Browsing Tag

Goth Rock

Shoegaze collides with post-punk in The Silent Era’s latest visceral vortex, Oscillations

Posted on 15 October 2024

With powerhouse vocals that follow in the ethereally haunting footsteps of Desperate Journalist filtering into the monochromatic shoegaze meets post-punk atmosphere, the latest single from The Silent Era will leave you spellbound, scintillated, and desperate in anticipation for their debut album, Wide and Deep and Cold.

The engorging walls of sound, glistens of goth rock glamour, vortexes of kaleidoscopic mesmerism, angular guitar notes and pulsative percussion pull together in the radio edit of Oscillations to pour an alchemic cocktail which may pay ode to pioneers of post-punk and shoegaze, but there’s no mistaking The Silent Era’s own ingenuity within the aching authenticity of the single.

If Oscillations feels this good through headphones, the live experience will undoubtedly leave you kneeling at the altar of The Silent Era.

Stream the official lyric video for Oscillations on YouTube now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Simpletone is back with vengeance in their darkly kinetic alt-rock anthem, Circles

Posted on 4 October 2024
The Simpletone

After amassing renown for the intensity of their live performances following their 2010 inception, releasing three critically acclaimed LPs, gaining a cult following, winning the Cambridge Band Competition, joining New Model Army on tour and being revered by Classic Rock Magazine, The Simpletone broke their fair share of hearts when they split in 2017.

After a six-year hiatus, The Simpletone sound is sharper than ever; their comeback track, Circles, which teases what’s to come in their upcoming fourth LP, The Eternal Now, dares you to imagine the veins of blues rock running through a sonic love child conceived between Sisters of Mercy and Queens of the Stone Age.

The shadowy rock licks bring the arcane atmosphere as the rhythm section intravenously injects kinetic energy into the anthem, which proves that The Simpletone weren’t down and out in 2017; they were priming for one of the most scintillating artistic reinventions the UK alt-rock scene has seen in the past decade.

Circles will be available to stream on all major platforms from October 4th. Hear the single on YouTube and follow The Simpletone on Instagram and Facebook to stay up to date with all future releases.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ditch the Demon is out for blood in their sonic screening of garage goth glamour, Fright Night

Posted on 16 August 2024

Fans of Zombina and the Skeletones, Lesbian Bed Death and the Creepshow won’t want to miss the installation of horror and garage goth glamour, Fright Night, prised from the crypt of Ditch the Demon’s LP, Ain’t Dead Yet.

With the percussive pulse of punk and the phantasmic reanimations of new wave indie conjured by the guitars filtered through a psychedelic prog rock lens and the livewire energy rippling through the production as a courtesy of Amanda Brooks-Byron’s histrionically haunted vocals, Fright Night hits with an exhilarating horror punk intensity.

After forming in 2018, the Hastings-hailing powerhouse has made chilling waves with their scintillatingly dark sonic signature; the launch of their debut album in 2023 marked the zenith of the band’s career so far but with their infamous live shows, Ditch the Demon isn’t a band to underestimate.

Stream the official music video for Fright Night on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Enter Luxifer’s dark and distorted evocation with ‘Always Remembered’

Posted on 20 November 2023

Luxifer used their latest EP, Hook, Line, and Sinker, to reel fans of dark and twisted experimentalism in with exactly what it says on the tin. Known for their explosive on-stage rock n roll antics, the internationally diversified four-piece injected plenty of that captivating visceralism into the sludgy, doomy melodicism which pulsates through the standout single on the EP, Always Remembered.

With instrumentals that pull you into the undercurrent of their alchemy with every progression in the same vein as Deftones fused with a magnetically devil-may-care demeanour which matches the arresting intensity of Rammstein, Luxifer effortlessly succeeded in asserting their originality while ensuring that their distinction levels with the commercial appeal. It’s not rock n roll as you know it; it’s a transgression that stands as a testament to the ingenuity of the dynamic outfit, which has exactly what it takes to reach higher ground in the rock and metal charts if they keep delivering tracks as atmospherically cultivated as Always Remembered.

Always Remembered is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The teeth of synth rock sharpened to the tune of Ghostfeeder’s latest single, Rearview

Posted on 11 August 2023
Ghostfeeder

The latest monolith of a hook-filled single, Rearview, from the alt-electronica trailblazer Ghostfeeder, stepped out from the shadows of 80s synthpop and glam rock to show its sharp teeth and even sharper hooks.

With the frenzied-with-distortion guitars around Ghostfeeder’s signature vintage synth textures and under the poppy vocals that leave the hooks in IAMX and Highly Suspect tracks sounding blunt, Rearview is a viscerally exhilarant release; especially if you allow the depth of the lyricism to submerge you deeper into the evocative momentum. Anyone who can find resonance in the reprise ‘stuck in rewind’ in the context of being paralysed when it comes to letting go of the past will get galvanizingly more than they’ve bargained for when they hit play.

After sharing stages with goth royalty, including KMFDM, Powerman 5000, and Cold Cave, it is more than about time that Ghostfeeder stepped into the headliner limelight. To bolster the honed songwriting, Rearview was mixed by the Grammy Award-nominated and platinum-selling artist and producer Amir Derakh (Orgy, Dead by Sunrise, Julien-K) and mastered by Mike Marsh (The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Depeche Mode). The track reaches the pinnacle of cyber goth ear candy.

Stream Rearview on all major platforms from the 11th of August via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

49 Burning Condors are arrestingly ablaze in their Southern Gothic album, Seventh Hymnal

Posted on 9 September 2022

49 Burning Condors released a strong contender for the album of the year with their latest tribally awakening release, Seventh Hymnal. Penned during lockdown, the 7-track release traverses some tender topics; with the sonorous amalgam of goth rock and occultist alchemy, it is as bewitching as it is emboldening.

It isn’t often I’m left speechless. But considering the very nature of Seventh Hymnal is to express what can never be portrayed through words alone, the arrested daze that 49 Burning Condors left me in speaks volumes of their ability to run with an powerful concept and take you along for the visceral ride until you’re subsequently soothed by the sonic vernacular.

The album opens on the swampy stripped-back bluesy single, Bayou, before Little Death delivers a haunting ode to frailty through baroque strings, sparse vocals and hypnotic percussion. Track 3, Willow Tree, lets the compassion pour through the gentle folkish melodicism before Red Drum Skin will make you want to lead a sacrificial lamb to slaughter. Track 5, Noonday, one of the previously released singles stands as a profound testament to the vocal soul from Kimber before the album concludes on the sorrowfully sublime title single, which is just as cinematic as Ramin Djawadi’s work on Westworld.

Here’s what 49 Burning Condors have to say about their latest release:

“Seventh Hymnal was written during the pandemic; a time of abounding uncertainty, where death loomed around every corner, and chaos lingered in our world, homes, and veins. Our songs are dripping with stories of grief, bodies floating down the river, men drowning to a siren’s song, and of the gods worshipped, who ultimately turned calamitous.

Seventh Hymnal is not only an outpouring of all the things we wanted to say but couldn’t express in regular words to those we loved and even to ourselves, but a benediction and examination of a woman’s role of power in the world of men.”

Seventh Hymnal will stream across all platforms from September 7th. Hear it on SoundCloud and Spotify.

For more info, head over to their official website or follow them on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Asher Musgrave brought us into a post-punk season with, SummerBelle

Posted on 9 July 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgAKuIiNDeQ

Tampa’s boldest goth rock revivalist, Asher Musgrave, has continued in his endeavour to bring the obscure chill of post-punk & darkwave back into the atmosphere with his latest single, SummerBelle.

The up-and-coming songwriter, musician and producer ensued the experimentalism with a Sisters of Mercy-Esque intro, complete with post-punk crooning. Before breaking into an ensnaring dark amalgamation of burning synths, over-driven guitars and vocals which throw you back to the time when Marilyn Manson was known for Fight Song instead of his questionable antics.

Notably, he’s already on the right track to bring goth rock back into mainstream view. With a little production improvement, he has exactly what it takes.

Check out SummerBelle on Apple Music & YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lethia’s Natorium has made her baroque goth rock debut with ‘Lullaby’

Posted on 17 April 2022

‘Lullaby’ is the debut single from the singer-songwriter Lethia’s Natorium (Pena Hughes-John), who has adopted many guises in her career as a steampunk-inclined artist. Under her new moniker, she’s embracing her inner goth edge, and notably, she’s in perfect tune with the dramatic flair of it.

She’s thrown away her faithful ukulele for arresting symphonic orchestral scores, leaden with cutting classical strings and tempestuously off-kilter production. Now that Emilie Autumn isn’t as prolific as she used to be, Lethia’s Natorium has exactly what it takes to fill those baroque boots.

Lullaby was just a teaser of what is to come in Lethia’s Natorium’s debut album, which is currently in production. It is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dead Writers delivered an instant post-punk classic in their latest single, Among Spirits.

Posted on 29 October 2021

Staying true to their moniker, Dead Writers delivered poetry that scarcely feels of this century in their latest single, Among Spirits. If Oscar Wilde himself resurrected to write post-punk lyrics, they wouldn’t be as up to scratch as the arresting lexicon in this cutting track.

Right from the intro, the cavernous guitar notes hook you into the emotionally layered single that alchemically fuses melancholy with defiant bursts of energy that emulates the kind of euphoria that only those who have fought for it can truly understand.

When the chorus hits, Dead Writers prove that they have the rare ability to make morosity anthemic, and things get even sweeter in the instrumental interlude. Against the bitter-sweet piano melody, the guitars start to blazon the track with virtuosic rock n roll licks that feed Manic Street Preachers-Esque nuances into the mix.

Paradoxically, the vocals contain their suave indie-rock poise throughout the switch-ups between the evocative dark timbre that will be a hit with any fans of the Cure and the strident rock vocals that could easily fill a stadium. By all accounts, the London-based debonair powerhouse delivered an instant post-punk classic with Among Spirits.

The official video will premiere on October 29th; you can check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Artist Links: Website, Facebook, Instagram. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dying Pharaohs – Lost in the Dark: Neo-Psychedelic Synth Rock

Posted on 14 July 2021
https://soundcloud.com/dyingpharaohs/lostinthedark

‘Lost in the Dark’ is the latest dusky feat of neo-psychedelic synth-rock from one of San Jose’s most prodigal outfits, Dying Pharaohs. If the Editors dropped acid and experienced a spiritual awakening, we’re sure the aural results would mimic Lost in the Dark which drips with post-punk cool and is sweetened by the almost hypnogogic vocals.

The angular indie guitars around the trip-hop beats and glassy synths are beyond anything I’ve heard from the psych scene or the pools of darkwave tracks that hit the airwaves. Let the goths and hippies unite through the compassionate kaleidoscope of monochromatic tones.

Lost in the Dark is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast