Browsing Tag

post-punk

Western Bloc – Monkey Christ: Darkwave Avant-Garde Post-Punk

Posted on 19 July 2021
Western Bloc

I never thought Glenn Branca would have competition, but Western Bloc’s darkwave avant-garde post-punk composition, ‘Monkey Christ’, parallels the ethereally phantasmic effect in The Ascension. It’s got the class, nihilism and theatrical flair but through the consistently evolving progressions, you’ll pick up on contemporary post-punk styles through the reminiscence to the Editor’s impassioned sound that tends to air on the melancholy despite the bursts of energetic angsty euphoria.

Any fans of SWANS, Magazine and Echo and the Bunnymen definitely won’t want to miss out on the official launch of the Calgary-based artist’s forthcoming album, which is due for release in August 2021.

Check out Western Bloc for yourselves by heading over to the band’s official website and SoundCloud.

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

OFFtrack – Too Dumb for Your Guns: Trippy Ethereal Alt-Electronica

Posted on 12 July 2021

‘Too Dumb for Your Guns’ is the electrifyingly ethereal latest trip-hop single from the mesmerising alternative artist OFFtrack. The Bahrain-based band formed in 2019 to rapturous acclaim before COVID-19 called time on the live music scene.

Their love of post-punk and trip-hop classics worked its way into the latest release which captures the disjointedness we feel trying to connect in anything in our dystopic world through trippy rhythms pulled together with dreamy guitar melodies, cutting overdriven shoegazey discord and glassy synths.

The single questions the ulterior motives of those driving society to destruction through seductively demure vocals and strikingly dark meta poetry serving as lyricism.

Any fans of Warpaint, Policia and Portishead will want to make room on their radar for OFFtrack.

Too Dumb for Your Guns is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

WE ARE MONROE – BABY LOVE: euphorically dark indie post-punk. 

Posted on 2 June 2021
‘BABY LOVE’ is just one of the three tracks that feature on the latest EP, ‘MOVEMENTS’, from WE ARE MONROE, a Canadian-based alt-rock powerhouse making waves by showing the softer, more affable side to post-punk.
With Kessler-style cuttingly angular guitar notes over danceable beats and shimmering synths, BABY LOVE is an enliveningly authentic track that proves why WE ARE MONROE hasn’t failed to gain plenty of momentum with their euphorically dark indie sound. With Gus Van Go (Arkells) on production, it comes as no surprise that BABY LOVE boasts an anthemically absorbing feel that you’ll want to delve into time and time again. BABY LOVE will undoubtedly be a hit with any fans of Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Spector, Bloc Party and Kasabian.
BABY LOVE is now available to stream via SoundCloud.
Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fading My Creations: Determined LA feminist band Agender things to another level with ‘Astro Tarot’

Posted on 24 May 2021

Returning to our anxious minds with their 2nd shuddering single off their upcoming ‘No Nostalgia‘ album that is set for fall 2021 release, Agender strongly barrage our battered souls with a twitchy new single that will have you looking around quickly called ‘Astro Tarot‘.

Agender is a uniquely ferocious Los Angeles, California-based four-piece indie post-punk/synth band. They make that earth-shattering music that easily breaks the fragile windows down — on small-minded people who just don’t get it — and is packed full of biting symbolism, that causes your blood-filled heart to suddenly beat much faster than before.

”The song is an ode to Tarot and Astrology and the role they play in diffusing the anxiety of the unknown, and in navigating an ever disorienting world. It’s a reminder that ultimately intuition and free will prevail, as does the punk spirit.” – Agender

The gritty vocals slice a claw into your mind — as you sit back and imagine how electrifying they are live with such a buzz about them — with a vibe that sends your mind into a spin, as you remember that this is what real music is all about. The grind to get to where you need to be, no what what or who is standing selfishly in your way, is the only path to where you need to be at.

‘Astro Tarot’ from the new-age LA post-punk act Agender, confidently leads us into a new world that is hard to fathom, as the twists and turns can possibly knot you up quick like playing twister after a few glasses of wine.

Their music is angry, edgy and full of fight — as these are hungry women that are on the prowl and will take their prey — no matter what, as they growl with mighty delight as their street-smarts wins the day again.

Check out the Spotify link and see more of their journey via IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Alt indie newcomers 20-LD have unleashed their foreboding dark earworm, ‘Feel It Now’.

Posted on 21 May 2021

Alt-indie newcomers 20-LD have released yet another transfixing track onto the airwaves with the release of their latest single, ‘Feel It Now’. It comes with the same atmospheric chill as Joy Division, Covenant-style darkwave beats and static choppy guitar progressions that cut through the reverb that bleeds from the synth notes.

With a few psychotropic tones laced into the dark earworm under forebodingly magnetic vocals that will be a hit with any fans of the Editors, it’s safe to say that 20-LD’s sound holds as much distinction as it does commercial potential.

The optimism that rings through in the higher notes feels like the ultimate feat of defiance in this timely melancholic release that pulls sheer ingenuity out of the dark. We can’t wait to see where this lockdown-born artist takes their sound next.

Feel It Now is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Fauxchisels do HG Wells proud with their 2021 noise rock album, ‘Education or Catastrophe’

Posted on 20 May 2021
Education or Catastrophe by Fauxchisels

In 1921, HG Wells observed that “human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe”. In 2021, Birmingham-based noise-rock artist Fauxchisels brought forth their artfully caustic album, Education or Catastrophe, demonstrating that little has changed in the presiding century aside from the widening of inequity.

Education or Catastrophe kicks off with the Fugazi-Esque fervent single, Get Over Yrself, before the despondent Northern roots start to really pull through in Badges and Ideals instrumentally and lyrically through lines such as “You bring the Daily Mail, I’ll bring the matches”; proving that Fauxchisels are just as adept at witty protestive soundbites as any of the contemporary punk-chart toppers.

Track five, Family Friendly, is a meditatively harrowing single that will feel familiar to any fans of Arab Strap as the imploring sermonic vocals act as a candid invitation into the dourness of the thankless domesticity we’ve all wrestled with during lockown.

Constant Ghost is one of those engorging aural oddities that reels you in hook, bassline and sinker, the tumultuous chaos of the breakdowns against the steady canter of the poetic lyrics is art-punk at its finest.

The album is far cheaper and probably far more effective in giving you a cathartic outlet for your rage than therapy. Fauxchisels went above the usual austere indignance in the 12-track release that never gives you the chance to feel comfortable or complacent with the versatility in styling, emotion and volatility.

Head over to Bandcamp to hear the album yourselves or purchase in physical format. Check out Fauxchisels’ on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shake Off The Race: Sarah Rae reminds us that its okay to be a ‘Blooming Mess’

Posted on 8 May 2021

After falling hopelessly in love with her euphoric single to help us gain that elusive inner acceptance in March called ‘Dancing In The Sun‘, Sarah Rae returns with a freshly salted new song which will have you smiling all over with ‘Blooming Mess‘.

Sarah Rae is a classically trained Atlanta, Georgia-based indie post-punk/dream-pop singer-songwriter, comedian, actress and pianist. She makes that embracing music which has your ears firmly listening intently, as her authentic style has you in awe of her total originality.

”The music behind Sarah Rae is driven by a plethora of sounds combining dream pop, nerve pop, and pop punk to create soulful music, with clarity that brings you both dissonance, and harmony. She seeks to balance both the ability to breathe life in to the listener with major progression, but also make them think with downward dissonance to create a clash the truly strikes your nerve.” – Sarah Rae

Featuring supremely energetic guitars, that happily swarms your ears with a very deep baseline — and fascinatingly muffled vocals that has you turning the volume up so high your tender ears shake — this is a quick-fire song to remember for so many reasons.

‘Blooming Mess‘ from the care-free cat-whisperer and wildly talented singer-songwriter Sarah Rae is a quality listen. She leads us eagerly into a world that has opened back up again, as her punk band days are still alive and well on this terrific track.

Stream this new easy-on-the-ear single via Spotify and see her life’s adventures on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Pleasure Centre – deep, ethereal dreampop with ‘Blue (Bertha)’

Posted on 8 May 2021

Carving a unique niche in the overly-effected and saturated tones of the current Shoegaze scene is a tricky call, but that’s pretty much what Scarborough’s Pleasure Centre have managed to do with ‘Blue (Bertha)’, mixing up old-school Slowdive, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Cocteau Twins, and BDRMM with Beach House, bits of Bloc Party, and a touch of Morrissey’s vocal vibrato and lazy delivery. Add in some Psychocandy-era Jesus and Mary Chain, a touch of Swervedriver, and a liberal sprinkling of Fleeting Joys, and you get ‘Blue (Bertha) – a gentle, ephemeral thing of beauty, all chiming chorused guitars, pushing, background-soaking bass, and layered, reverb-drenched vocals. Melancholic, ephemeral, and echoing, this is a floaty, ethereal take on post-rock dreampop that – for all its delicacy – really deserves to be played loud.

You can check out Pleasure Centre on BandCamp now, and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Werewolves prove punk does have a place in 2021 with their frenetically fierce debut album, ‘Enjoy Your Fat Self’.

Posted on 7 May 2021

‘Enjoy Your Fat Self’ is the iniquitously confrontational debut album from Flint-based alt-rock outfit Werewolves that shakes the mindlessness out of consumerism and compliance.

The title track is a frenetic feat of high-octane sleaze rock that will be a hit with fans of the Cramps and Motley Crüe alike. With rock rhythms distorted into tumultuous discord under the whiskey-soaked brash vocals, it is adrenalizing from the intro. The release proves just how far Werewolves have taken their sound since establishing their line-up in 2017. In their current formation, Werewolves is Bruce Horn (guitar & lead vocals), Paul Owsinski (guitar & backing vocals), Aaron Reinhard (drums & backing vocals), Doug Wilson (bass & backing vocals (on album)) and Nick Baker (bass & backing vocals (current & live)).

Through the rest of the album, you’ll find plenty of exhibitions of Werewolves’ versatility. With some tracks oozing the stylish despondence of Dinosaur Jr. and others being experimental with psych-laden prog structures; there isn’t a skippable track.

The debut release shatters Danzig’s claim that ‘punk can’t happen in our woke generation’, punk tears through this release with sharper teeth than ever, and discernibly, far better musicianship.

With their next LP already in the works and their motivation to release a constant stream of high energy, angsty life-affirming tracks, Werewolves are worth getting acquainted with as they take the scene by storm in 2021 and beyond.

Enjoy Your Fat Self is now available to stream via Spotify & Bandcamp.

Connect with Werewolves via Facebook & Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast