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February 2023 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

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Greetings my friends, it is once again time for the S & S Darkscene singles chart. The top 10 singles in February 2023 chosen by our group of Artists, Djs, Producers, Promotors, and Super Fans. We receive no compensation and every month I am astounded to find an incredible new bands I was not aware of. I welcome you all to do the same and dive in for the best new Goth, Industrial, New wave, Post Punk, Darkwave, Witchaus, or any other genre we decide suits our fancy. If you have a single in March or know someone who does, join the Sounds and Shadows Facebook group and add them to the poll.

  1. AL1CE – The Lucky Dead Theme Song
  2. IAMWARFACE – Say My Name
  3. Sawtooth (feat. Sapphira Vee) – Walk Into The Ocean
  4. Matt Hart (feat. Daniel Graves) – To The Core
  5. Microwaved (Featuring Gaby Gustafson of Eva X) – Propaganda
  6. Bellhead – I Would Die 4 U (Prince Cover)
  7. A Cloud Of Ravens – Requiem for the Sun
  8. Self Titled Album – The Unicorn Tornado Of Hurt
  9. The Picassos – Under The Floorboards (With You)
  10. Carrion – THERE IS ONLY HELL

Special Mention:

The Bellwether Syndicate – We All Rise –

AL1CE – The Dead Lucky Theme Song – (Los Angelos CA) Animated raindrop synthwave track with an explosive bassline and jet engine guitar roar. I love the multi media connection to a comic called The Lucky Dead by Melissa Flores. Tash’s vocals are elegant and abstract weaving an image over the rhythm sections drive. Every new track I hear impresses me more.

The Dead Lucky Theme Song | AL1CE (bandcamp.com)

IAMWARFACE – SAY MY NAME – (Brighton UK) – This one surprised me from the first beat. A blistering prog pulsed synth slammer that teetered between live and electric drums. The vocals are outstanding with a real Brett Anderson energy and sass against the hard rock thunder. Writing this down on paper this should not be my cup of tea, with every choice and change I kept finding myself won over. The quality and complexity on display here are undeniable.

SAY MY NAME | IAMWARFACE (bandcamp.com)

Sawtooth – Walk Into The Ocean (feat. Sapphira Vee) – (Lowell, Massachusetts) – I love everything about this team up. Two amazing people that impress me every time working together. This beat slithers like an anaconda slithering along a slutty muted trumpet. Knowing both these artists, the way both voices shine is my favorite thing about this heavy air banger.

Walk Into The Ocean (feat. Sapphira Vee) | Sawtooth (bandcamp.com)

MATT HART – TO THE CORE (AESTHETIC PERFECTION REMIX) – (London UK) – Industrial Pop tender destruction remixed by the master of the genre. Glitchy and cruel with crystal clarity. This is not Matt hart’s first trip to our singles chart, it most certainly won’t be his last. The rising strikes like visible heat rising from the pavement. The bassline is a diamond tipped drill seeking out minerals below the curst.

TO THE CORE (AESTHETIC PERFECTION REMIX) | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

Microwaved – Propaganda (Featuring Gaby Gustafson of Eva X) – (Des Moines, Iowa) – Gabe Wilkinson teaming up with Gaby is a beautiful synthesis of deadly EDM beats and a gatling gun cadence from the breathy vocals. Music to hunt the wastelands to.

Propaganda (Featuring Gaby Gustafson of Eva X) | Microwaved (bandcamp.com)

BELLHEAD – I Would Die 4 U – (Chicago IL) – My favorite Chicago double bass duo with a Prince cover that is weird, disturbing, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work. Ivan Russia summons some Steven Malkmus vocal delivery that leaves such a dissonate aftertaste to the familiar melody. I don’t know what I was expecting, it wasn’t this, it somehow hit for me on every level.

I Would Die 4 U | BELLHEAD (bandcamp.com)

A Cloud of Ravens – Requiem for the Sun – (Brooklyn, New York) – what a bright future the Brooklyn post punk standouts have. Leaving for tour and every new single that comes out on this record is a bonfire banger. This bassline is Peter Hook worthy crude oil pipe. Matt’s vocals show range and creativity. People really need to get on board with this band. Don’t be the last.

Requiem for the Sun | A Cloud of Ravens (bandcamp.com)

Self Titled Album – Unicorn Tornado of Hurt – (Price, Utah) – Ok number 1, I didn’t think Utah had sweet bands. number 2, The title of this song is epic. That is before I even hit play. This track is a fuzzy level of bass I have not heard since Monster Magnet. Filthy and psychedelic with a retro 90’s engine.

Unicorn Tornado of Hurt | Self Titled Album (bandcamp.com)

thePicassos – Under the Floorboards (With You) – (Detroit MI) – One of my favorite haunting indie shadow sonic flavors from Detroit. Organic, emotive, and original driving into a concealed truth without fear. Charle’s vocals and haunting and original. Every time I hear this band I wonder where they have been all my life.

Under the Floorboards (With You) | thePicassos (bandcamp.com)

Carrion – THERE IS ONLY HELL – (Kingdom of Norway) – Our moderator and reviewer Hide has been locked away drinking torture juice pressurizing emotion for a new string of synth driven terror abstraction. Vocally flinging broken glass at our jugular at random precision. It’s always new, always distinct.

THERE IS ONLY HELL | Carrion (bandcamp.com)

For this month I am going to add a special mention. The Bellwether Syndicate had a new single release that didn’t come out until 2/24/23 but it is such an absolute BANGER it felt wrong not to mention. The tone of this guitar is like walking in your door after an especially long day of work. William Faith’s voice is distinctive and raw. These drums slash us in reckless assault. A modern day classic.

We All Rise | The Bellwether Syndicate (bandcamp.com)

Music Making My March Magical

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While it’s true that I prefer reviewing full EPs/albums, the digital age of streaming playlists and Bandcamp Fridays have returned us to the Age of the Single™. Thus what I tend to find in my emails and trawling are standalone tracks, and I would probably lose sleep if I didn’t bring some of them to your attention. Therefore, here’s a list of 5 tunes, either released singularly or standing out from their respective albums, that I’m labeling “don’t miss” for March.

Dark Narrows – Second Hand Tears

This image definitely counts as a party foul.

With their new album My Last Party, Dark Narrows proves the post-punk revival won’t stop in 2023. I’m calling it: “Second Hand Tears” is going to be the breakout hit from this release. The Maryland outfit assembles everything needed for a pop-goth dance floor banger, from punchy bass and dreamy guitars to the perfect sing-along hook with unexpected, descriptive imagery. I’ve been playing this on repeat for the past four days.

Attrition – The Switch

Martin is pondering just how many air filters he needs for this room.

Oh my stars and garters! Martin Bowes and Julia Waller have joined up together again for the first time in 20 years and I couldn’t be happier. Neither have lost their talent for spooky, atmospheric music that chills the spine, but I’m also tapping my feet to this lively production. A lesser act would simply recreate the sound of yesteryear for a quick nostalgia trip, but Attrition instead compounds a lifetime of experience into an expertly constructed romp through the darkest parts of electronic music, leaving me breathless by the end of the recording and desperately looking forward to the upcoming Black Maria.

Josie Pace – Brain-dead

Aw man… Someone’s been scribbling in my yearbook again.

Last year I appeared on Space Couch and tackled the monolithic task of naming the best up-and-coming industrial acts. Thing is, mentioning Josie Pace as one of them came easily, and sure enough, she found herself performing on TV and opening for an extensive tour with Aesthetic Perfection, gaining a whole new following in the process. She capitalizes on that momentum now with a destructive single that pounds its listeners into dust. Pace continues to prove guitars are optional for industrial, delivering the concussive force of a hard rock power anthem with keyboard alone. Easily-chanted lyrics slowly dissolve into disturbing visions, a catharsis the heavy music gladly delivers.

Dead Cool – Stranger Kind

“Hello. We’d like to talk to you about our lord and savior Andrew Eldritch.”

Wilmington’s Johnny and Angela Yeagher excel at producing efficient, classic-sounding synthpop, and now they try their hands at making a sing-along anthem for all the weird ones in the world. These club hymns often pose a challenge because the lyrics need to be all-encompassing without being meaningless. Dead Cool takes a unique path by transforming a silly joke we’ve all spoken to our fellow black-clad friends and crafting it into the hook over a foreboding synth line. The earnestly sung, “Don’t let the sun blind your eyes,” transforms into the perfect rallying cry, combining the introspection and self-mocking humor that are both cornerstones of the goth/industrial aesthetic.

Baltes & Zäyn – A Song of Your Name

The death of you and everyone you know seems like the perfect first date to me, but I’m just a hopeless romantic.

Despite the fact that I totally look the part, I’m not a huge anime nerd, so I haven’t seen the animation this song references. Furthermore, I’m not usually a fan of songs that try to tell a story someone else has already told, so “A Song of Your Name” had a high mountain to climb before I even listened to it. Luckily, this is Baltes & Zäyn, whose “Apocalyptech,” recounting scenes from Neon Genesis Evangelion, gripped me last year and never let go. Lucian Zäyn delicately weaves the story into a relatable, exposed melody that’s almost heartbreaking, exemplified by Steve Baltes’s cinematic score underneath. I didn’t have “synthpop power ballad about kami-manipulated young love” on my Bingo card for March singles, but apparently I should have.

Pictured: somehow not a huge anime nerd.

What about you? What’s on your playlist for March?

Sapphira Vee Becomes a Genre Blender with Trippy

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Back in the ancient past (2010 or so), a young, devilishly handsome DJ interviewed William Faith and asked if he had any advice for up-and-coming artists. Faith recounted the difficulty of crafting a truly original sound and suggested focusing on combining influences in hitherto unseen ways—the more disparate the inspirations, the better. After all, a smoothie can taste wholly different from its ingredients; the blending creates something new.

Trippy | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

This conversation played on repeat in my head as I dug into Trippy, the latest release from New York’s Sapphira Vee. Already known for experimenting with a variety of goth/industrial subgenres, Vee tries on trip hop for her new EP. She admits the four songs might not be “pure” trip hop, and I agree; while Vee wears the Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps, and Tricky influences on her sleeve, these inspirations cling to her goth/industrial roots, forming a unique growth for her most distinctive release yet.

Four different artists join Vee—one for each song—yet the choice to use trip hop as a springboard creates a singular style despite each performer’s varying backgrounds. Cis Machina and Dogtablet both favor slower hip hop beats mixed with stringed instruments straight out of a Portishead single, while 2Bit Heroes delivers a Massive Attack-inspired synth wave and John D Norten relies on  traditional bass, guitar, and strings. Yet in all cases, the mood reminds me of early 2000s goth rock or, in the case of “Tangential,” industrial. Maybe it’s the droning strings, minimalist staccato riffs blended with held guitar, or the delicate use of spooky piano that jogs my memory, but to combine this atmosphere with a more traditional trip-hop backbone results in a sound both familiar and breathtakingly fresh. In the post-punk revival of the past 5 years, any act that can reshape history in a way that inspires new possibilities with sounds that came before rather than simply rehashing them deserves recognition. Vee and all her co-conspirators on Trippy: consider yourself recognized.

You want to ask, “Which Portishead single?” but you already know.

The biggest lesson Vee gains from trip hop, however, is how to do more with less. Goth and industrial prefer bombastic deliveries, with melodramatic melancholy defining the former while the latter prefers explosive anger. Yet even Trippy’s cover image implies a muted efficiency: a simple picture of Vee in a hoodie subtly morphs into a mind-bending waterscape easily missed at first glance. In the same light, no screamed or crooned theatrics are on display here; Vee’s lyrics are sung half-hushed, bordering on whispers or spoken word. She mostly abandons overwrought metaphors; while some staple tropes such as “what goes around comes around” and the tried-and-true comparison to bait fishing pop up, Vee spends most of her time musing on personal issues rather than aiming for some wide, universal circumstance. Thus, Trippy stands as possibly her most vulnerable release: no extra flash or flair, just a woman and her friends making music they love about themselves.

Standout Track – “Blindsight”: The most obvious trip hop song on the EP, Dogtablet’s collaboration results in a short, potent jam showcasing Vee’s reserved but effective lyrics. There’s just enough left vague to allow for opposed interpretations; either Vee sings about a desperate—though terrifying—need for vulnerable openness or she uses the illusion of exposure to safely manipulate any she might fear. Leaving the song on loop results in introspection that will eat away more of your day than you might realize.

VENETIAN VEIL – THE LANDS OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

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Released in November of 2022 Venetian Veil `s six song EP The Lands Of The Living And The Dead is a lush, ethereal take on post-punk that drips with melancholy and nostalgic flair.

From the opening notes of intro track Asleep In The Land Of The Living through third track The Lamb we`re given mid-tempo percussion, reverberating guitar melodies that carry a certain sombre twang to them all topped off with an exchange of vocals between the two members throughout the EP. Awake In The Land Of The Dead coming in as track four creates the sense of a real SIde-A, Side-B situation which makes the release come off more conceptual and thematic, a true body of work if you will as opposed to a collection of songs.

This is the perfect soundtrack for night drives, be it solitary ones or in the company of friends, lovers and all that may exist inbetween. I can easily envision myself playing this during the twilight hours and wishing to stay in that state forever, washed to the proverbial sea by the soundwaves of Venetian Veil.

Purchase/Stream the EP : venetianveil.bandcamp.com/album/the-lands-of-the-living-and-the-dead

Hem Netjer – The Song Of Trees

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Described as a dark electronic folk band Hem Netjer recently released their debut album The Song Of Trees

I`m always intrigued by artists who blend spiritual ideas into their art, be it music or otherwise. Hem Netjer spent the lockdowns of the not-too-distant past doing exactly this. With their debut album The Song Of Trees they`ve crafted a journey through the elements in the form of seven songs that could be just as fitting as a soundtrack to guided meditation sessions.

The dark electronic folk music description certainly piqued my interest as often folk music projects rely more on traditional and older, unsual instruments to evoke a certain aura that electronics might seem to contradict but I would argue that this release has a perfect blend and balance that masterfully serves the intended purpose.

Void is the opening track, the state of nothingness from which creation springs forth, a fitting introduction that sets the mood and is continued with Salt & Tears which introduces slightly heavier electronic elements but still manages to keep the mood and ambiance right where it should be. What appears to be throat singing is pumping away throughout the track and I`d be interested to know if this is a sample or something performed by one of the groups members, either way it works wonderfully and is quite fitting.

Note: Upon further inspection the throat singing is performed by Jesse Elyt

Production wise its sleek and clean but not sterile or overpolished. A little snooping on the groups Bandcamp site lets me know the release is recorded at Jacknife Sound operated by none othen than Jason Corbett of ACTORS with production duties handled by iVardensphere`s Scott Fox

Track number 3, Eldur, features soaring, beautiful vocal work fit for riding into battle, in this case of course the battle takes place within as we dive deeper into our Selves and work through each stage of our journey.

Some may say the woods of Norway is the perfect setting for music of this particular style, while I could see the point in such a statement I take a look at what I myself tend to listen to in my daily life, the music I myself create and I find my surroundings have very little influence and therefore I believe there is no such limitatiions on what setting or enviorment best suits this music, it would be just as effective for someone living in a busy city and perhaps have even stronger of an effect in what could be perceived as a contrast of settings.

It appears the album has been truly crafted as one piece, a journey, a continual aural adventure. This is definetly one of those albums that require you to listen from start to end for maximum effect. The way each track blends into the next and the stage it represents going from the opening track all the way to the middle sections with Freedom and Connect leading into the end stages of Elemental Cry and Otherworld I urge any potential listener to give up the just over 30 miinutes of playtime to be able to fully appreciate this as the body of work it clearly was intended to be.

Each element ranging from the synth and strings to percussion and vocals blend perfectly together where nothing feels out of place or as if it doesn`t belong, everything is there for a reason and works in unison to birth a complete and whole picture.

If you wish to explore Hem Netjer further our wonderful overlord, Ken, The Duchess conducted an interview with them a while back which you can view here:

The Song Trees is availble for streaming/purchase here: https://hemnetjer.bandcamp.com/album/the-song-of-trees

Follow future endevours here:

https://www.facebook.com/hemnetjer

https://www.instagram.com/hemnetjerband/