Category: dark wave

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

California-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Justin Chamberlain is the creative mastermind behind the rising dark wave recording project SOFT VEIN. Chamberlain emerged into the national and international dark wave scenes with two singles last year — “GIVEUPTHEGHOST” and “VIOLENTIA,” which saw him quickly establish a sound that has been compared favorably to the likes of Selofan, Panther Modern, Boy Harsher, Mareux, Twin Tribes, and others.

Building upon the attention he amassed with this first two singles, as well as a string of live shows, the California-based artist will be releasing his highly-anticipated full-length debut, PRESSED IN GLASS through Arttoffact Records on October 20, 2023. Entirely written and recorded by Chamberlain, the album’s material reportedly blends a variety of influences including cold, wave, industrial, modern dark wave and EBM. Sounding urgent, visceral and dangerous, the album’s material frequently features icy and brooding vocals over minimalist drum machines, metallic percussion, menacing bass synth lines and atmospheric synths to evoke “flashing, grainy pictures of desperation lust, and even love, in the dark.”

PRESSED IN GLASS‘ second and latest single, “LEASH” is a club friendly dark wave bop that seems indebted to John Carpenter soundtracks and early Depeche Mode with the song being built around a relentless motorik-like pulse, thumping industrial-like beats serving as a icy bed for Chamberlain’s plaintive delivery. The result is a song that manages to be simultaneously brooding and uneasy yet full of yearning.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Golem Dance Cult Shares Brooding and Anthemic “21 Century Dogs”

Split between France and England, the emerging, self-described “industrial heavy rock dance” duo Golem Dance Cult features longtime friends and experienced musicians: producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Charles Why, who has played in Lotsa Noise, Nexus and L-Dopa and vocalist Laur, who has played in Sparkling Bombs, Kevin K Band, Vague Scare and Other-ed. The pair’s latest project can trace its origins back to when they were teenagers, playing in the first band together, a band in which Laur played drums.

During most of the band’s short run together, the pair have written and worked on material remotely, as a result of pandemic-related restrictions and distance. Their work in Golem Dance Cult is structured around a couple of simple, agreed-upon parameters:

  • They had to work spontaneously, with each member following their instincts.

  • Mistakes should be expanded upon.

The duo eventually settled on a rock-inspired approach with electronic production but without holding to the formal structure — or strictures — of either genre.

Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you might recall that the duo released their debut EP 2021’s Grotesque Radio, an effort that featured the Bauhaus-like “Nosferatu Waltz,” a goth/horror track with a playful nod to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. 

The duo’s full-length debut, Legend of the Bleeding Heart was released earlier this year. The album’s latest single “21st Century Dogs” sounds like a glammy, Bowie-like take on Bauhaus built around their penchant for enormous, arena rock like hooks and hours. The song is written and sung from the perspective of a dog and fittingly both the song and video ifeautres references and allusions from Luis Buñuel’s Le Chien Andalou and George Cheesbro’s Wolf Blood: A Tale of the Forest. But by doing so, the song and video explores people’s darkest, most feral impulses and desires.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Stefan Certic Shares Atmospheric “Human”

Stefan Certic is a Serbian multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer and producer. His latest single “Human” featuring Steve Sims is a brooding and atmospheric bit of 80s-inspired synth pop featuring glistening synths melodies paired with shimmering strummed guitar, deep bass lines and sparse yet propulsive beats. While nodding at OMD and Eurythmics, “Human” is a remarkably cinematic track with melancholy and reflective lyrics discussing the human condition in a deeply lived-in fashion.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: VERTÈBRE Shares Goth-like “T’as Du Voulour La Mort”

Ron Kring is a Rennes, France-based singer/songwriter and creative mastermind behind the emerging French electro rock/cold wave recording project VERTÈBRE. With collaborator and producer Zach Spectre, King released VERTÈBRE’s 2020 self-titled, full-length debut, which she quickly followed up with standalone single “Hungry” and a remix of “Last trip, baby.”

During pandemic-enforced lockdown, Kring experimented with video directing and editing and released a handful of music videos on YouTube. By 2021, the Rennes-based singer/songwriter had began writing what would be her sophomore album. She enlisted She-Wolf‘s Marie-Claude Martine to mix the album and her friend, Ivan Muńoz, an acclaimed Chilean electronic music artist and DJ best known as Vigilante to master the album. Much like her previously released material, the writing process begins with synth sounds that presses particular emotional buttons. She then goes on to build the framework of a song to release the energy within. Then she adds guitar and bass when the song calls for it. “VERTÈBRE is more in the cold wave/post punk genre. Some tracks are rather danceable and can sound electro pop rock. Others would be more dark wave. In any case, I think that a good dose of unease and anger remains present even when the song tries to defend itself against it. I like that the songs are never completely happy or completely sad. It must be said that in life nothing is ever gained but… that all is not lost either,” Ron Kring says.

The sophomore album’s first three singles “Basic instincts,” “I Can’t You Can,” and “Maniac Mansion” were released through the digital stream platforms and feature homemade accompanying videos.

At the end of last year, Kring decided to continue VERTÈBRE without Zach Spectre. She recruits bassist Julien Marien, and along with a guitarist, they’re currently working on their live show. But in the meantime, the sophomore album’s fourth and latest single “T’as dû couloir la mort,” is a goth-like take on post punk built around tweeter and woofer rattling 808s that would make Rick Rubin proud, glistening synth oscillations, Kring’s forceful delivery paired with arena rock level bombast. The end result is a song that sonically seems to mesh Depeche Mode and Ministry.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Golem Dance Cult Shares an Anthemic Ripper

Split between France and England, the emerging, self-described “industrial heavy rock dance” duo Golem Dance Cult features longtime friends and experienced musicians: producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Charles Why, who has played in Lotsa Noise, Nexus and L-Dopa and vocalist Laur, who has played in Sparkling Bombs, Kevin K Band, Vague Scare and Other-ed. In many ways, Golem Dance Cult can trace its origins back to when its members were teenagers, playing in their first band together, a band in which Laur played drums.

During most of the band’s short run together, the duo have written and worked on material remotely, as a result of the distance between the pair and because of pandemic-related restrictions. But their work is structured around a couple of simple, agreed-upon parameters:

  • They had to work spontaneously, with each member following their instincts.

  • Mistakes should be expanded upon.

What the duo eventually settled on was a rock-inspired approach with electronic production but without the formal structure — or strictures — of either genre.

Back in 2021, the duo released their debut EP Grotesque Radio, which featured the Bauhaus-like “Nosferatu Waltz,” a goth/horror track with a playful nod to Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The duo start off the year with “Dalek Rhetoric,” a song which derives its title from the Dalek in Dr. Who. As the band explains: “Dalek are extraterrestrial killing machines with a binary thinking pattern: you are either a Dalek or they were will destroy you. This seems fitting with the mentality of the world we live in.”

Centered around buzzing power chords, thunderous drumming, rousingly anthemic hooks and arena rock bombast, “Dalek Rhetoric” manages to bring White Zombie and others to mind — with a nasty, gritty edge.

The accompanying video features footage of the band performing the song in desolate and forgotten places paired with edited footage of the Dalek in Doctor Who, reels of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the band has dubbed another Dalek-like move, and edited footage from Phantom from Space, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Max Schreck’s Nosferatu and Bela Lugosi’s Dracula also make return cameos — because, of course.

Golem Death Cult’s sophomore album Legend of the Bleeding Heart is slated for release this year.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Stockholm’s Me & Melancholy Shares a Brooding Banger

Peter Ehrling is a Stockholm-based electronic music producer, musician and creative mastermind behind the solo electro pop recording project Me & Melancholy. Inspired by Depeche Mode, New Order, Camouflage, and Swedish synth acts like The Mobile Homes and Elegant Machinery, Me & Melancholy focuses on melancholy synth pop that blends retro and contemporary sounds to create a nostalgically upbeat yet introspective vibe.

Since starting the project last year, Ehrling has been rather prolific: he has released three singles, an EP and his full-length debut, You and me, Melancholy.

“I let you down (Dark Version)” is a brooding bit of goth-meets-industrial synth pop centered around tweeter and woofer rattling thump, glistening synths and guitar paired with Ehrling’s plaintive delivery and enormous hooks. Sonically, the song brings Violator-era Depeche Mode while rooted in self-flagellation, disgust, despair and heartache.

Ehrling explains that “I let you down (Dark Version)” is a complete and thorough remake of the the original, which appears on You and me, Melancholy.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Distance H Teams Up with Saigon Blue Rain’s Ophelia on Brooding “Bitch 16”

Distance H is a post-punk/darkwave/coldwave recording project of French producer ManuH. The project sees ManuH collaborating with an eclectic array of female vocalists, who contribute melodies and lyrics.

Released earlier this year, the brooding and cinematic “Bitch 16.” sees ManuH collaborating with Saigon Blue Rain‘s Ophelia on a Cocteau Twins-meets-Sixousie and the Banshees-like song rooted in eerie atmospherics and razor sharp hooks.

Directed and edited by Anaïs Novembre, the accompanying video for “Bitch 16” is split between gorgeous and broodingly lit footage of the collaborators in studio, and Saigon Blue Rains Opehila dancing in a creepy, goth-like forest.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Nice, France-based duo Divine Decadence — Sabrina and Tatiana — can trace their origins back to 2020: With the duo being confined to the home studio as a result of COVID-19 quarantines and restrictions, it allowed them the opportunity to write and then refine songs, while gradually developing a sound that’s informed by film soundtracks and darkwave.

The duo’s self-titled, five song, debut EP was released earlier this year. The EP’s first single “Purple Dress” is a cinematic bit of post-punk/darkwave centered around moody atmospherics, Sabrina and Tatiana’s eerie harmonies, and swirling guitar textures that become stormier as the song progresses to its explosive coda. “Purple Dress” manages to bring both Cocteau Twins and Kælan Mikla, complete with a palpable, creeping dread.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: ZADAR Teams up with Isa Niels on Shimmering and Brooding “Halos On The Moon”

Antonio G is a Philadelphia-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and creative mastermind behind the goth/darkwave outfit ZADAR. He’s currently working on the project’s first album — and is searching for like-minded musicians to join him in playing the material live.

ZADAR’s latest single “Halos On The Moon” sees the Philadelphia-based Antonio G collaborating with Isa Nielsen, a singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has opened for Rage Against the Machine‘s Tom Morello and John 5, who has played with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie — and is the newest member of Mötley Crùe. Nielsen has also played on MTV Specials, MTV’s VMB Awards. Built around shimmering guitars, a relentless motorik-like groove, Neilsen’s plaintive vocals and enormous hooks, “Halos On The Moon” may recall The Sisters of Mercy and Cocteau Twins, while being rooted in swooning Romanticism.

“‘Halos’ is a song about regret and loss. It’s a song about somehow coming to terms with your failure and past mistakes and still moving on with your life,” Antonio G explains.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Psykasya Shares Woozy and Darkly Seductive “Fleetingly”

25 year-old, French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adriane is the creative mastermind behind the emerging dark wave recording project Psykasya. Adriane can trace much of the origins of her career to getting vocal and Celtic harp lessons at a very young age. But after discovering MAO last year, the French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was inspired to write her own material.

Sonically, her work is informed by several different styles and genres — but she cites Aurora, aleah, Myléne Farmer, and Fishbach as major influences. Centered around a dark, mysterious atmosphere, the young and emerging French artist’s work thematically focuses on the night, witches, death and the like.

The French singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s latest single, the retro-futuristic “Fleetingly” is a brooding and darkly seductive track centered around skittering beats and woozy atmospheric synths paired with Adriane’s sultry delivery. The end result is a song that seamlessly meshes elements of trip hop, dark wave and goth.

Fittingly shot at night and in a cinematic black and white and through VHS tape, the accompanying video follows a walk through a suburban office park, to the city and a night out at local pub for pints and then to a crowded, sweaty club and a house party.