Through the winding, wild years, the Carpenter-Davies trio has been churning out tunes like there’s no tomorrow, dropping a cool dozen sonic bombs that range from full-blown studio masterpieces to the spine-tingling scores of David Gordon Green’s Halloween reboots. The gang’s got music in their marrow – Daniel’s father is Dave Davies of The Kinks. For years he has dropped by the Carpenters’ L.A. beat factory to riff with the fam or take the stage at one of John’s legendary movie wrap shindigs. It’s this kind of kismet that makes Lost Themes IV: Noir glide smoother than a greased-up DeLorean. The trio hit the creative jackpot, and Noir is the proof in the pudding.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is hitting the shelves and streaming platforms this May 3rd, courtesy Sacred Bones Records. To whip up a frenzy, the trio dropped a killer music video for My Name Is Death, the album’s lead single – which doubles as a bite-sized noir thriller, all thanks to the directorial genius of Ambar Navarro.

“Noir is a uniquely American genre born in post-war cinema,” states John Carpenter. “ We grew up loving Noir and were influenced by it for this new album.  The video celebrates this style and our new song, My Name is Death.”

This track is a whole new playground for Carpenter and the gang, riding in on a wave of post-punk bass that’s as relentless as Chandler’s Philip Marlowe himself. The atmosphere’s thick with synths, the drum machine’s got a heartbeat of its own, and just when you think it can’t get any hotter, in comes a guitar solo that sets the whole scene ablaze. The clip a classic mystery with a twist, featuring a lineup of faces you might just recognize, including Natalie Mering (Weyes Blood), Staz Lindes (The Paranoyds), and Misha Lindes (SadGirl) for bringing the drama. Buckle up, because My Name Is Death is about to take you on a wild ride.

Watch below:

“Sandy [King, John’s wife and producer] had given John a book for Christmas, of pictures from noir films, all stills from that era,” Davies says of the lightbulb moment for Lost Themes IV. “I was looking through it, and I thought, ‘I like that imagery, and what those titles make me think of. What if we loosely based it around that? What if the titles were of some of John’s favorite noir films?’” Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes the songs on Lost Themes IV “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone. The noir quality, then, is something you understand instinctively when you hear it. “Some of the music is heavy guitar riffs, which is not in old noir films,” Davies notes. “But somehow, it’s connected in an emotional way.”

Pre-order Lost Themes IV: Noir here in the following formats:

• Sacred Bones Exclusive Red on Clear Splatter vinyl w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• Sacred Bones Society Exclusive on Black and White Splatter on Clear w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Silver Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• All retail Transparent Red, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• Indie Exclusive Tan and Black Marble, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• Rough Trade Exclusive Oxblood Red and Black Splatter, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• Shout Exclusive Black and Clear cloudy, w/ Screen Printed 7” bonus track “Black Cathedral”, a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• Black LP, with a Gold Foil Stamped Jacket and poster.

• CD

• Tape

Follow John Carpenter:

• Instagram
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Website

The post John Carpenter Debuts Video for “My Name Is Death” from “Lost Themes IV: Noir” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

One of the best things about nearly all the records on our year-end list for 2021 is that they are free of any pretension. This is perhaps why so many of these songs so perfectly capture the spirit of the 80s, a decade with music unabashedly lacking in self-consciousness yet wearing its heart on dayglo and pitch-black sleeves.

Nuovo Testamento’s Italo Disco meets Danceteria synth-pop revival on their first full-length LP is the epitome of this. Harkening to the days where multiple genres coalesced under the unified iridescence of one shimmering disco-ball, Nuovo Testamento’s New Earth is the perfect dancefloor soundtrack and my choice for album of the year. From the opener “Michelle Michelle”, to the closing track “Intuition”, every song on the album could be a single. New Earth is a mesmerizing blend of synth-driven dance music and post-punk, almost necessitating there be a Top of the Pops revival with dancers from Hot Gossip and Zoo swaying to each track like those post-lockdown clubgoers featured in the video for “The Searcher”.

Xeno and Oaklander continue the Italo theme with an album that showcases why Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride (Martial Canterel) are the premier duo of analogue synth-pop, and how much the international music scene owes to their unrelenting genius. “Poison”, “Afar”, and “Infinite Sadness”, are ensnaring with their euro-pop authenticity, feeling as if on a Wierd Wednesday night at Home Sweet Home in NYC, you got lost in the copious fog enveloping the dancefloor and suddenly found yourself in a French disco circa 1982-84.

It’s always telling when your favorite songs on an album are not the singles, and such is the case with Kaelan Mikla’s Undir Köldum Norðurljósum (Under the Northern Lights). While their collaborative track with Alcest, “Hvítir Sandar” is a spellbinding shoegaze ballad, amazing in its own right, and “Stormurinn” is thunderous and bewitching with its dark alt-rock cohesiveness, I personally find tracks like “Örlögin”, and “Halastjarnan” as opalescent gems shining bright on an album that demonstrates why that these super cool queens of coldwave are naturally from Iceland.

RIKI’s second album Gold takes its inspirations from luminaries like Bowie and Bryan Ferry and transmutes them through Jungian alchemy into the shimmering “Florence and Selena”, one of the best-written and performed songs of the year. The album’s lead single “Marigold” isn’t shy about evoking the pop-sensibilities of Strawberry Switchblade, and “Viktor” gets all the post-punk cred in the world, being a love letter to the legendary Viktor Tsoi of Russian band KINO. A personal favorite is the LP’s midpoint, “Sonar”, a synth-driven track whose disarming vocal melody and sorrowful lyrics feel like the bridge between Gold, and its vastly different self-titled predecessor.

I would say that Veil of Light’s fantastic new album Landslide is the culmination of a nearly decade-long career, but the way this Swiss duo gets better with each progressive album, that statement could very well be false in a year or two when their next full-length comes out. “The Prayer Wheel” in particular is the standout track from a record you turn to when everything falls apart.

Below, in addition to the above top 5,  is my full list for Best of 2021, followed by the top picks from our Senior editors Frank Deserto, and Andi Harriman.

Alex’s Picks:

LPs:

1. Nuovo Testamento – New Earth

2. Xeno and Oaklander – Vi/deo

3. Kaelan Mikla – Undir Köldum Norðurljósum

4. RIKI – Gold

5. Veil of Light – Landslide

6. Pink Turns Blue – Tainted

7. The KVB Unity

8. Ploho – Phantom Feelings

9. Actors – Acts of Worship

10. Traitrs – Horses in the Abattoir 

11. Creux Lies – Goodbye Divine

12. Glaare – Your Hellbound Heart

13. Odonis Odonis – Spectrums

14. Motorama – Before the Road

15. Sculpture Club – Worth

16. Kraków Loves Adana – Follow The Voice

17. Aurat – Zeher

18. Catherine Moan – Chain Reaction

19. Whispering Sons – Several Others

20. Wingtips – Cutting Room Floor

EPs:

1. Kontravoid – Faceless

2. Ritual Veil – Keep Looking Down

3. Minuit Machine – Basic Needs

4. VR Sex – Cyber Crimes

5. Leathers – Reckless

Singles:

1. Second Skin – Eyes Closed

2. Double Echo – The Bairn

3. Soft Kill – Cicero

4. Deathsomnia – Akinesia (She Past Away Remix)

5. Pulsations – Of Vultures And Sickles

Frank’s Picks:

This year felt brighter, bolder, more confident than the last. The world still burns, but I reckon we all did a lot less doomscrolling and a lot more celebrating as the year unfolded and live music began to fill the air once more. Music flourished, with longstanding projects coming out of hibernation with their strongest work to date while many new, inspiring artists melded genres and came out of the gate swinging, eager to carve out space in the musical wilderness.

Every artist on my list simply knocked it out of the park this year, whether it be the c86-flavored UV-TV‘s third offering (which clocked the most listens of anything on my list thus far), new projects from familiar faces such as Meridiane or Aeon Station (both albums which will be released in full shortly after this list is published, but I promise they’re excellent), or solid singles from bands such as Soft Kill and Deserta, which pave the way for what should be an equally incredible 2022. I’d like to give a special shoutout to Bitumen, a project I just discovered on our site one week ago, but have become a recent obsession of mine, tapping in an early 90s 120 Minutes soundscape that sounds both familiar, yet exciting.

Either way, I always find myself hopping genres between ambient, dark synth, italo,  dream pop, EBM, jangle, and good ol’ classic guitar-driven post-punk so much in my day-to-day listening, it’s no wonder my list is equally expansive, showcasing all the cross-genre pollination and highlighting how expansive this scene truly is.

Much love to everyone here on this list and all the artists we’ve covered this last year. See and hear you all in 2022

LPs:

1. Xeno and Oaklander – Vi/deo

2. UV-TV – Always Something

3. Nuovo Testamento – New Earth

4. Kaelan Mikla- Undir Köldum Norðurljósum

5. Desperate Journalist – Maximum Sorrow!

6. Aeon Station – Observatory

7. Meridiane – To Walk Behind the Sun

8. HTRK – Rhinestones

9. Odonis Odonis – Spectrums

10. Bitumen – Cleareye Shining

11. John Carpenter – Lost Themes III

12. Zanias – Unearthed

13. ESSES – Bloodletting for the Lonely

14. Low – Hey What

15. Last Ice – Last Ice

16. Rosegarden Funeral Party – In the Wake of Fire

17. Glaare – Your Hellbound Heart

18. Pink Turns Blue – Tainted

19. Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

20. Kanga – You and I Will Never Die

EPs:

1. Lycia – Casa Luna

2. 149 – 149

3. Kontravoid – Faceless

4. Minuit Machine – Basic Needs

5. Ritual Veil- Keep Looking Down

Singles:

1. Soft Kill- “Cicero”

2. Just Mustard- “I Am You”

3. Vain Warr- “Fuck In the Fire”

4. Deserta – “Lost in the Weight”

5. Ships In the Night- “First Light”

Andi’s Picks:

This year felt different. As the residual to the tragedies and terrors of 2020, the music that was released this year had a new spirit—there were no boundaries in style or genre. Everything fused together: EBM and punk, deathrock and synthwave, industrial and pop all merged to create exciting music that didn’t feel overplayed. And as a continuation of last year, the prominence of EPs remained, leaving its succinct format to both emphasize and constrain (in the best way possible) an artist’s vision. Further, Second Skin’s series of singles were bold and unlike any other music this year with their lush and glittering new wave productions. It was a gutsy move but it paid off: “Eyes Closed” was, without a doubt, my favorite song of 2021 and it kept me wanting more.

However, layered and high production was not always at the forefront: the simplistic EBM of Deutsch Amerikanische Fruendschaft’s Nur Noch Einer once again proved why Gabi Delgado and Robert Görl’s legacy will remain for many decades to come. Forty years after Alles Ist Gut, DAF’s final offering to the world is raucous punk at its very best but, at the same time, also retains a purity dipped in synth melancholy. DAF never followed rules and never desired to do so—rest in peace, Gabi.

This idea of a give-no-fucks attitude that defied borders became noteworthy in my list. From Italo-disco created by deathrockers, Nuovo Testamento, on New Earth, to the melodic aggression of Un Hombre Solo’s Rotundo Fracaso EP, that element of surprise is what, ultimately, stood out for me. 2021 was genreless: it bred a romantic and diverse new world, one that we can all revel in.

LPs:

1. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft – Nur Noch Einer

2. Nuovo Testamento – New Earth

3. Veil of Light – Landslide

4. Blu Anxxiety – Plaay Dead

5. Riki – Gold

6. Zanias – Unearthed

7. Male Tears – Trauma Club

8. Aurat – Khaar

9. Mvtant – Gore + Mirrorshade

10. Pink Turns Blue – Tainted

11. Affet Robot – Fiyasko

12. Pixel Grip – ARENA

13. Nox Novacula – Ascension

14. Esses – Bloodletting for the Lonely

15. Front Line Assembly – Mechanical Soul

EPs

1. Un Hombre Solo – Rotundo Fracaso

2. Kontravoid – Faceless

3. Cabaret Voltaire – Shadow of Funk

4. Minuit Machine – Basic Needs

5. ¿LA PREGUNTA? – S/T EP

6. PC World – Order

7. Été 97 – Far Away

8. Rogelio – Love Pig

9. Ritual Veil – Keep Looking Down

10. Newboy – Newboy

Singles

1. Second Skin – “Eyes Closed”

2. Double Echo – “The Bairn”

3. Second Skin – “Colder”

4. Boy Harsher – “Give Me A Reason”

5. O/X – “Falling Into”

Listen to tracks from all our picks on our Post-Punk.com Best of 2021 Spotify Playlist below:

*Article artwork by Pasha Smith Designs

The post Post-Punk.com Best of 2021 appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The fictitious storyline of Tom Guycot (the alias of American producer Ryan M. Todd) is one with twists and turns. Rife with a looming sense of dread, the track “Deranged Fan”—on the LP with the same name—raises the stakes of terror for the imagined soundtrack to a long-lost 1980s slasher film. With its running bassline, the track builds a tension as glittering synths tiptoe through the dark and builds to an apex. While “Deranged Fan” is an invocation of horror soundtrack masters Claudio Simonetti and John Carpenter, it maintains an element of lightheartedness with a splash of flashy Italo-disco dance. And its music video is as you’d expect: seemingly cut and pieced together gritty VHS clips that only heighten the level of foreboding of the track.

Deranged Fan, released digitally last year on Giallo Disco Records, is a perfect addition to the label’s roster. Known for their catalogue of horror disco soundtracks, Tom Guycot adds an additional mix of 1980s sleaze alongside a finesse that’s found with his use of thick Moog basses and classic 808 and Linn Drum machines. Just like a slasher movie, Deranged Fan is dark but fun—it’s not too serious… but it’s not afraid to make your blood run cold.

The LP will be available on vinyl July 23rd (see below for links).

Pick up Deranged Fan on digital and vinyl:

Bordello a Parigi
Clone
Juno
Decks
HHV
Redeye
Clear Spot

Keep up to date with Giallo Disco Records via their Bandcamp.

The post Tom Guycot Raises the Stakes of Terror With “Deranged Fan” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The LP The Burning Dawn  sees the return once again of synth virtuoso and composer Cody Carpenter​, who is currently on tour with his father, famed director John Carpenter. Cody is featured on three of the album’s songs, included lead single “Under the Killing Sun”, “Set the Night Ablaze” and “You Still Kill.”

Also featured on the album is Italian darkwave queen Tying Tiffany who provides vocals on the excellent “Fade/Into the Burning Dawn”,  and Swedish visual artist and electronic music artist Tobias Bernstrup on “Stranger in the Mirror”  and American acid metal musician Trevor William Church on “Queen of ​Vengeance.”

Massimo Usai, the maestro behind Confrontational recently told Dread Central:

“The final chapter in the triptych, once again graced by Branca Studio’s outstanding artwork, recounts the striving for light in spite of the devouring darkness that surrounds us all. Unrequited love, loss of innocence, loss of identity, temptation and anger – the story finally comes to a close. There is a deep and heartfelt sense of longing throughout each of the tracks, a hard-hitting feeling of nostalgia – which is something Tiffany found out to be a constant in my songwriting. I have been a fan of her work for a long time and I am ecstatic to have finally worked together on this. Her unique take on the lyrics is what makes it so very special, and her vocals blending seamlessly with mine throughout the choruses turned it into a true personal favorite. To have Tiffany on the album along with these amazing heroes of mine – Cody, Tobias and Trevor – is simply dream-like, and makes me so very proud to finally share the effort with you all. I look forward to checking out everyone’s comments on this and I can’t wait to bring it to the stage soon!”

Confrontational’s upcoming album The Burning Dawn is out November 27th.

Order Here

Upcoming tour dates:
January 25 – Milano (TBA)
January 26 – Savona (TBA)
January 27 – Ravenna (Bronson)

The post Listen to Confrontational’s final chapter in his synthwave trilogy: ‘The Burning Dawn’ appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross have covered John Carpenter’s theme to his iconic 1978 horror film Halloween.

This pairing is only natural following Reznor’s spooky appearance with “The Nine Inch Nails” on Twin Peaks earlier this year. Both David Lynch and John Carpenter have put out their soundtracks, scores, and solo work on Sacred Bones Records, for which Carpenter is currently releasing Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998, an album of newly-recorded versions of his movie themes.

Reznor posted to the Nine Inch Nails Facebook page around 12am EST:

“I clearly remember my friends and I at 13 years old conning our parents into letting us see Halloween when it came out in 1978,” he writes. “We left the theater forever changed. We were damaged and scarred, with the shit genuinely scared out of us and that theme stuck firmly in our heads. John Carpenter, it’s your fault that I turned out the way I did.”

Listen below…

John Carpenter Tour dates

• Oct. 29, 2017 The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Las Vegas, NV
• Oct. 31, 2017 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA
• Nov. 2, 2017 City National Grove of Anaheim Anaheim, CA
• Nov. 4, 2017 The Warfield San Francisco, CA
• Nov. 5, 2017 Catalyst Santa Cruz, CA
• Nov. 7, 2017 Myth Live Maplewood, MN
• Nov. 9, 2017 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
• Nov. 10, 2017 Majestic Theatre Detroit, MI
• Nov. 12, 2017 Danforth Music Hall Toronto, Ontario
• Nov. 13, 2017 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec
• Nov. 15, 2017 Royale Boston, MA
• Nov. 16, 2017 Terminal 5 New York, NY
• Nov. 18, 2017 Trocadero Theatre Philadelphia, PA
• Nov. 19, 2017 The Palace Theater Syracuse, NY

The post Trent Reznor covers John Carpenter’s Halloween theme appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Here some more info on Kingdom of Night courtesy of Massimo:

“The tracks on ‘Kingdom of Night’ (the second entry in a trilogy that started with ‘A Dance of Shadows’) are sounding darker, deeper and heavier than ever before. There was a deliberate focus on trying to create some classic anthems in the songwriting process – tracks with relentless beats, an emphasis on melody and a really driving chorus. I was heavily influenced by my hometown of Cagliari, Sardinia, and its esoteric aura can be felt strongly throughout the LP in more than one way.

The new collaborations make me extremely proud of the release: the unmistakable lead synth of the amazing Cody Carpenter (co-author of the LOST THEMES albums with his father John) is coming back with a vengeance on “Crimson Curtains”, the powerful dual harmonies from Dance With The Dead guitarist Tony Kim on “Stand Your Ground”, there’s the cinematic melancholia of Ugo Laurenti (the Italian composer who scored Pupi Avati’s cult series ‘Voci Notturne’) on “Midnight Wings”, and then the beautiful, haunting voice of Hélène De Thoury (of French cold-wave act Hante.) on “Keep Faith”, which marks an emotional highlight on the album. The epic sound stones of the late Sardinian sculptor Pinuccio Sciola also make a special appearance on the tracklisting.

“Keep Faith” is certainly the most soul-baring moment on the LP, and getting to work on it with Hélène has been nothing short of incredible: I feel the way our voices intertwine on the track is wonderful, unique and very precious. I’m so grateful that we found this connection through the music – I am a huge fan of her work with HANTE. and I am truly thankful for her dedicated and heartfelt contribution.”

Live dates: 

18 September – SYNTHZILLA 2 pre-party (with DANCE WITH THE DEAD, ARTEMUS GORDON and M A L M Ö) – LA MARQUISE, Lyon (FRANCE) – tickets: https://www.weezevent.com/synthzilla-preparty-dance-with-the-dead-and-guests

KINGDOM OF NIGHT pre-order link (both physical & digital): https://confrontational.bandcamp.com/
http://confrontational.net
https://twitter.com/confrontationaI
https://facebook.com/2confrontational
http://soundcloud.com/2confrontational
http://instagram.com/2confrontational
http://confrontational.bandcamp.com

Pick up A DANCE OF SHADOWS which just got issued by Bronson Recordings on translucent green vinyl (limited to 500 hand numbered copies and including an extended poster with full lyrics) and this is the link to order it: http://bit.ly/ConfrontationalAdos

The post Confrontational premiere “Keep Faith”—featuring Hante’s Hélène De Thoury | A must listen for Stranger Things fans! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Here’s what Hignight had to say about this fantastic video:

Upon hearing ‘Night’ by John Carpenter, my head was instantly filled with these nighttime highway road dreamscapes. Someone or something, haunted, traveling the road alone in the late hours. Our goal was to take that feeling and put it into a video that paid tribute to the film work of Carpenter but at the same time gave him a new world to play in… in this case, literally through Virtual Reality.

The post John Carpenter | “Night” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.