Three is a really important number. In society, in religions, the number three has always held special significance. I’ve always felt the same was true for great bands. Making a noteworthy album is hard. A lot of bands have gotten that far though. Writing two albums that truly resonate with people has always meant you aren’t a fluke, you aren’t forgotten. Once you have three albums the grow, evolve, and speak to people. Those are bands that are no longer defined by era or genre. They are simply great. During the course of my life I have found several bands that already had 3+ amazing records that helped shape who I was. Far fewer where I could say I was there for album one and followed that band on their journey, matured with them. What I couldn’t say until Actors “Our Love Will Live Forever” was that I had such a deep connection to a band I saw at the beginning and was screaming from the rooftops about to anyone who would listen until they hit that moment. Having the creativity, talent, and cohesion to consistently to 10 songs that matter together while touring the world is truly lightning in a bottle in 2026. I’ll pause a moment to tip my hat to Jason, Shannon, Adam, Kendell, and Jahmeel.
Jason once again produced the album at his studio Jacknife Sound, and released it with Artoffact Records. Before the 9/4/26 release the album was preceded by 6 singles CTRL, Left On Read, Youth, Object Of Desire, DeadInside, and In Real Life. So we have already reviewed and felt a good portion of the record. I think it really speaks to the goal Actors had, to release an album of just bangers. Jason had a serious cardiac event during the writing and recording of “Our Love Will Live Forever”. The kind of thing that makes you reflect on what matters most while wondering if your chance to travel and play for people was done. To answer those questions by putting out and 10 out of 10 no skips record says everything about the love and passion Actors hold for their art.
Previous Singles i reviewed from the album already 🙂 CTRL
For a band I have loved since the beginning when I hear a new release the first thing I think of is what is new? For me the Actors sound has always built around the core of Jason’s vocals. Thirteen seconds into CTRL you are blasted with a wall of sound driven by a run-away chariot of blasting bass. Jason is emotive and understated with Kendall and Shannon shining echo’s glowing around the edges. The guitar swirls and cracks in precise moments. The entire ride is a 3.25-minute banger with tight structure and vibrant energy. I can’t wait to hear this live with Adam booming away in 4/4. I’ve never heard Actors push the needle like this and I am here for it. The “Our Love Starts Forever tour is coming in 2026 and if you have never witnessed the Actors live, don’t wait.
Youth – This track makes the little hairs on my arm stand up. A beautifully retro Echo and the Bunnymen vibe with a little extra foot on the gas. Your youth can feel constantly further away, but one thing you never forget is how hard everything hit. Love, anger, friendship, everything was loud and earth shaking. I love how the synths bounce on this. Jason does a really clean whisper of his voice. Like telling you a secret you lean in to hear.
Stimulation – This one wasn’t one of the early release singles and the first thing that hits is the phrasing on the lyrics. The timing is just slightly off of where you expect it to be. It really gives a feeling of mystery. We are all so hungry to feel something in these days. Scrolling content, consuming, I love this reminder that the true experience is out there beyond the screen. Waiting to be tasted, touched, and smelt.
Left On Read – Oh how I love a good breakdown. At 1:29 this song has a masterclass in the power of space to let a song breathe. I feel like this theme, of left on read is so relevant in 2026. It seems like we are all holding our breath for an answer, and communication just beyond our reach. This track is so real. To share the real fear that comes along with love is so difficult. This song makes it feel effortless.
Dead Inside – Again this is a no tracks skipped album. This one is special for the drums. Jason’s voice is a smokeshow, the bassline is walking me through the neighborhood as I am a dog on a leash. The true masterclass here are Adam’s subtle shifts and accents. It’s a mystery novel that always has me guessing. It has a bit of 90’s Pixies flavor mixed with, well Actors. I love when a band hits that level where part of the fusion you describe is, them.
I’m Not Here – This one cooks. The baseline is humming like an electron in a collider, right until the overlapping guitar starts growling. I love every flavor of this tortured love kaleidoscope.
Screenshot
Please forgive me for my sin I can’t live through this again You could be that someone
This record is a rollercoaster through the spectrum of love and loss. In a world spinning further from the truth of the human heart it feels so good to have ten songs guaranteed to make you feel something. To make you remember why the world is a beautiful place and worth fighting for.
Since I started this journey of goth Renaissance in 2018 with Twin Tribes/Actors/Bootblacks/Kill Shelter ect I am always on the lookout for that next big thing. A young band that hits me and has that “IT” factor. We had the absolute please of opening for Past Self in Detroit and I was immediately floored by their presence, sonic beauty, and originality of their stage performance. After several decades seeing and being in bands, I know it when I see it. This is it.
music and lyrics written by Sung mixed and mastered by Spektor
The sound is a wonderous slushy charcoal ghost story with Cure, Twin Tribes, Drab Majesty inspiration. Infused with quirky 90s Sega video game synth tones. The blending of language through the lyrics is absolutely inspired and adds a captivating beauty that makes you lean in to listen for every secret. The shadow bouncing Simon Gallup basslines create a constant motion and energy.
This new single Jemul which translates to a sacrifice or offering, often used in ritual contexts or metaphorically is another reminder these talented young artists are just beginning their journey. The tone is dark and robust but attacks at a blistering pace the crackles and swirls. The vocals resonate with baritone weight and spin a beautiful tale of leaping into the unknown without a safety net.
In an instant, 너의 불안감은 두려움이 됐다 In an instant, neoui bul-angam-eun dulyeoum-i dwaesda In an instant, your anxiety turned into fear
너의 비극들은 환각 속안에 묻었다 neoui bigeugdeul-eun hwangag sog-an-e mud-eossda Your tragedies are buried inside hallucinations
Do not miss the upcoming European tour! They are a must see live band
Overall – Past Self is a groundbreaking talent on the cusp of becoming the next hot thing in modern goth. You need them in your collection now.
In 2018 Vancouver Post Punk band Actors released the groundbreaking album “It Will Come To You” as part of a next wave Darkscene revolution. After extensive touring through world stages the follow up record 2021 “Acts Of Worship” propelled Jason, Shannon, Kendell, and Adam to festival level crowds at the spearhead of the modern alt movement. Now with a third LP release and new tour on the horizon I’m excited for the chance to review the latest single “CTRL” on Artoffact Records.
For a band I have loved since the beginning when I hear a new release the first thing I think of is what is new? For me the Actors sound has always built around the core of Jason’s vocals. Thirteen seconds into CTRL you are blasted with a wall of sound driven by a run-away chariot of blasting bass. Jason is emotive and understated with Kendall and Shannon shining echo’s glowing around the edges. The guitar swirls and cracks in precise moments. The entire ride is a 3.25-minute banger with tight structure and vibrant energy. I can’t wait to hear this live with Adam booming away in 4/4. I’ve never heard Actors push the needle like this and I am here for it. The “Our Love Starts Forever tour is coming in 2026 and if you have never witnessed the Actors live, don’t wait.
Here is my review for Vancouver-based Modern Post-Punk and Darkwave band ACTORS latest single that will be released on Bandcamp and elsewhere October 4, 2024. I received my copy early so let’s see what we got. Warning, if you want to jump straight into the review, skip the next two paragraphs. They will be there to go back to read later. I promise it will not self-destruct. (smiles)
But first, a little backstory as my musical journey in these last few years is interwoven with this band. I first became a fan of all kinds of what would become Alternative Rock in the 80’s and 90’s. I listened to everything I could get my hands on. New Wave, Synthwave, Goth, College Rock, Industrial. I sopped it up like a piece of toast into a sunny side yolk. For my entire life I played catch up. Then in my Thirties, I entered a dark period. I didn’t have the same access to music as I once did though I would keep up on some Indie Rock through the early 2000’s Then the pandemic hit. Like most of us, I found hobbies to pass the time except I was living in a nursing home with no place to go after the passing of my Dad and my sister moving my Mom to NJ.
I started getting back into music and started getting into most of the darker music that I always wanted to get into. I met a group of like-minded music loving fans. They would all help me focus on the music again. A few of them encouraged me to start DJ-ing. Another lot encouraged me to start listening to this Modern band that took much of the music that Ken Magerman would call Modern Dark Scene and spun it with their own individual abilities that would become ACTORS. I was intrigued and I was compelled to know more. It was slow at first but knew I found a new obsession (I would later find that is a name of one of their songs) needed more including names, lyrics, and anything I could find. Before I got to Dark Force Fest 2023, I was hooked. The fact that I started to introduce myself to lead singer Jason Corbett at the merchandise stand for LEATHERS and he cut me off before I could finish and said, “I know who you are Alexx and thank you for what you do” to share us in your social media. I’ve since told him that it was that meeting that later inspired me to jump into TWITCH and keep working at becoming an online DJ; always learning from others, developing my own sense of style and oddly falling into running a New Music show every week once I realized that the newer bands were the ones who responded to my posts even more than the listeners.
Review for “Object of Desire” by ACTORS
The song begins with a pulsating collection of deliberate combination of echoing beats both synthesized and from the steady hand of drummer Adam Fink along with a wonderful bassline from bassist Kendall Wooding. Together they weave a hypnotic beat and brooding tone that really shows off the production work that has made Jason Corbett’s Jacknife Sound a popular place for remixes and full album production work for other bands in the scene.
The intense lyrics are seductive and full of bravado and intense longing, asking:
“Give yourself to foreign pleasure
Take your time
Lose yourself
Submit to vice
Tell me that you’re mine”.
Yet the chorus begins with too I’s, that single stammer belying the bravado, but finds its place again and continues their plea to take a chance on “me”… with the lyrics,
“I
I was low but now I’m high
I could be your object of your desire”
just as the other person had already become theirs.
We had already spoken on the driving, brooding rhythm but you can’t mention a song from the ACTORS without talking about Shannon Hemmett on Keyboard and Jason Corbett on guitar. Taking all four together as a unit, their performance is atmospheric and haunting that weaves a brooding tone with reverb, distortion and a driving beat that is as seductive as its lyrics making you want to dance. Unlike their previous song “We Don’t Have To Dance”, this song is pulling the object of their desire, and you the listener, with their seductive invocation.
New Video: “Object of Desire” by ACTORS
You want a rating? I don’t give them. I write on vibe. I write about things I like and/or love if I have the time. It can be implied if I review it, I recommend putting it on your wishlist and picking it up at your earliest convenience.
This single will be released on October 4, 2024
ACTORS are a Modern Post-Punk band that fans of bands like Joy Division, Bauhaus, Depeche Mode, and The Cure will appreciate.
Alexx Dimeler is a DJ on TWITCH and KICK known as DJ_LP_ViBE. The LP originally stood for Listening Party. His main show is on Saturdays 9 pm-1 am+ ET and is called “New Music M.D. (Modern DARKSCENE) and play a wide range of music from Post-Punk, Darkwave, Goth, Synthwave, Industrial, EBM, Dark Alternative, and everything in between.
There is something special happening in darkscene music. This year I have been going to shows of new goth/post punk/darkwave bands and seeing them packed with young people who are embracing this subculture. Who are finding these themes and tones to make them their own. Twin Tribes, Actors, Vision Video, Then Comes Silence, Bootblacks, Male Tears, Leathers, Urban Heat, I Ya Toyah, touring the country telling folks it is good to be strange. This is the energy that is giving me hope. I have not been at my new goth pulpit as much as I like this year. As we pass the half way point of the year I will try and share what I have been listening to so far in 2024 that gives me hope for the future.
Dead Astronauts – Ghosts – The international synthwave group comprising Jared Kyle and Slade Templeton, has resurfaced with their highly anticipated 4th studio album, “Ghosts.” I love the experience and expertise on display for the art of songcraft. Each texture and shade are masterfully chosen. Honed with precision, displayed with technique. What truly makes them top tier is the narrative order, balance, and construction of every track.
Written and produced by Dead Astronauts Mixed and Mastered at Influx Studios Art and Design by JthreeConcepts
Mistakes: This track is deeply relatable. It has a beautiful Construction Time Again Depeche Mode bouncing beat with earnest reflection and buttery vocal delivery. A brief shimmering single that leaves you wanting more.
The Red Dress (feat. Florence Bullock): Beautiful city street flashing streetlamps streaking by at a furious pace. Wonderful vocal accents from A New York native, residing in Los Angeles, glitbiter, aka Florence Bullock. This track hugs the curves of a twisting road with a high performance engine. Perfect song to start an adventure to.
You try To survive Boy you’ve got clout You’ve got your knives out Trying to stay alive
Urban Heat – Seven Safe Places – The Austin TX band that has become an obsession for me. There is a special feeling when a band comes to a place beloved and familiar, but took an entirely different road to arrive. A punk rock vitality with soulful smooth edges and flawless technique. This was an April release single for the upcoming August album “The Tower”. Johnathan is one of the true distinctive voices in the modern darkscene. An energy and talent that would make any band shine. Combined in this trio powerhouse Urban Heat has distinguished themselves with the other A level artists of the next wave. This single has a Peter Hook lead guitar bassline that hugs every curve. The vocals are frantic and emotive. It’s a song built to gleam in the modern landscape. Become a true believer now and see Urban Heat out on tour, I assure you, the tickets will be more expensive and harder to find the next time around. Look for an interview with the band soon on youtube 🙂
Tears for ʇhe Dying – In the Shadow of the Midnight Sun – I first saw the amazing emotional tidal wave of Adria and Tears for The Dying at Southern Gothic in Athen’s Georgia and was enraptured by the emotional impact and reckless truth of dynamic songwriting. Deathrock is a genre that traces it’s roots back several decades, so finding visionary new ground is no easy task. With slithering sinister concepts and vocal ingenuity TFTD pays reverent homage to Christian Death and Specimen while inserting modern elements and broader concepts like “Dead Girl Dancing” a gorgeous synth laden apocalypse pop anthem that steps outside of the box. This is one of those amazing bands that every artist in the scene respects deeply even if you have never heard them. A true inner circle talent.
Favorite Track: Kaiju – Slow big and full of destruction as the name implies. I love this winding guitar and tempo shift that allows Adria’s cadence and Mick’s rolling percussion to make dynamic stories of trampling feat and terrifying beasts.
Special mention: Jolene (Dolly Parton Cover) – It takes a special performance to take one of the greatest ballads of all time and make it your own. Everyone needs to give this a spin.
THEN COMES SILENCE – Trickery – Recently I got the extreme privilege of opening for Swedish based band Then Comes Silence on tour with Vision Video. I had reviewed them before. This was one of those bands you truly can’t fully appreciate until you have seen them live. I have witnessed so many impressive performances in the last five years, I hope you take to heart when I say this is the tightest, most energetic band I have witnessed in recent memory.
I used to have a joke that Rush was the greatest group of compiled musicians who’s album I didn’t want to buy. Not being my style. In the modern darkscene I think Then Comes Silence is the greatest group of compiled musicians who’s album I very much want to buy. Part of the elegance of Trickery is how it doesn’t sound like they set out to make a great post punk album. The cohesion, passion, and construction present here would have fit any genre or style just as easily. It just happened to come in one of my favorite forms.
The album has a wide range of sounds, lots of thunderous rock bangers where Jonas tom punishing drum accents make TCS stand out in a field of bands leaning towards electronic drums. Slippery shadow disco club tracks like Feel The Cold create contrast and highlight Alex rich broad beam vocals. Songs like the collaboration with Dusty “Stay Strange” bring a horror punk mod feel that ride Hugo’s wall of sound guitars. Whatever the tone, it always seems to land.
I would be hard pressed to choose any song on this album as a top track, Never Change was definitely one that crept up on me. Stellar underlying harmonies, a crackling backbeat that always hits on the outside of the synths. This whole record has an underlying tone of hope, rising out of the mire of tough times. This track captures that feeling the hardest for me.
Alex Svenson – vocals, bass and synthezisers Jonas Fransson – drums Hugo Zombie – guitars
Additional musicians: Dusty Gannon (Vision Video) Emma Nylén (Emmon) Gözde Duzer (Aux Animaux) Jörgen Wall (Whale, Thåström, among others)
This is a 10/10 album in contention for top 10 records of 2024.
Eva X – Fiction – July 5th single from Electronic producer Gaby (Eva X). The single includes two remixes of the previous single Dopamine Blind by Sawtooth and Enter Face. Retro 80s pop with soul on the intro, fed into the grinder of metal tooth electro rock. Gaby’s voice keeps growing in confidence and glamour with every new release. This would pop at a mainstream club or goth/Industrial night.
Cemetery Sex – Leviathan – This is a young band generating an enormous amount of buzz from Washington DC. Artist that truly embrace the goth ethos of inclusion and counter culture pouring into the batcave of gothic roots. Anastasia has an undeniable presence in her words and delivery. The music is serpentine and hungry. To have young people with such an intrinsic understanding of the culture with both their music and mindset truly fills me with hope for the future. When Cemetary Sex burst onto the scene, they understood the assignment. Be ready to hear A LOT more about this band in the coming year.
PIG – Red Room – Raymond Watts has left an indelible stamp on the industrial scene for decades. One of the key reasons is his ability to find fresh untread ground with which to blend with industrial. Soul, funk, metal all are wound into spiritual inspiration to fortify the alloy of his art. Red Room took me to another place, late 70’s glam like Alice Cooper and TRex colliding pageantry, sensuality, and filthy grinding machines. A tight compact bullet that enters your brain before fragmenting into something larger and more explosive. Leaving you changed by the fragments left behind.
A rogues gallery of contributing artists, both old school and new class Alexis Mincolla (3Teeth), Chris Hall (Stabbing Westward), and the PIG Choir: Chris Connelly (Revco, Ministry etc), Emily Kavanaugh (Night Club), I Ya Toyah, Marc Heal (Cubanate) and Burton C Bell (Fear Factory), En Esch, Susannah Doyle, Anita Kyoda, Mark Alan Griffiths, Mike Watts, Jimmy Livingstone, and more!
This is an album best served live with sweat running down the walls. Catch them on tour with Curse Mackey, Unitcode:machine, Stoneburner, and more at a city near you. I’m going to both Coldwaves (Chicago) and Smalls (Detroit)
Favorite Tracks: Dirty Mercy – This opening is absolutely filthy.
ACTORS – Dead Inside – Vancouver based band Actors have been at the forefront of Nextwave Darkscene music since the start of the Rennaissance. This new single as a prelude to the tour of one of the top live music experiences of 2024 shows the group showing no signs of slowing down. The first time I heard it I was struck with Jason’s sultry whispering Jarvis Cocker vibes. of the cohesion and telepathy of one of the tightest acts of the modern era. The crisp brush crack drums Adam delivers use timing as art to build the tension. Shannon’s rippling cascade of dark water ripples. Kendall a forceful step on nimble feet. Every time I think, this is it, Actors have reached their peak, the journey continues up a mystical mountain.
MALE TEARS – Paradísco – La Based neosynth band Male Tears has filled me with hope for the future. There is nothing more beautiful than a group of young people discovering a fresh path to classic sounds. James and company went through a major lineup transition before the release of this EP and came out the other side with a hopeful passion. Soulful new depth and determination to find the beauty in the darkest reflections of life. Fans of Petshop Boys, and Duran Duran will find an homage to bright crystal sounds on the sonic spectrum that hold the truth of dark introspection. Great guest appearance on track two by our friends Corlyx. A beautiful harmony of James mournful beauty and Caitlin’s alien ethereal whisper. As well as track 3 “Sex On Drugs” a gorgeous and heart retching single that could have been the missing track off (Actually 1987) with features Caitlin (Corlyx), Azy Bats (Obscura Undead), and Ryan King (Witchhands). This is a modern day classic that stirs my heart with that same feeling of unburdened delivery. Male Tears is something special and memorable this scene needs to embrace with both arms. They are currently on their first major tour and I encourage everyone to be a part of this revolution on the ground floor.
Catch them in Detroit 10/1/24 at Small’s in Detroit with Crune and yours truly 🙂
