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Berlin Post Punk

MANA is down with the sickness in their indie post-punk sophomore single, Nauseating Me

MANA has reached a plateau above a scene cluttered with pallid echoes of post-punk pioneers with ‘Nauseating Me’, a track that defiantly carves a new notch in the indie scene. The Irish ensemble, now threading through the fabric of Berlin’s underground scene, has leapt forward from their promising debut with ‘Our Words’.

Their guitar work, reminiscent of the late 70s and early 80s licks, weaves through the track like Poison Ivy’s angularly arcane poise in confluence with the vocals which chameleonically shift from ethereal harmonies in the vein of Jaws and Peace to Strokes-esque vintagely doctored timbres as the track carries the cultivated appeal of mainstream titans like Arcade Fire and The Vaccines.

Equally as cerebral as their sound, MANA’s lyricism carries just as much intellectual weight with their dedication to painting vignettes of defiance, hope, polarisation, cynicism and displacement. Their philosophical approach to thematic underpinnings paired with the oscillations of indie innovation ensures that MANA is not just continuing traditions but setting precedents.

For those wearied by the monochrome renditions of Joy Division, join MANA in their electrifying new division as they traverse lesser-trodden intersections of indie’s anthemic fervour and post-punk’s monochromatic chill.

Nauseating Me was officially released on October 2nd; stream the single on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lolita Terrorist Sounds – Mind the Gap: A Devilishly Arcane Avant-Garde Post-Punk Reverie

Lolita Terrorist Sounds, the Berlin-based avant-garde ensemble, ensnared once again with their latest single, Mind the Gap, which pulls you into the audacious heart of Berlin’s artistic underbelly.

Fronted by the enigmatic Maurizio Vitale, the band continues to smash aural archetypes with devil-may-care panache by blending provocative themes with ground-breaking sounds. Mind the Gap is a vivid reflection of this ethos. The single, an aural equivalent of arthouse cinema, swaggers through the debauched realms of Avant-Garde post-punk with a Lynchian flair. It’s a track that doesn’t just play; it prowls and gyrates, consuming the listener in its dark, hypnotic embrace.

It’s a journey beyond the tourist traps of Berlin, delving deep into the city’s hedonistic cultural epicentre. The track’s spoken word vocals demand you escape from banality as they wind around dark psych guitars and tribal percussion. The juxtaposing pianos add a cinematic touch, elevating the track to a realm of high art while never eroding the brooding experimentalism.

The invitation to lose oneself in a devilishly arcane reverie drips with artistic liberation, tearing listeners from the trap of mundanity. Lolita Terrorist Sounds, with their rich history of collaborations and innovative projects like Lolita Kitchen Sounds, continues to push boundaries. Their trajectory from Shaved Girl to Prison Song and now to Mind the Gap showcases a band not just at their creative zenith but as torchbearers of a genre that refuses to be defined.

Stream the official music video for Mind the Gap on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast