Skin Feat Silence In Machine: A rattling builder with those same laser focus vocals and reckless abandon. Great mechanical demon contrast on the echo vocals by SIM. Again this concept of staring down the barrel of insecurity and trauma and striding boldly forward. This album continues to deliver a powerful voice for women in the scene.

Cold Machine (Assemblage 23 remix) – This is a a song I found so relatable. We keep getting colder and more desensitized to protect ourselves from the damage in the world. Yet in moments we miss that humanity, that vulnerability. It’s a boot stomping baseline and a message that smacks me right in the feels.

Overall: I am beating myself up I am just discovering Bow Ever Down but on the strength of this album I am going to dig through the back catalog. It’s fierce, it’s sensual, and it delivers a message of strength and power. When you preorder the digital album is available now. Final note, the cover art is a burning hellcat with fire eyes. I am obviously here for this.

Caroline Blind “Tribe” the remixes

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Caroline Blind has a new single release of an old Sunshine Blind song complete with remixes of some of the biggest names in goth. I know getting that “old school” sound is the coveted concept of the day. One great way to insure it, get a who’s who super group of some of the best Old School musicians still in the game. Names like Ben Christo (The Sisters of Mercy, Diamond Black), Mark Gemini Thwaite (Gary Numan, Peter Murphy, The Mission), and Andee Blacksugar (KMFDM, Black Sugar Transmission, Peter Murphy), along with her former Sunshine Blind bandmates. Mastered by the always amazing Gordon Young

https://carolineblind.bandcamp.com/album/tribe-the-remixes

A bursting dark driver. It’s full of nostalgia both in the sound as well as the way it makes you think about your connections, your tribe. The song was from 1992 and played often in live sets but never found it’s way onto a Sunshine Blind cd, which is a crime, because it thumps. Caroline’s voice shows her range drifting between the ethereal and the broken glass grit of Johnette Napolitano. It really places you on a rocking ship in a storm of purple/grey skies and lightning flashes. It’s so exciting hearing from voices I grew up enthralled with showing how much they still have to say in the modern climate. The guitar work here is next level, a laser precision of crackling light. This track just makes me sway from the hard steady rhythm and the vocal intensity that only Caroline can deliver.

A perfect nexus for old goth fans and baby bats just finding the scene and wanting to feel connected to where we came from. Shine up your leather and hit the dance floor hard.

Our interview with Caroline !!

For those that want a musical education of people who built this scene featured on this single

http://www.markgeminithwaite.com/

http://www.blacksugartransmission.com/

Diamond Black

Death Loves Veronica “Red Leather”

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The second single from Texas siren Veronica Campbell off her Cold Transmission released album “Chemical”. The video opens with shiny sinister Velvet Underground leather. Burning wire synth beats, and a bright red smile full of danger. The delivery and the distance are aggressive and enticing in a captivating duality. Veronica always brings a very personal and revealing style to her songs. I love that this is not set pieces or background. The video matches the music with it’s close up introspective feel. The shadowy ram horn character is present, but a foil not a focus. This song is tendrils of smoke always creeping around you while you fall deeper into eyes you can’t turn away from. The playfulness lends a strength. A sense of being the one in control. Red leather is the power tie that holds the authority in this room. The end is a twist I won’t spoil. This is another great example of how Death Loves Veronica is showing that strength, control, intelligence are the sexiness that captures the modern imagination.

https://deathlovesveronica.bandcamp.com/album/chemical