For my money, one of the best albums to come out of the godless year of 2020 was Black Nail Cabaret’s Gods Verging on Sanity. The Hungarian duo’s take on dark pop, voiced spirit-smoothly by Emese Arvai-Illes, is danceable and devilishly enjoyable. For three years now, fans have been waiting to see what comes next, and the answer is a special live album known as Woodland Memoirs.
Bringing along guitarist Tamás Számvéber, saxophone player Márton Barják (ex-CsizmáSKAndúr), and drummer Péter Laskay, Emese and keyboardist Krisztian Arvai breathe new life into eleven songs from their extensive catalog. The woodland in Woodland Memoirs comes from the band’s recording of the record in the Agostyán Arboretum in Tata, Hungary. A stark departure from the band’s usual locales such as cathedrals and smoky nightclubs, this vibrant landscape only further freshens up the band’s rich sound and avant-garde tendencies.
Thus far, we’ve been granted two tastes of what is to come from the album, set to release on Dependent Records on May 26th. The first was the new version of “Sister Sister,” originally appearing as the opening track on 2016’s Dichromat. While the original cut is a bouncy synthpop number with razor-sharp leads and melodies, this new alternative version is a smoky lounge ditty with the saxophone working a sort of call and response with Emese’s vocals in the second verse. It’s slow, smooth jazz that offers a much more refined sway than the clubby sort of sway that might be invoked by the original cut. By the final lines, the harmonies between the vocals and the sax make for a sensuous and satisfying conclusion.
More recently, we’ve been treated to a new version of the sultry “Veronica,” the original song coming from the band’s 2012 debut Emerald City. Much like the first twist, this new version takes the synthpop stylings of the original and gives it a new lease on life. This time, though, the backbone is hard rock, with the guitar being the main instrumental voice while the sax adds its share of flourishes and flash to the party. All in all, the new version is a different breed of raucous, yet still as sexually charged and provocative as the original article.
For those who crave the physical, there are 500 copies of the Strictly Limited Edition, which includes the full album on CD and a 36-page hardcover book with photos taken from the performance by Dora Hrisztu-Pazonyi. Following the album’s release, the band has a handful of summer shows between Germany and Sweden.
Woodland Memoirs will release via Dependent Records on May 26th.
Punk Icon, Music Journalist, Scene Historian, in so many ways John Robb has made a career of lifting up great music and art in equal measure to creating it. Starting in Blackpool in 1978 The Membranes walked the razor line between introspective darkness and fiery blue-collar aggression. In 2010 he started “Louder Than War” an independent website of reviews, interviews, and live shows to shine a light on the fringes of music which might never get attention from mainstream pop coverage. This aspect was personally relevant to me, by proving one person could champion a movement to share and humanize the artist of the underground. When John released his new book “The Art Of Darkness” about the history of my chosen genre “Goth” and I had the opportunity to interview him my cold dead heart fluttered with joy. A giant who paved the way for me like few others.
Things that struck me about the first read through of this book. The historical research is first rate. How could it not be, John lived this time. Loved these bands. When I hear someone talking about something close to my heart, I need to hear that same reverence in their voice. This is the voice of a true believer. The facts aren’t enough. I need a bit of novel to set the backdrop. I was born in 1977 and never had a chance to go to the Batcave, to see Joy Division live. In this book we are taken through those damp streets, smell the clubs, see the fashion. A great history paints a picture in your mind that makes you a part of what happened years later. That was the ultimate magic of this book. Finally, my beloved goth scene always wants to put itself in a box. It’s a scene obsessed with the past, the idea that what came before will always be better than what comes after. This is a book about history, but one that flexes and expands the definition and connects those bands to the future. I’ve read several books and articles about goth history. None of them sparked something in me like this. If you are a lover of dark macabre music, this book is a must have.
This interview was my longest to date. Sometimes as an interviewer you need to navigate the flow of conversation to help the person you are interviewing tell their story. John is a lot better at this than me. So my goal was just to set him up and let him move from story to story. I am proud that although I could have listened to him discuss all the amazing things he has done and people he has known, I did get him talking about how the history of this scene impacts it’s future. The interview clocked in at 1.5 hours but in the end there was so little I wanted to cut. So we have broken it into 3 parts. I really hope you find something to learn and love from this conversation with one of the foremost experts in the modern darkscene.
In Part 1 we discuss early goth history. The role of Fashion in the early scene. Gazelle Twin. Youtube Influencers. Goth as a safe space. Bands with generational influence (Joy Division/Smiths/Bauhaus) as well as new splinter genres like WitchHaus.
In part II we discuss The Cramps. Guilty Pleasures are a farse. What does the history of goth have to teach us about the future. Suicide (The band). What drives you to support the scene. How have home studios effected the modern scene. Goth Romantism. Ashes Fallen and Vampiria
Finally in Part II (My personal favorite) we discuss Ghost Signal. She Passed Away. The Cassandra Complex and how early proto goths in England all love Hawkwind. Motorhead. The Dammed. Which of the early goth bands still touring had the most staying power. How aging is normal, even for rockstars. How Primal Scream couldn’t hang with Depeche Mode. Male Tears. Danny Elfman. We spin out to The Membranes “A Strange Perfume”
Learn about the past. This book is a great way to do it. Start a review page. Tell bands you appreciate them. Go to shows. Stand in front. Wear crushed velvet. Smoke cloves. Drink the blood of your enemies from a skull. There is no wrong way to appreciate and be moved by music. Just do it with all your heart and leave space for everyone.
Event :The Residents Date: March 20 2023 City: Salt Lake City Venue: Urban Lounge
Before there was even a word for Punk, it was sort of “Performance Art” or “Artistic Rock & Roll” and bands finding a niche for their sound, not a name, there was “The Residents”. For art rock, they have been around as long as the term, and now celebrating 50 years of “Dog Stab”, The Residents have hit the road, showing us all that, even after this long, we can still be inspired and love that which is unconventional. The Residents can be seen as the biggest influence on Primus, The Butthole Surfers, and The Pixies, and countless other bands that we grew up listening to, well, The Residents are where most of that began. I was able to interview Homer Flynn at the announcement of this tour in the summer of 2021, getting ready for this experience, it was sadly canceled due to the Covid restrictions. But they rescheduled, and I was elated to catch this gig, it was indeed 50 years in the making. Homer Flynn is the “President” of the “Cryptic Corporation”, who are the management wing of the Performance Art collective known as “The Residents”. No one in this collective has been identified over the 50 years of their making art because of the fact that they wear masks, and do not talk to anyone on stage or during their concerts, just that if anyone is to speak on behalf of the band, it would be Homer Flynn, offstage of course. The Residents have released many albums, and collaborations. Most recently a tribute album to “Dying Dog“, an almost mythical individual who just vanished one day, leaving behind a box of reel to reel tapes with a friend. Another notable album was “Third Reich and Roll”, an album laden with reverse nazi Imagery, it’s goal to seriously mock the nazi movement. Though that was also one of the main points of the album saying how Rock and Roll often has brainwashed people into not being able to see things for themselves. However you view these guys, the joke is usually on us.
The venue was packed with old school punks and local artists, so many that I have known for the last 35 years, and, well, this was one of those culminations of shows we all have been dying to see. There were plenty of fans in top hats, tuxedos, and lots of bloodshot eyeballs hanging off jackets. After all, it’s “THE RESIDENTS”. The stage was pretty bare, and no opening act listed. Most of the times “The Residents” show is full of surprises, and the entire evening would be considered the performance, so we were expecting pretty much anything. This time, they took their positions on the stage in different outfits than we were expecting. They were wearing suits, with fedora hats, black shirts and white ties. Instead of the eyeball with the top hat helmet we have seen for so many years, this time they were wearing very FREAKY masks, fitting tightly to their faces, with glaring jaws and horror film sharp teeth, eyes cut out and they were wearing glasses, with LED Lights on them. Just enough to creep you out, straight out of the Dog Stab video. The suit jackets and pants were also imprinted with bloodshot eyeballs, with the headbands around their fedora hats of the same pattern. YES, it was as unsettling as any other stage costume they have worn in the past, and it was distinctly “The Residents”.
The drummer started tapping away on his all electric drum kit, while the keyboardist started playing along, it was a haunting dark feeling we all started off with. The singer walked up to his mic, and his instrument panel, which was a voice modulator console, this all before the guitarist even got on stage, so, we were in for a long strange ride. The singer tweaking his voice while we all sat in a strange AWE at what we were experiencing, it just thumped out “Son of a Gun we’ll have fun on the Bayou” the Hank Williams cover.
Then the reverberating sound of water dropping, and his voice turning to creating a sinister vibe, they rolled into “Hello Skinny” while the singer tweaked his vocals as he was singing each line, I then realized that this was the biggest influence on Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers.
By the time they got to “Boxes Full of Armegeddeon” the punters were all dancing in sync to the twisted message about “Death in a box” for retail, available from a politician or arms dealer near you. You really have to re think what the songs are about as you hear them live, many are just a few measures, and less than a minute long.
Unlike most bands, you will have the guitarist switching out instruments, but this evening, the guitarist had 2 guitars, and was spending as much time with his feet on the petal board managing the effects, with his feet as he was on the frets, this you noticed as he got us through “Would We Be A Live” (80 aching orphans).
The vocal shift during “Constantinople” was pretty epic, a man with a voice modulator was able to make such a change with his voice as an instrument, you really get to see how much they can do, with so little on stage. The singer was dancing with the members in the audience, getting in their faces, and giving everyone a real close up of his mask, that, really was unsettling. All the while the video on the screen behind them was showing the animation, clay-mation, and general graphics from their history that we all have seen over the years. We got plenty of stuff that made us feel like we were in horror films “Monkey Man” and then “Kill Him” with an industrial musical backdrop. The Residents were playing all the classics, but still making them sound current. I noticed on their recent album to “Dying Dog” tribute album, they had been using a lot more industrial sounds in the music, and tonight it seemed to be how they wanted to perform a lot of these classics. You gotta respect a band for being able to play music from their 50 year catalog, and still be able to make the songs sound current. There was no “Nostalgic” feeling to any of the music at this show. I knew the songs, some were 30+ years old, but the sound did not make me remember “Good Times”, so much of it felt like we were hearing it all new.
At this point during the show, I decided “Now or never” to hit the merch table and buy the “Grab Bag” of CD’s. 12 CDs for 50$, and no bag was the same. Promised albums, and compilations, and whatever other weird from the archives. I was happy with the fact that in the bag of CDs that I bought, I got no repeats of something I already had. SCORE.
One song that really stood out was their delivery of “Blue Rosebuds” was actually very intense, for a version, The Residents were playing it off the movements of the audience, like we were all making sure to sway and dance, in perfect sync to the guitar lines. Not what we were expecting, but, then again, it is The Residents, and they do it however they want.
The goods
The finished the set with Hungry Hound, and when they left the stage, someone snagged the guitarist’s setlist. When the came back on for the final number, I actually heard him say “Where the FUCK IS MY SETLIST?” a woman handed it back to him, and he looked it over to finish with the encore “DIE! DIE! DIE!” . They walked off the stage and I got a fistbump from the singer, and the band vanished.
The show was over with no fanfare, just a lot of imagery and great music. The Residents delivered an incredible experience, no two shows are going to be the same, and you feel like you are experiencing history as it is being made at one of their shows. If you ever get the chance to see “The Residents” perform from their vast catalog of 50+ years, Grab a ticket, and sack the merch table, there were some fantastic pieces there for sale. I wish I was made of money to have bought it all. You might be a little freaked out, even scared, but NEVER disappointed.
2023 has not been a great year for me doing written reviews. No time like the present to get back on track. I continue to be surprised how people keep finding new directions to explore sounds and human experience. Hopefully this article leads you to a new favorite band to love and support. If you find something you enjoy in this article, Please share it, maybe someone else will find something to brighten their day.
Jean-Marc Lederman – Soul Music For Zombies – The brilliant Belgian composer is always finding a new way to astound me. It is as if twelve brilliant writers live inside his skull and fight for control of what the next album will be. This album travels back to the beginning, when music decided to tap into something primal and internal. A circulatory system of connection and automation. Jean-Marc has a level of talent and skill that often leaves me flabbergasted. The greatest of which is an ability to create an emotional connection without reaching. Listening to this album never feels like a production or manipulation. It’s a ticket I bought, a seat on a magical vessel of experience and sensation. As a reviewer it is a difficult task to quantify something so exceptionally crafted, that on your best day, you could never produce. To step outside your own comprehension and appreciate the journey. This might be the most powerful statement in a career I can barely scratch the surface of.
Favorite Tracks:
The Music Walks Again (The Robert Johnson Story) Featuring Emileigh Rohn – The collaboration of these brilliant producers has produced some of my favorite music of the last 5 years. Every song feels like a meaningful conversation. A compromise of ideas. A tapestry made stronger by interwoven threads. Slow rhythmic strings and a hint of distortion paving individual footfalls for the beautiful clarity of her voice. This is an old story in blues. Robert Johnson goes to the crossroads at midnight. Offers his soul in exchange for playing something truly meaningful, something to last. The short, extraordinary life of an artist. To choose an eternity of suffering for a moment of perfection.
Didn’t Your Mama Tell You How To Behave ? – Electronic blues assault with an intensity to splashes on the back of the room. A single simple idea brought into rhythmic chant to hold together a spirit induced cacophony. I dare you not to feel this.
Jean-Marc Lederman does not disappoint as a rule. This album has tapped into a devotion to music and spirit that is transcendent in it’s youthful quest that follows the heart. An outstanding addition to your collection.
MORIS BLAK – BURIAL + VOID – The Boston, Massachusetts Electronic Body Music artist has continued to evolve and gather attention from the electronic community like moths to the flame. What jumps out most from previous works is the way the tempo is held back to add weight and inertia. Each song adds a guest talent to give it a unique frequency. GenCab, Kofin, SYZYGYX, Rabbit Junk, all add a distinct seasoning to this chaos electro antimatter stew.
Favorite Track: Procession – Banger alert! Heavy waves of cadence explosion with a beautiful duet vocal that tested the boundaries of both artists. The perfect song to let go and spin out of your own reality.
This Spring catch Moris Blak out on tour with Danny Blu a live show you will not want to miss.
unitcode:machine – Undone – Dallas, Texas industrial artist newly signed to COP International with a new single/remix release. Eric is another artist I feel I have watched evolve into one of the most prolific electronica vocalists of the new wave. THREE STELLAR REMIXES BY TOP NAMES IN THE SCENE (aesthetic perfection, stabbing WESTWARD, assemblage 23) . IN THE VEIN OF SILVERWALKS LAST YEAR, THIS PROMISES TO BE ONE OF THE MOST MEMORIBLE THINGS WRITTEN THIS YEAR.
Hem Netjer – The Song Of Trees – what an amazing growth for the world beat shadowcraft band from Vancouver, British Columbia. A truly unique blend of trance tendril synths, authentic throat singing, priestess croon, and rapture. A harken back to the spiritual soul and cultural exploration of Dead Can Dance, Projekt Records. The patience and subtlety crafting stories with words are an enchantment that burns into the listener’s mind. This is a band that has tapped into something beautiful and primal and have exploded past their own ceiling.
Favorite Track: Eldur – At 5:33 this is not a catchy hook single, but nothing about Hem Netjer strives towards simplicity. They are at their best when crafting a heady and meaning brew. This track fully highlights and range and soul of Raven’s voice in perfect harmony with evergreen energy pulse.
Hem Netjer is: Raven Rissy, David Deckard and Jesse Ellytt Lyrics: Raven Rissy Composition: Raven Rissy and David Deckard Throat Singing: Jesse Ellytt
Recording at: Jacknife Sound with Jason Corbett (Actors) Music Production: Scott Fox (iVardensphere)
Beborn Beton – Darkness Falls Again – German Synthlords return from a brief respite with one of the sizzling early contenders for album of the year. A 9th album full of vibrant passion. Stefan Netschio has a distinctive voice that is drawing you towards him with every inhalation. The hooks are constructed brilliant energon cubes free of fractures. Hand to evil leather bound tomb, this is what Depeche Mode wishes they were releasing in 2023.
Favorite Track: Dancer In The Dark – Sometimes I want to pretend I am aloof and cool, not falling in love with the first single off the album. This is such an undeniable banger it would be a disservice to deny the truth in front of everyone. The beat, the lead, the vocals, everything about this song is chefs kiss perfection.
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.
AL1CE – The Lucky Dead Theme Song
IAMWARFACE – Say My Name
Sawtooth (feat. Sapphira Vee) – Walk Into The Ocean
Matt Hart (feat. Daniel Graves) – To The Core
Microwaved (Featuring Gaby Gustafson of Eva X) – Propaganda
Bellhead – I Would Die 4 U (Prince Cover)
A Cloud Of Ravens – Requiem for the Sun
Self Titled Album – The Unicorn Tornado Of Hurt
The Picassos – Under The Floorboards (With You)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
