BRIDES – Doom Profits – Adrian has been levelling up at an exponential rate. This EP has been in my heavy rotation for a couple months now filling my need for grimy painted on leather pants classic goth. He has zeroed on a course vocal style right on the mean ratio between a blended instrument and poetic delivery system. Previous Brides offerings have tended towards a theme of sound. Doom Profits flings wide the door to a range of possibilities within the project. Using that distinct voice as an anchor to tie this gently drifting ghost ship together from Ultravox to New Order Movement.
Watering flowers in the bowels of Hell With painted tears Smokestack serpents coil around us Can`t see the forrest for the fire And the waves come crashing through Burning hands applaud the wreckage on
Suffer little children Sell your fear for doom profits
Favorite Tracks:
Heartquake: This is a record it is difficult to pick a favorite on. Each song hits you in a different place. This opening bassline is an obsidian boulder chasing you down the mountain. The synth leads are the exact amount of brass to shine in all this darkness. That title and idea evoke such an image. A heart shaking with profound trauma. So much it rocks the ground around you.
Doom Profits: A title track should always been a strong one. The backbone of your idea. Adrian read the assignment. That keyboard tone of water dripping from a stalactite into a dark pool. I have that same feeling when Goodbye Horses comes on. Profits come to harken the masses of a terrifying destiny. Adrian growls forth a frightening warning, as well as a promised hope. I adore the outro guitar lead. Using the theme of other tracks in a single moment the title track shows the complexity and growth on this record.
He learned about this when I spied him out from the audience during the PIL set in 1989. I held up a banner saying “Peter Hook you the greatest” (misspelled, but he got the message). He talked to me for a minute and signed it, mostly to get a freaked-out 15-year-old fanboy to shut up. When I met him again in 2013, I mentioned that to him, he said “Wait, was that you?” I said “Yes,” and he said, “Well you fucking grew up then”.
When I was interviewing dUg Pinnick from the prog metal band “King’s X” we talked about other bassists. Pinnick himself, a legend in so many circles said “Man, Peter Hook is so innovative, he invented a style, and championed it, his work stands out in bass playing”. (He also said that Killing Joke was one of his favorite bands too, seriously high praise)
In the long history of “Non Top 40” music, there have been few bands to hold the title to have conquered the music world, and influenced so many bands, as have the Joy Division flowchart.
Joy Division was the 2nd only to The Velvet Underground as far as who influenced so many bands that said ” I can do that”, and then tried, and so many succeeded, and we have all been blessed by it. None of us can say we don’t owe it to the Manchester band that shook the world for music fans.
We know the story of “Joy Division”, in the tragedy of the death of Ian Curtis, rising from the ashes to become “New Order”, then to move into countless other bands and projects.
For now, we have Peter Hook, the bassist who created his signature sound, that inspired so many, but no one has been able to steal his sound. He has everything in the world to be proud of for that.
Peter Hook picked up with a local music school project in Manchester England, called “The Light” to do a cover with Rowetta of Joy Division’s haunting epic “Atmosphere” which sparked the urge for Hooky to pull “The Light” into a long-term touring outfit, with grueling tours, playing marathon sets of the New Order and Joy Division catalog.
Living in Germany at the moment, I saw that Hooky was playing a gig just over the border in Strasbourg France, another country I once called home. I have been ALL THINGS PETER HOOK, for 36 years, so naturally, I had to go.
I drove down with a friend from high school, and we got in line and met punters from Germany, France, Belgium, and even England.
While I was in the pit waiting I spoke to some punters who were much older than I am. One guy told me he had seen Joy Division in Paris, and Brussels, among countless Hooky and New Order shows. It seemed a strange honor to meet someone who had seen Ian Curtis perform. This guy had a solid opinion on the subject.
As I waited, I saw the venue was half full 10 mins to showtime. I was thinking this was going to be a bust, then 5 minutes to showtime, the venue filled in. I had no idea you could fit so many people in a venue like that.
Hooky came onto the stage with the same classical horn music for the intro he has had for years. He greeted the crowd with “Bonne Soire” and kicked off the “Substance” set thumping out on the two lowest strings, playing the tune I know so well, the first New Order song I ever learned to play “Ceremony”. From the 2nd note, the crowd went mad. Peter Hook sang the first verse then at the chorus “I bring them down, no mercy SHOWN!!!” The entire venue erupted with “HEAVEN KNOW’S IT’S GOT TO BE THIS TIME!!!”
I have seen Peter Hook & The Light several times, and a privilege every time, this was by far the loudest I have ever experienced.
“Everything’s Gone Green” did exactly what it was supposed to, we all found ourselves in a trance with the early new wave/post-punk synth on dark foreboding basslines that once they were first played, no one knew what to think. 40+ years later, we still don’t, just let the beats take over, and feel what the song makes you feel. “No More Mistakes”, it’s not a song to remember the lyrics, or even make meaning of them, they just take over your mind while you sway to the music.
My 2nd fave song, which is a staple of every show “Temptation” began and the punters were all howling the “Ooo ohhhh oooh oooh” so loud Hooky and the Bernard “Stand in” David Potts was overpowered. It is one of those songs that everyone knows, and we sang with them, it was a loud joyous experience. In taking on lead vocals, Hooky has been singing this one with as much intensity as when they recorded it in 81. We didn’t feel the haunting from the original version, but were thrilled to be in the substance version of this great song. A song about someone in your life that you can’t live without, never invited, always welcome, but as much as this person means to you, there is no place for them in your life. This song is an anthem to the great friendships that you just can’t understand. During Temptation Hooky came right in front of me and posed with his guitar as if it was a weapon or a Harley Davidson. Only Hooky could be so cool.
Everyone danced their way through “Blue Monday” with Hooky’s most famous bassline, half James Bond, half surfer rock.
David Potts, Hooky’s right-hand man since the Revenge project in 89 took lead vocals for “Thieves Like Us”, a song that had escaped setlists for New Order for a very long time, and it is always a welcomed tune in the Hooky setlists, otherwise no one hears it anymore live.
A gem from the “Low Life” album “A Perfect Kiss” rode on top of the Bach-esque synth lines, and is the only New Order song that Hooky played “Traditional” bass in sound, and technique, up till the haunting bass solo, among so many other greats on the most underrated album in the world. This was New Order’s intensity at its purest given to us in those basslines.
By the time we got to “Bizarre Love Triangle” the venue was bouncing up and down through the intro, and the fun nuances added into the “Substance” album. However, by this time I found it hard to dance when the place was so packed you couldn’t fit a razor blade between the punters.
They finished out the New Order Set with “True Faith” with Pottsy singing the higher vocal sections, and he did sing the original lyrics “When I was a very small boy, a very small voice talked to me. Now that we’ve grown up together, they’re all taking drugs with me”. Giving it to us the way they meant to all those years ago.
A short intermission, and the crowd wasn’t going to back off, I managed to get back up front for more pics, but the bouncers wouldn’t let the photographers back into the pit. So I stood right in front of the PA system for the Joy Division segment. We all knew what was coming, and were fine with knowing what was coming. For shows like this, there is no pressure to get in the songs from the “New Album”, we were all there to hear these songs. So many of us never got the opportunity to hear the Joy Division songs, so this is something that fans will jump on to get in to hear these songs that never got played, or run their course like other great music. We all wanted to hear these live, and Peter Hook is giving that to us almost 50 years later.
They gave us “New Dawn Fades” to sheer AWE, at this moment the crowd became irreverent showing their appreciation for this number, then without missing a beat we got “From Safety to Where..” then “Failures” songs normally missing from some of the Joy Division “Substance” sets I have heard over the years, but no one was complaining.
They played “Disorder” the opening track from “Unknown Pleasures”, and I have heard it performed by Peter Hook & The Light, and even by “The Slaves of Venus” but tonight it was so powerful, we felt like we were on a space ship being catapulted through space for this song. For some reason, this performance of the song could have been the audio soundtrack to a Stanley Kubrick flick.
He played “Warsaw” the opening song, sort of out of sequence, but what was so cool about it this evening was Hooky was playing it with the “New Order-esque” sounding bass, and it was so amazing hearing it this way, I had to snag this on my phone and share it here, for you all to “Get it”. I was honored to hear them mixing the New Order sound into the Joy Division songs. Somehow it felt like this was the way it was supposed to sound, or would have if Joy Division had stayed the course, thank you Hooky.
At “Digital” there was a supplied chorus singing “Day In, Day Out, Day In, Day Out”, as the band watched us kind of smiling knowing that we were going to be doing those parts for them. Maybe this one stood out to New Order fans because of the way it caught the moment watching the semi-biopic film “24 Hour Party People”. ( I have spoken to several people who were in that story, and they all said it didn’t happen quite that way, but it was a great movie anyway and caught the spirit of the story, even though as Hooky has said they got much of it DEAD WRONG.) This time “Digital” had more of the “Tuned” bass from the “Brotherhood” vintage.
Now, I will just describe it as this, a completely packed venue, covering the span of age from teenagers, to people well into their 60s, all howling along “Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance! TO THE RADIO” in perfect key as if it was a well-orchestrated sing-along, imagine that, because that is exactly how it was.
Hooky in his book “Substance, INSIDE NEW ORDER” realized how hard it was being the one to sing and play guitar. I have noticed that singing on top of basslines is really out of the wheelhouse of rock and roll. The bass is to give a rhythm for the guitar to ride on top of, but not play the notes that the vocalist had to focus on. Hooky has been able to master doing this with a 2nd bassist who can play the lines exactly from the album to play off of, while he also sings. In the multiple shows I have seen of Peter Hook & The Light, I have come to appreciate the “Jam” band experience of having two bassists in there playing the same style off each other. If you are a Peter Hook bass line fan, seeing them live like this is rather a remarkable experience. It’s not just the bass player’s ego, it’s how these songs were meant to be played, and adding to the dynamic like this makes the music almost 3 dimensional.
During “Dead Souls” Peter Hook walked over and pounded the electric drum pad with his fists, off of Paul Kehoe the drummer, smiling at him also looking like he was taking out aggression and smacking them so hard.
For anyone who has seen Peter Hook perform live, you know that the guy has this charisma on stage, in how he plays, moves around, and interacts with everyone. He has a serious amount of swagger that I don’t see in bassists, but more in vocalists. His stage presence is tantamount to guys like David Gahan, Peter Murphy, and even Mick Jagger. He is on stage, and you just watch him while he does his thing, strangely, he has always been that charismatic frontman.
He closed out the show, dedicating the song “Atmosphere” to the memory of Ian Curtis, stating that it was no different tonight than any other performance of the song. We all enjoyed it and respected the performance for what it was.
The 16th beat and world-famous chords on the bass started the anthemic “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. The masterpiece of history, that will go down in the annals of music with Beethoven’s 9th, and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny Be Good”, and I’m sure with Handel Messiah too. It is the most covered non-pop song of all time. It has stood the test of time and will live on long after any of us. It was just an honor to hear it played by one of the original musicians.
Peter Hook & The Light gives you the nostalgia for the music you got to hear as New Order, and the music few ever got to hear live as Joy Division. I have flown to San Francisco, and Denver to see them, and now even driven to France. Once you see them live, you will understand why.
In 1992 midwest goth troubadour Scott-David Allen began a musical journey called A Covenant Of Thorns which would burn a thick black candle in homage to the early forlorn roots of gothic music. To celebrate genuine emotion and the beauty found in darkness and pain. The concept of using our darkest moments to draw strength and celebrate those closest to our hearts. A vocal talent of superb beauty with lyrics of poetic elegance. Five EPs and Four albums later Scott David has imprinted a lasting mark on the goth scene leading up to his collaboration on “Tiny Gods Who Walk Beside Us” a compilation to save my cat which introduced him to Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves). The two would then form The Burying Kind, my favorite new Shoegaze band of the last 5 years.
In May 2023 we received the eagerly awaited new album “Ashes” recorded at A Handful of Nothing Studios. Mastering by living legend Gordon Young. With Artwork by Greg Rolfes. I don’t know if this is always taken as the compliment I mean it, but the first word that comes to mind when I compare this record to previous beloved work, is maturity. A wisdom and elegance of sound. A communication in a relationship rather than expressing emotions after the fact. Ashes has a depth of sound made from living in the moment, rather than reflecting on the past. Every delivered line feels sung to the listener, rather than a description of narrative events. I was one with the concept, not a voyeur.
The Synths always play a staring role in Scott-David‘s work. These have such an organic feel. I hear horns, saxophones, organs, the guitar work charges to center stage in a way I don’t always feel from ACOT. Perhaps an influence of Gord being felt. The peaks and valleys feel effortless and vast. The darkscene of 2023 often feels obligated to bury the words of songs under oceans of effects. Here every word cascades out with clarity and shows the faith Scott-David places in his own voice to carry the story.
Stand Out Tracks:
Halos : This song has the emotive sway of a wooden ship on slow stormy waters I feel present in things like New Order “Ceremony“. Try to run away, trying just to feel nothing at all. The vocals here ring with such truth. Accent guitar pin pricks and a chorus with a smooth unexpected cadence. A pleading prayer for hope in the darkest moment. Also this includes a lovely sax sound around 4 minutes that always tugs my heart strings.
Grace (Like The Back Of A Fist) : This is a undeniable BANGER of the highest accord. This one has the edge, that shadow laced maturity I was discussing. No Boyish forlorn Robert Smith here. This is R rated danger and menace on a cold empty road surrounded by monsters. Shadows parting for a force of hope more menacing than the things in the ditches.
This album is beauty, it is inspirational, it is a blood red lantern in the darkness. It’s one of the best things I have heard so far this year. Sometimes you can take the best part of tradition and forge them into something new. Something that lives in this moment while casting a light backwards. I can’t wait to hear where A Covenant Of Thorns goes next.
October was the month of spooks, a shaky return of Halloween since the long-endured pandemic and a myriad of releases by many artists within the undead world of dark-alternative music. Among the wave of new, brooding and shadow-y music unleashed upon the world shines one LP that stands apart from the cobwebs and screeching bats in the night; ‘Goodbye Divine’, the second album by moody, Sacramento post-punkers, Creux Lies. More than three years after the band’s debut record, ‘The Hearth’, Creux Lies brings us a new collection of eight tracks packaged with an avante-garde painting by Alex Kanevsky on the LP’s cover. Preceding the release, the “New Romantic” quartet appeared in promotional images portraying them as disaffected souls in serene, open fields; a fitting aesthetic theme for the music’s despondent sonic-template. “Jungle” kicks off the record with a wave of sinister keyboards before the rest of the band commences their wall of gray, foreboding rhythms, setting the tone for the LP’s thematic statement. By track four, we are treated to the bitter-sweet, emotional “PS Goodbye”. Singer, Ean Clevenger croons against the soft-rock instrumentation with lyrics, “Mercy you, you helped me shine. Although the last, it was the very first time.” One of the most distinguishing elements of Creux Lies’ sound is Clevenger’s vocal contributions.
Though the synth work and programmed electronics by keyboardist, David Wright sit heavily in the mix, Clevenger’s voice remains at the forefront of every song. The instrumentation of the band truly serves at the setting for the singer’s vocal theatrics and heart-wrenching bellows that he projects from the soul. ‘Goodbye Divine’s most consistent feature is the young, adult loneliness portrayed by it’s sonic textures and lyricism. For those that wear black, we as the audience key-in on this theme despite much of the record’s pulsating dance rhythms and identify with the true meaning behind the band’s offerings, swaying and dancing in the throws of introspection.
I also thought I would include my review of their first album “The Hearth”
by Ken Magerman
I have been sitting on this too long but I am finally ready to post this review for the amazing Creux Lies. There will be an interview to follow soon but I didn’t want to wait any longer.
There is so much beautiful and nostalgic to hear. What if you made The CureDisintegration but gave it razor sharp teeth? The drums had more snap. The guitar lines had that same entrancing delay but with more motion. Ean Clevenger has an obvious Robert Smith quality to his voice, yet where Smith focused more on a tongue and cheek sass, Clevenger is bringing a piercing intensity and higher range of New OrderMovement feelings of being lost. The driving bass , the rising synth phrases, those crisp bark beat snaps. It’s like hearing every album that got me through my formative years but done with the precision production of the modern age. Every song makes me want to fall in love but never find the courage to express it.
Lets talk a bit about what isn’t nostalgic, because there is plenty of fresh takes in this offering. Beautiful guitar leads full of glorious textural slush in a shoegaze slither. This record is bleeds of layered sounds so thick you want to run your fingers through them. Intricate drum beats with a symphony conductors precision control the movement of each track. Just like most albums that touch me deeply it usually comes back to a vocalist that can make me feel something. Who can take me on a journey with words and feelings and this album left me shook. Every phrase drips with tortured honey and sorrow. Sometimes as an older listener who has lived a bit you hear something that makes you feel young again. In the case of Creux Lies it is not with energy and power. It is by reminding you of how deep you used to feel things before the world tempered you. Hearkening back to The Cure again this album is full of pop hooks. Strong ones that grab the lapels and shake you. It’s hard to define when you hear something that is similar to plenty of music I am hearing, but has something extra, has IT.
I’m at a loss for words on how to express it but I do know it when I hear it. I heard it. There really isn’t a weak track on this album, but I’ll pick some favorites.
Portals – This is the obvious single, but it is that way for a reason. The beautiful New Order keyboard melodies are absolutely captivating. The lyrics “Did you fall in love with a killer at your door, while waiting for a lifetime to begin” pure poetry. The vocals in this track are a masterclass in sliding between the cracks in the wall of sound around you. The build on the end is a perfect tension and release. Staggering.
Virginity – This is such a gentle caress of an opening, that effectively smashes you in the face with a giant crashing wave of sound when you least expect it. The slow crawling tempo makes you sway like a leaf on the wind. It feels like the terrifying lack of control at a first love so powerful you don’t yet have a frame of reference for it. Clevenger reaches into some sky splitting notes in this one and laser burns them into your heart. Slow dance with yourself in this moment.
Aine’s Song – Tom fills, give me all these tom fills. Tiny dancing pin prick guitar lines doing a duelist routine with the bass and rhythm, “I saw your face again, I want to take you home” That feeling of being struck. We have all felt it but to blend the music and lyrics so seamlessly to express it. I love
This is a really exciting new traditional goth release from Louisville KY band Scary Black. I love the return to early roots I am seeing in the scene as of late. Rich and flowing with that Sisters of Mercy fender jazz tube amp guitar sound. Filled in with delicate and impact heavy synth lines. The album is diverse and places a huge emphasis on lyrics and poetry. Singer Albie Mason has a powerful and deep bass voice that really holds in place all the high end moving parts. It has the quality of a large moving glacier full of ice and magnitude crawling towards you with cold beauty.
I found myself in love with the ability of the songs to be modern and direct. Then switch hard to a campy Anne Rice Vampiric romanticism. I’m a huge fan of bands that can go over the top without losing meaning and credibility and Scary Black really drives that stake through the heart. A lot of bands these days can create a beautiful sound that pays homage to the past. It seems the harder task is to have poetic lyrics that capture that same level of meaning as The Cure and Sisters. That to me was the true magic of this record.
This is a complete album (One that made me upset I had already completed albums of the year when it released). Here were some stand out tracks.
Stay in Your Lane – Those beautiful muted guitar lines with sinister delay. Albie’s voice sinks to the lowest register and bellows out a powerful whisper full of menace and beauty at the same time. The synth lines are gorgeous with a very New Order feel to add a New Wave feel.
A Few Things I Hate – Holy creeping through the cemetery drinking a bottle of Merlot and smoking clove cigarettes. This song really transported me back in time. A horror movie soundtrack feel full of foreboding atmosphere. The vocals whisper a secret you have to reach for and it creates a powerful effect.
Are you Afraid of The Dark – The title track is such a beautiful break from form. Those creeping pan pipes sound build a lead in with a melody that sticks with you. Then the trademark delay sliding guitars. This one has so much of that overt vampire novel feel. It tells a story and one I am here for.
Overall I was immediately drawn in and in love with this record. It’s lovely, layered, and will require many more listens in the coming months to unpack. I questioned bringing this up but I think it is important to acknowledge. The Goth rock genre can feel fairly underrepresented by people of color and I love when an album of this quality also brings a perspective to this scene which hasn’t been heard enough. I really look forward to hearing many future releases from Scary Black.
