Band of the Day Archives — Post-Punk.com https://post-punk.com/category/band-of-the-day/ Your online source of music news and more about Post-Punk, Goth, Industrial, Synth, Shoegaze, and more! Sat, 08 Jul 2023 16:26:58 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://post-punk.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/cropped-postpunkincon-2-32x32.png Band of the Day Archives — Post-Punk.com https://post-punk.com/category/band-of-the-day/ 32 32 Dreamy Darkwave Artist MØAA Treads Through the Shadows in her Nocturnal Video for “Jaywalker” https://post-punk.com/dreamy-darkwave-act-moaa-treads-through-the-shadows-in-the-nocturnal-video-for-jaywalker/ Sat, 08 Jul 2023 15:26:18 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=61268 I’ll be that suffering one, numb not clever Ms. “I’ll see you never” late out on the street I’ll be there cross holding, always under weather in that old dirty…

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I’ll be that suffering one, numb not clever
Ms. “I’ll see you never” late out on the street
I’ll be there cross holding, always under weather in that old dirty sweater that never fitted me

From the mist-kissed skyline of Seattle emerges the dream-drenched darkwave act known as MØAA, who heralds what’s to come with a brand new song entitled “Jaywalker.” This sensitive ballad is the namesake and beacon of the Jancy Rae helmed project’s forthcoming second studio album, scheduled for an autumnal release this October.

Jaywalker” is a melancholic orchestration of nocturnal dream pop, designed with throbbing heartbeats of 909 drum machines buried under alluring whispers of vocals and the sparkle of reverb-soaked guitars. The gritty basslines lead into lavish chorus and pulsating synths. The title is not a literal interpretation, but a poetic metaphor for any kind of dangerous addiction – be it drugs, risky behaviour, or obsession.

Every one of us is familiar with a Jaywalker – those who dare to flirt with the thin line between life and death, enticed by the deadly game of Russian roulette. To an onlooker, the Jaywalker’s antics may seem repellent, mad, or shocking, yet underneath the outer shell is a soul yearning for connection, but perpetually failing to grasp it. Perpetually bereft of a safety network. Perpetually bereft of stability.

Ever nostalgic for the chaos, the Jaywalker invariably gravitates back to their skewed definition of normalcy, regardless of any intervention. It’s a heartbreaking, yet all too familiar cycle.

Directed by Blau!, the accompanying video is set in the nocturnal world of a park by a bridge, portraying a man and woman engaged in aimless – and joyless – frolic. Sharing fleeting moments and cigarettes, they interact without genuinely connecting to each other or their surroundings, embodying the restless spirit of the Jaywalker. Their irreverent disregard for sane boundaries resonates with the omnipresent dangers lurking in the shadowed corners of the park, waiting to pounce.

Watch below:

This latest single, “Jaywalker,” indicates more tough talk looming over the horizon: “It’s an album that captures those still night moments that rest on the cusp of danger, the midnight missions when you partner up with a friend to roam the streets,” says Rae. “Flickering fluorescent lights at the gas stations, paraphernalia strewn about the car, moments moving slow and then suddenly changing pace… and the grime. This is where the Jaywalker thrives, in chaos, unpredictability, and in hiding.”

Listen below via Bandcamp:

Emerging in 2021, MØAA has taken center stage during tours across the United States, Europe, and the UK, enchanted crowds at the official SXSW 2022 showcase, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yves Tumor and Film School.

The full album, “Jaywalker,” is poised for release in the fall of 2023, under the banner of WWNBB Records. Digital distribution is set to be handled by the acclaimed AWAL/Sony. Andrea Volpato has meticulously crafted the record’s production, recording, and mixing within the walls of Fox Studio in Seattle. Its final touch of perfection, the mastering, is the work of Giovanni Versari, notable for his collaborations with Muse, Verdena, and more.

Pre-Order Here

MØAA will be on tour in the Lone Star State throughout July. Don’t miss them! Get tickets here.

  • 7/8 – Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas
  • 7/9 – Houston, TX – The Compound
  • 7/10 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
  • 7/11 – Denton, TX – Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios

Follow MØAA: 

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Berlin Post-Punk Quartet Hello Pity find Hope within Darkness in Their Video for “Winter Swelter” https://post-punk.com/berlin-post-punk-quartet-hello-pity-find-hope-within-darkness-in-their-video-for-winter-swelter/ Thu, 04 May 2023 08:43:28 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=59285 “Even the rats have left the city We left you there we couldn’t take it anymore No one to blame it on the outside And all this fire is burning…

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“Even the rats have left the city

We left you there we couldn’t take it anymore

No one to blame it on the outside

And all this fire is burning within me”

Berlin’s post-punk poets, Hello Pity, have unveiled a shadowy and sombre new single, “winter swelter.” This dark, brooding, and introspective track is set to be featured on their hotly anticipated debut album, slated for release later this year through Duchess Box Records.

Embodying the essence of post-punk, goth, and indie, this captivating quartet are known for their intoxicating fusion of genres and their penchant for chaotic live performances. Evoking The Damned, The Dead Kennedys, and Lords of The New Church, this melancholy number is dripping with punk rock pathos.

Albert Camus, a renowned French philosopher, and author, is best known for his novel, The Stranger, which inspired The Cure song “Killing An Arab”. However, the song “Winter Swelter,” with its despondently doldrum deathrock style, draws inspiration not from the pages of The Stranger but from a quote extended from Camus’s evocative essay, “Return to Tipasa.”

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” 

“I wanted to use that quote but in a reverse manner trying to think about what was the real coldness inside someone in the middle of a burning world full of challenges and what holds someone up when everything is crumbling around you.” frontman Colin explains.

Hello Pity’s track details the existentialist crisis of living in the dystopia of modern-day Berlin. It is a bleak tale of futility and a desire for meaning in a heartless environment. The video, created by the team of Dixie Kamaro, Daisy Rickman, Gaël Pettinaroli, and Max Bastian, is a glitched-out kaleidoscope of band footage and disjointed imagery, evoking the scrambled images of mindless channel surfing and half-memories.

Watch the video for ‘Winter Swelter” below:

Hello Pity, comprised of Colin (vocal, guitar), Gael, (vocal, guitar), Jonas (bass), and Max (drums), have been performing around Berlin; the band performed two shows at Synasthesie Festival before coming to the attention of Duchess Box Records.

“Winter Swelter” was recorded in Berlin and produced by local hero Leonard Kaage from the band Errorr in his studio Anomic Recordings, where the band have also been recording their album.

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Listen to German Post-Punk Trio Delta Komplex’s Romantic Darkwave Masterpiece “Veils” https://post-punk.com/listen-to-german-post-punk-trio-delta-komplexs-romantic-darkwave-masterpiece-veils/ Wed, 21 Sep 2022 05:28:25 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=52913 Redundancy destroys my life, It doesn‘t seem to be right. A rat race on a torturous path I didn‘t want to be like this! Straight from Darmstadt, Germany comes post-punk…

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Redundancy destroys my life, It doesn‘t seem to be right.
A rat race on a torturous path I didn‘t want to be like this!

Straight from Darmstadt, Germany comes post-punk trio DELTΔ KOMPLEX, announcing the vinyl release of their 8-track album Veils, via Unterschall Records. Referring to their layered, complex sound, and the contradictory emotional landscapes they sculpt, the band’s sound blends darkwave, new wave, and gothic undertones. We hear elements of Siouxsie, Neue Deutsche Welle, and Lebanon Hanover, mixed with the dreaminess of bands like Berlin and Human League.

Overall, their haunting atmosphere comes from oscillating basslines, hypnotic beats, twinkling synth chords, and wistful guitars. Their ominous vocals, a female voice often seemingly coming from another dimension, anchors the music into an eerie soundscape.

The concept of the album examines Carl Jung’s psychic realm of the shadow self, where hidden motivations, fears, and desires secretly influence an outer façade to become an unknown imposter identity.

DELTΔ KOMPLEX sets the scene: “Blackbirds circle over the late summer forest, startled by the muffled sound from a nearby discotheque. Wavy synths and retro drum machines, teared apart by the guitars, and nostalgic vocals dreaming of a lost crush. We’re leaving the after-show-party at dawn, with a longing feeling of peace and fading emotions, missing the kiss we wished for so desperately.”

“Woods” sets the album’s dark mood perfectly, evoking aspects of The Cures’ Seventeen Seconds, and Clan of Xymon’s Medusa, with its spiraling guitars and forlorn vocals, with tempo changes, paving the way for, ‘Metronome,” a pulsing and brooding brand of catchy and danceable darkwave with captivating vocal and melodic hooks.

“La Chasse” is an atmospheric and memorizing haunted dream with its baroque synth composition, followed by the sombre and dark post-punk romance of the aforementioned “Blackbirds.”

“Darkside” is a gothic dirge with powerful vocals peeling away the veneer of the shadow self. “Bitter Dripping” continues the album’s perfection in recreating old-school sounds, with a contemporary fusion of synths. “Empty Souls” is almost deathrock with its plodding guitar melody and lively macabre mood.

The album ends with the dirgeful French coldwave duet “Myosotis,” bookending one of this year’s truly perfect releases.

Listen to the album “Veils” below, and order here:

Follow Delta Komplex:

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Listen to Chilean Coldwave Duo Ángel De La Guarda’s Electrifying Album “Sentencia” https://post-punk.com/listen-to-chilean-coldwave-duo-angel-de-la-guardas-electrifying-album-sentencia/ Mon, 20 Jun 2022 01:33:00 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=50878 Chilean Coldwave duo Ángel De La Guarda has been making waves since release last month of their icy debut single “Crimen”, a track that heralded the arrival of their newly…

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Chilean Coldwave duo Ángel De La Guarda has been making waves since release last month of their icy debut single “Crimen”, a track that heralded the arrival of their newly released 7-song album Sentencia. Citing luminaries such as Suicide, The Velvet  Underground, Joy Division, and The Jesus & Mary Chain their key influences., the band invoke a captivating and dancefloor friendly post-punk melancholia that highlights the margins between joy and sadness, and light and dark.

On Sentencia, multidisciplinary artists Santiago González and Pedro Roca use their earnest emotional intensity as the launching point into sounds that envelope with a world building melange of  drum machines, synthesizers, and guitars that are introspective and intimate. This is a soundtrack to letting go and being swept away, where both González and Roca surrender to the dark romance of forces beyond their control.

“… we felt a state of nonconformity, of the moment, the forms, patterns. The album is just that, a response to “exist”.”

The album is an unrelenting euphoric dream from start to finish, beginning with captivating “Crimen”, which is followed by the mesmerizing “Imagen Transparente”, one of the record’s best songs, capturing a sound somewhere inbetween  the shimmering sound of Drab Majesty, and shadowy rhthyms of She Past Away.

“Abismo” showcases the project’s dynamic range, sounding like a synthwave score with irrisecent post-punk guitars accenting the song’s narrative journey.

“Instinto Intacto” is a work of melodic genius with its simple, yet effective sombre hook. “Detrás De La Piedra” is a haunting yet minimal dirge of reverb drenched vocals and gentle guitar strumming.

“Vienen” is a pulsing darkwave phantasmagoria that leads into the album’s powerful closer “Nunca Más”.

Listen to Sentencia below:

Released by Jungla Music, Sentencia is a seven-track studio short produced by Access Device and Mastered by Jari Antti in Monoton Studio, Berlin.

Stream the album here, and purchase it here

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Five MORE Current Deathrock Bands You Should Definitely Be Listening To https://post-punk.com/five-more-current-deathrock-bands-you-should-definitely-be-listening-to/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 02:10:49 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=43910 It’s hard to believe that it’s been just over a year that we first ran our “Five Current Deathrock Bands You Should Definitely Be Listening To” feature. That piece was…

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been just over a year that we first ran our “Five Current Deathrock Bands You Should Definitely Be Listening To” feature. That piece was published in June of 2020. It’s about time for an update.

Last year’s list included some bands that may not have thought of themselves as deathrock, or who have moved away from playing that style since then, and/or perhaps don’t neatly fit the genre tag in any case. (Last year’s list included Vueltas, New Skeletal Faces, Rosegarden Funeral Party, Detoxi, and Mystic Priestess.) This year’s list isn’t so different in that regard:  That is, “deathrock” is a contentious label for many, and, just as Andrew Eldritch doesn’t consider the Sisters of Mercy to be a gothic rock band, even though they really are, many bands that sound deathrock-ish would never describe themselves as deathrock, either—even if you’d be hard-pressed to describe said band any other way. But let’s set aside the debate over labels and say that it’s perhaps best to speak of the following five bands as bands that fans of deathrock ought to be listening to.

Our five bands this time around are: Vision of the Void, Nehann, Desenterradas, Altar de Fey, and Peers on Pyres.

1) ALTAR DE FEY. It’s probably appropriate to start this list off with a band that’s been around, off and on, for several decades. A true California deathrock staple, the Bay Area’s Altar de Fey have serious roots in the oft-neglected North California deathrock scene of the 1980s. The band features members, past and current, of acts like Phantom Limbs, Chrome, and Black Ice. “[O]ur San Francisco contemporaries at the time [1984/1985],” Altar de Fey drummer Aleph Kali once told me regarding the band’s founding (after the release of the band’s 2016 Echoes in Corridor LP), “were groups like Our Lady of Pain, Fade to Black, Thrill of the Pull, Wages of Sin, Beast, Nothing Sacred, and eventually even Specimen and Rozz Williams relocated here.” Altar de Fey’s 2020 “And May Love Conquer All” EP is worthy of those classic comparisons, as well; just check out this stomper of a track from their latest EP:

2) NEHANN. Japan’s Nehann have recently released what may very well be one of the best gothic rock LPs of 2021: “New Metropolis” on Japan’s KiliKiliVilla Records. The New Metropolis LP came out in May, 2021, and unfortunately, the logo of Nehann makes it look like their LP came right out of a bargain bin of CDs from the 1990s (and, ironically, the word “Nehann” apparently translates to “Nirvana”. . .). But—let’s get to the substance of this band instead of the superficial: A lot of Nehann’s output sounds remarkably like classic-era Bauhaus, including the track below, “Nylon,” which is the lead-off track on their new LP. Japan of course has its own formidable deathrock and dark postpunk tradition (called “positive punk” there, similar to the Brits in the early 1980s), from Genet’s Auto-Mod to Phaidia to newer-ish bands like 13th Moon. Nehann’s vocalist is a dead-ringer for Peter Murphy when it comes to timbre of voice and overall singing style, and a lot of Nehann’s tracks sound as if they were lifted from unreleased Bauhaus recordings, and I mean that in a good way.

You can check out Nehann’s 2021 “New Metropolis” LP here.

3) DESENTERRADAS. Spain’s Desenterradas are one of my favorite bands as of late: They remind a lot of classic Spanish acts like Las VulpeSS and Paralasis Permanente; or bands like Burning Kitchen, with maybe a tad of newer-ish (comparatively) bands like Naughty Zombies, and American bands like Vueltas or Arctic Flowers. The band’s Danzando En El Caos LP came out only a few weeks ago (September, 2021) on the always-amazing Symphony of Destruction label from France. On their new album, Desenterradas tap back into the power of dark punk and classic, anarcho-tinged goth-punk like Rubella Ballet or Lost Cherrees. Would Desenterradas themselves agree with a “deathrock” designation? Maybe, maybe not—but they’re a lot like groups like the aforementioned Arctic Flowers or Rule of Thirds in that they’re really more of a hybrid of postpunk, deathrock, and the classic early 80s tradition of Spanish punk and UK anarcho-punk. Their new Danzando En El Caos LP is highly recommended. You can listen to the new Desenterradas’ LP here.

4) VISION OF THE VOID. I have to admit, I don’t know much about Vision of the Void—except that their music is really, really good. They’re from Anaheim, California according to their Bandcamp page; and that makes them perfect for a post like this that’s focused on deathrock (given the genre’s Southern California roots affiliations, that is). Think early 80s Superheroines when it comes to the sheer impact of VotV’s purist deathrock brand of music.

I’m really eager to hear more from this band, to see if they will tour, and the like. Vision of the Void’s “Promise of Escape” EP came out a few weeks ago. You can listen to it all here.

5) PEERS ON PYRES. I have to thank my friend Gary Evans for introducing me to this band. From Liverpool, UK, Peers on Pyres’ slogan is “Music for Pleasure (mine, not yours).” This outstanding band, like Desenterradas, above, may not even consider themselves “deathrock,” but that’s fine; unlike, say, the term “post punk,” the “deathrock” genre tag can still be shockingly contentious. Regardless, Peers on Pyres’ self-titled LP is comprised of many songs that fit the bill; and if you don’t like to think of them as deathrock, perhaps the band could be called a callback to the early 80s UK positive punk of bands like the Virgin Prunes. This British band’s highly recommended LP came out in April of this year (2021), and one of my favorite things about their Bandcamp page is their self-deprecating sense of humor: “Is it [our LP] any good? Not really. There are maybe only two songs worth of decent ideas across the 8 tracks here.” I disagree (but—hah).


Who are your favorite current deathrock bands?

==================

Thanks are owed to Gary Evans and Jack Control for contributing band suggestions.

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Oakland Glam-Synth Act Candy Whips Debuts Video for “Days Like These” https://post-punk.com/oakland-glam-synth-act-candy-whips-debut-video-for-days-like-these/ Wed, 11 Aug 2021 19:08:04 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=42138 Well, it seems something good DID come out of the infamous Capitol Riots. The chaotic fracas in Washington on 6 January sparked major inspiration in Captain Wendy Stonehenge (Glitter Wizards),…

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Well, it seems something good DID come out of the infamous Capitol Riots. The chaotic fracas in Washington on 6 January sparked major inspiration in Captain Wendy Stonehenge (Glitter Wizards), mastermind of Oakland glam outfit Candy Whips, to pen a satirical response to the devolution of the American dream. Ditching rock riffs and plunging straight into the terrors of the dark web, Days Like These is a gonzo cyberpunk daydream.

Days Like These almost didn’t happen,” Stonehenge muses. “By late December, I considered the writing and recording for Automaton to be finished. Then the Capitol Riots happened. I was pissed. Pissed that we’ve become so inundated with gullible idiots. The song started with the sarcastic opening line, It’s days like these [that] make me proud to be an American, and just grew from there. I probably wrote the whole thing in 15 minutes and recorded that night.”

The delightful video, looking straight out of a low-budget B-movie, is at once hilarious and poignant. There are heavy cues from Devo in both the sound of the song itself as well as the video clip; you can hear elements of Trevor Horn, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, and Sparks as well. Candy Whips is as challenging as it is danceable: this is a very serious political protest song wrapped up in gossamer, glam and glee.

“When I presented the album to Greg Downing, he picked this song as the single and wrote out a concept for the video. The idea is that an advanced race of space people have come to Earth to mock us for being so primitive. The whole thing was filmed in a single day and Greg spent the better part of a month putting it all together with some help from animator Ruben Diaz.

I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. *Pop-up Video fun fact: our caveman is played by Ryan Allbaugh, who also mixed the album!* I’ve already recorded a couple of new songs so don’t be surprised to see more releases from Candy Whips in the future.”

So what’s the story behind Candy Whips? This was the info brought forth in ancient cuneiform to the world, on a golden tablet dropped from a spinning cardboard UFO:

When mankind entered the plague times, the Glitter Wizards went underground. During his time below the surface, singer Wendy Stonehenge went to work on a new project. Inspired by the imminent apocalypse, he enlisted the help of Arthur Tea (ex-Glitter Wizard) and Phil Becker (Terry Gross, Pins of Light) to construct a selection of songs, fusing elements of punk, electronic, and synthpop.

The new sound ran the gamut of post-punk aesthetics, even including an italo-disco inspired cover of the Electric Prunes’ “I Happen to Love You,” penned by Carole King and Gerry Goffin! The songs quickly became self-aware and worked their way into the mind of their creator, driving him into madness and fusing his flesh with the machines. Thus, the Automaton was born…

The full Automaton LP, out July 27 via Kitten Robot Records, includes a variety of pulsating electronic communiques. It awakens the dozing listener with the Motorik drive of opener Scent of Leather, stopping along the way to call out the evil Slumlord, note the impending Environmental Genocide, and confirming that, until further notice, there’s No Future in Music.

Listen to the album below:

Follow Candy Whips:

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Gossamer Goth pop in Bizou’s Shimmering Dream of a “Tragic Lover” https://post-punk.com/gossamer-goth-pop-in-bizous-shimmering-dream-of-a-tragic-lover/ Thu, 15 Apr 2021 16:09:18 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=38435 Combining propulsive darkwave rhythms, shifting synth scales, haunting vocals, and a wall of shivering shoegaze, Bizou craft a sound entirely their own, “serving up cotton candy at a beach bonfire for…

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Combining propulsive darkwave rhythms, shifting synth scales, haunting vocals, and a wall of shivering shoegaze, Bizou craft a sound entirely their own, “serving up cotton candy at a beach bonfire for Goth kids,” they inform us. Formed in 2017, Bizou features current and former members of Light FM, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wax Idols, and Glaare.

Now they release the single Tragic Lover, from the forthcoming album of the same name, rife with dreamy vocals that bring to mind Curve, Cranes, Garbage or PJ Harvey, but with a whisper of menace. The track is a shimmering, melancholic tour de force wrapped up in brightly coloured cellophane. Tragic Lover stacks pop effervescence against a rising sense of dread. The ethereal accompanying video was collaboratively directed by Bizou, Thomas, and Brandon Pierce.

Following the release of their eponymous 2018 EP, Bizou joined Topographies on a Southwestern tour, culminating in a showcase at Elysium / SXSW. The band then retreated to guitarist/producer Josiah Mazzaschi’s beloved Cave Studio to write and record their second EP, Stillifeburning, a tonal departure from the first and a “decidedly saturnine downshift in mood,” the band says.

Following the release of Stillifeburning, the band set to work on a third EP. Lockdown afforded them time and space to get creative, which culminated in a debut full-length record. Tragic Lover was recorded and mixed at Cave Studio LA, and mastered by Simon Scott (Slowdive).

Bizou have shared stages with Drab Majesty, Topographies, Ötzi, Hunny, and many others — spinning their gossamer gothpop like a candyfloss machine at a sinister roadside carnival.

Watch the video for Tragic Lover, collaboratively directed by Bizou, Thomas Nelson, and Brandon Pierce, below:

The Tragic Lover LP is out on June 4th. You can preorder the track here on their Bandcamp.
 
Spotify pre-save is here.

*Featured photo by Kristin Cofer

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Some Ember Mines the Soul in the Mystical “Excavate” from New EP “Held a Fragment of the Moon” https://post-punk.com/some-ember-mines-the-soul-in-the-mystical-excavate-from-new-ep-held-a-fragment-of-the-moon/ Fri, 05 Mar 2021 17:42:34 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=37164 As we move into the cycle of Spring, the darkness brightens and snow melts away, uncovering new treasures previously unseen. With the Spring rains, quartz crystals appear in formerly snow-blanketed…

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As we move into the cycle of Spring, the darkness brightens and snow melts away, uncovering new treasures previously unseen. With the Spring rains, quartz crystals appear in formerly snow-blanketed fields. The crocus and daffodil peek out from the thawing soil. Robins and doves choose mates and build their nests. The weather shifts to warmth and new life. From the ashes of Death comes Renewal.

Some Ember enters the deep recesses of the soul mine in the mystical, synth-laden dream, Excavate, from the new EP, Held a Fragment of the Moon. Excavate gorgeously celebrates the divine cycle of rebirth, and it is a masterpiece. With a rich, velvety croon leaping into ecstatic bursts of rhapsodic bliss, Excavate is a feverish prayer to “a new state, a clean slate, new dimensions to explore and transfigure.” Sonically, there are elements of Erasure, Bronski Beat, and Cabaret Voltaire in this track, with traces of Talk Talk’s Mark Hollis in the general oeuvre of the track.

Some Ember has always operated with the goal of radical self-examination and self-confrontation. Held a Fragment of the Moon continues this theme, as it moves towards the new, rejecting the strictures of a dead, decaying world, seeking the unknown. It picks up where 2019’s Submerged left off, digging its way out from the emotional ocean floor via the core of the earth and potentially through to the other side – guided by the promise of novel landscapes and the embrace of lunar light.

Listen below:
A physical, bracing EP, Held a Fragment of the Moon‘s four tracks represent a return to the body after the astral depressions divined in previous works. The album was recorded in Berlin and San Luis Obispo, CA, and mastered by Jess Labrador.

Order Here

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Hennessey Tears Apart The 1% With “8 Men” https://post-punk.com/hennessey-tears-apart-the-1-with-8-men/ Sun, 31 Jan 2021 23:43:05 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=35983 Eight men have all the money. Eight men have more than half of all the money than everyone else in the world, combined. Yuck. NYC dance-punk queen Leah Hennessey is,…

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Eight men have all the money. Eight men have more than half of all the money than everyone else in the world, combined.

Yuck. NYC dance-punk queen Leah Hennessey is, quite rightly, pissed off. Hennessey’s latest release, 8 Men, is a fiery call-to-arms, hi-tempo protest song, name-checking the Bastions of Greed hoarding the planet’s resources. Part electroclash, part Bertholt Brecht, part ZE Records, Hennessey rips their material from the headlines and fuses topicality with sharp wit and a very real passion for the betterment of humanity.

The release is verily crackling with synchronicity, dropping mere days after a Wall Street scandal where savvy Redditors brought devious hedgefunders to their knees and exposed the utter sham controlling the economy. Synth artist EJ O’Hara and guitarists Noah Chevan/Malachy O’Neil, sharing duties, bang out tasty hooks over Leah Hennessey’s droll delivery of a call for wealth redistribution. She paints a cosy picture of a calmer world with simple joys and equality for everyone.

Eight stinkin’ men, friends. Out of 7.8 billion Earthlings.

Photo: Ruby McCollister

“The brutal fact of that insane wealth inequality can sometimes make any kind of faith or hope feel futile: how can I believe in ideals of fairness and equality when things are so corrupt and distorted and beyond the repair of revolution?” She wryly adds, “I’m too poor to have a dog, let alone ever dream of owning property! But it’s funny. The song is funny.”

It certainly is, but despite a call for the guillotine, the song reflects an exasperation bordering on the absurd, felt by multiple generations hitting wall after wall.  “But Bill Gates paid for my high school” is an especially poignant lyric. Selective philanthropy to ease guilty consciences, exploiting vulnerable populations with free software in a thinly-disguised push for brand loyalty. We could all have high school. We don’t need to be bribed into technological slavery. But as the homeless population soars in her hometown, a direct correlation to corrupt values and Profits Over People, as the pandemic has forced millions of young unemployed back home with parents, as dreams lay dormant and dying, the words of 8 Men hit our weary souls hard. And really, all she’s doing here is reciting the news to a high energy backbeat.

Hennessey, daughter of legendary New York Doll David Johansen, carries on the family tradition of trashing the status quo with persistent hopes of a brighter future. An artist through and through, she frequently collaborates with a collective of intellectual, creative minds (including Ruby McCollister, who contributed to the video), fusing together performance, visual art, avant-garde theatre, fashion, and Absurdist influences. 8 Men is no exception: the video was also shot as a collaboration with designer Lou Dallas.

The accompanying video, directed by Max Lakner and filmed at The Freehand Hotel, is a fabulous pisstake on  the glamour and artifice of fashion magazine shoots celebrating the 1%.  Headshots of über-billionaires are torn to pieces between shots of the trio posing hammily for the camera as one would for Vogue.  The messages are constructed like sinister ransom notes…indeed, these eight men have the entire world held hostage. Band members wear shirts emblazoned with “Think Otherwise,” riffing off of the long-retired Apple slogan, “Think Different.” The track is smart, snarky, and a welcome anthem of hope and justice for all.

Tear that shit up, Hennessey.

The single is out now via Velvet Elk Records.

 

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Hungarian Darkwave Band Cawatana Shines in the “Silver Light” https://post-punk.com/hungarian-darkwave-band-cawatana-shines-in-the-silver-light/ Tue, 12 Jan 2021 01:22:48 +0000 https://post-punk.com/?p=35438 For over twenty years, Hungarian dark folk/wave band Cawatana has published multiple albums, mini albums, split releases at different labels around the world, participated in multiple compilations, and toured all over…

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For over twenty years, Hungarian dark folk/wave band Cawatana has published multiple albums, mini albums, split releases at different labels around the world, participated in multiple compilations, and toured all over Europe. They’ve played the Wave Gotik Treffen twice, in 2003 and 2011.

During their two decades of existence, Cawatana’s music has evolved into a unique mix of dark folk, darkwave, and post-punk by incorporating acoustic instruments (guitar, accordion, melodica) with analogue synths, drum machines, and sequencers. In the Silver Light is the first release of Cawatana’s new label, Senkrecht Records, a new Hungarian label specialising in dark folk, minimal wave, darkwave, post-punk, minimal synth, and similar “dark alternative” music.

In The Silver Light is a minimal wave offering, with a melancholic lead vocal echoing the sound of a Gregorian chant, over a relentless synth backing. Furthermore, the robotic vocoder elements take vocalist Kiss Balazs’s thick Hungarian accent from a more folky Gogol Bordello-style aesthetic to an eerie, unfamiliar, futuristic headspace more in the realm of Gary Numan.

The 7″ contains two alternative versions of previously-released songs by Cawatana. The first side features 2016’s Something in the Final Hour (Gradual Hate/Twilight Records), originally a darkfolk/wavepop song that appeared on the CD Comprende. The track received a darker rework with the subtitle Living in the 80s  – but with the motto: “no neon”). On the other side, the 2015 song Silver Light got a makeover by the Pulse 4 Station. Originally post-punk driven dark folk on the Decline of Privileges (Lichterklang Records), the track got a minimal wave vibe with the addition of analogue synths and drum machines.

The effect is mesmerizing; it triggers both a deep nostalgia and a vision for the future.

Check out Cawatana’s music, including the Compilation In the Silver Light Again, a collection of songs not released in a physical format before. This includes tracks from the latest two 7″ vinyl records, In The Silver Light, the split In Deep Timelessness with Larrnakh from 2020 (in different versions), plus the Again EP from 2014 (remastered in 2020), and a previously unreleased acoustic cover of Joy Division’s “New Dawn Fades” from 2004.

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