Tag: post punk

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dolours Shares Gary Numan-like “Parade”

Dolours (pronounced like colours — but with a d) is a mysterious and emerging UK-based duo, who blend post-punk urgency with noise rock intensity rooted in a defiant DIY approach. The duo have quickly established an atmospheric sound that features driving bass lines, abrasive guitars that thematically explores frustration, disillusionment and emotional unrest.

The duo’s debut EP, Parade is slated for a November 18, 2026 release. The EP was recorded, mixed and produced by the band across a patchwork of bedrooms and studios. The effort’s latests single, EP title track “Parade” sonically seems to channel a blend of Gary Numan and Joy Division while showcasing the duo’s ability to craft remarkably catchy material with a punk rock ethos. Dolours explains that “the track focuses on an act defiance against a coercive relationship and the rebirth that follows. Set almost entirely within the narrator’s mind, it explores the reclaiming of identity and agency.”

The band have announced an EP release show in their native Black Country, and they’ve been confirmed to play The New Colossus Festival next March. Hopefully, they’ll be more tour dates soon.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: London’s Black Doldrums Shares Broodingly Cinematic “Echoes”

London-based post punk trio Black Doldrums founding duo Sophie Landers (vocals, drums) and Kevin Gibbard (vocals, guitar) with newest member Matt Holt (bass) — will be releasing their third studio album Repetition Compulsion on November 13, 2026 through Fuzz Club. Deriving its title from a psychological concept first explored and named by Freud, the recently announced album is the final part of the London-based band’s State of Mind Trilogy, a three-album exploration of the psychological forces that shape identity, memory and human connection which began with their debut, 2022’s Dead Awake and 2024’s In Limerence. At the heart of all of their work is the creative and personal relationship between the band’s founding duo of Gibbard and Landers, whose relationship forms the emotional foundation for the forthcoming album — and the lens through which its themes are explored. As Gibbard explains, “These songs are either about Sophie, for Sophie, or inspired by her.” 

Thematically, the 11-song album reportedly sees the London-based trio exploring how repetitive patterns and behaviors shape intimate relationships, collective memory, politics and wellbeing in a way that’s both deeply personal and quietly universal. Through evocative songwriting and cinematic production, Gibbard says “the album invites listeners to confront the echoes of the past while questioning whether those patterns can ever truly be broken.” 

Inspired by 80s gothic post punk, synth pop, darkwave and the film scores of John Carpenter and Vangelis, Black Doldrums build on the emotional and sonic foundations of these influences to create something cinematic, modern and completely their own. Each of Repetition Compulsion‘s 11-songs has been crafted with intention, with the band balancing darkness with beauty to create a sod that’s melodic, broodingly atmospheric and with emotional depth. Listeners should expect to hear layers of analog synths, chorus pedal-soaked guitar and driving rhythms paired with an expansive production that gives each arrangement a sense of massive, cinematic scale. Rather than relying on nostalgia, the album presents post-punk as a living, ever-evolving form, with the band embracing atmosphere without sacrificing melody, introspection without loss of momentum and darkness without abandoning hope. 

Repetition Compulsion will feature the previously released “Repetition” “Compulsion” and the album’s latest single “Echoes.” “Echoes” is broodingly cinematic tune that’s seemingly a blend of Joy Division, Cocteau Twins and contemporaries like JOVM mainstays PLOHO and Molchat Doma as Gibbard’s remarkably Ian Curtis-like delivery glides over angular guitar attack, a relentless mototrik groove and glistening and arpeggiated synth figures.

Written in one go while the band was on tour, “Echoes” captures a rare moment of inspiration on the road. “This track was finally completed while touring and playing a show in Belgrade, Serbia, where the city’s warmth, creativity and discussions about local history inspired the song’s lyrics,” Black Doldrums’ Kevin Gibbard says. “Our time spent there won’t be forgotten. It’s one of those special moments and opportunities you wouldn’t have got if we weren’t in a band. I’ve never written a song whilst on tour before. Realistically, it never happens, but this one came out in one go, sat in the van.”

Directed by the band’s Sophie Landers, and filmed by Landers and Gibbard, the accompanying video for “Echoes” features the band playing in a hauntingly goth-like forest, and an abandoned, graffiti-strewn Cold War-era structure and the members of the band broodingly posing for the camera. It harkens back to the imagery of MTV‘s early days.

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Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: These Girls Are Electric Return with Cinematic “Our Day”

Indie electronic music duo These Girls Are Electric — Harris (vocals, organ, piano, synths, guitar, bass and sound design) and Zeno (vocals. guitars. bass, synths and sound design) — can trace the origins of their project back several decades: The longtime friends from Stuttgart began recording music in their bedrooms as teenagers in the 1980s. The duo cut their teeth in the local underground scene, playing in several bands in their youth including My Nature, First Approach, The B’Captains and Die Frohe Bootsfahrt among others.

Their early sound can be described as a melancholic blend of New Wave, synth pop, and underground music that was strange but frequently catchy. And over the years. they worked closely with several local musical heroes.

For the better part of the past two decades, the pair would meet at Musikladen Studio — a place packed with vintage synths, dusty guitars and humming computers, where time seemed to fold in on itself. During improvised sessions that they’ve dubbed “magnetic sessions,” the German duo would create raw, intuitive song sketches. Then they would start production: Selected material is reassembled without losing the original feel. Recordings from their “magnetic sessions” are re-edited, sorted and integrated into thee songs to preserve as much of the studio session feeling as possible.

As These Girls Are Electric, the German duo’s sound is a blend of electronica, lo-fi pop, post-punk and experimental soundscapes. Lyrically, the duo’s work revolves around love, hate, space, philosophy and the search for a lost universe — or a paradise that may have never existed. In their world, artificial intelligences meet broken hearts, cyborgs conjure childhood memories and stardust cigarette light tells stories of humanity in transition. Each song within their catalog is part of a multi-voiced narrative about life in a post-human world and the search for meaning, connection and renewal.

Last month I wrote about the broodingly atmospheric “Ghost In The Bottle.” The duo’s latest single “One Day” strikes me as being a bit of a blend of Public Service Broadcasting and Joy Division/Interpol-like post punk that showcases the German duo’s ability to craft cinematic and broodingly atmospheric material with catchy hooks and anthemic choruses that give the song a reflective yet urgent feel.

The duo explain that “‘One Day’ explores inner struggle, fading ideals and the search for meaning through cryptic, surreal imagery. The refrain ‘This is our day‘ captures a quiet sense of resilience, balancing melancholy with hope.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Belgium’s Solarski Shares a Punchy, Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper

Mysterious and emerging Belgian trio Solarski is inspired by post-punk and indie but steadfastly refused to be easily categorized. Their latest single “Do You Need a Riot?” is a punchy, mosh pit friendly ripper with […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Brooklyn’s Marigny Returns with Punchy, Goth-like “I Grieve”

Marigny is post-punk/heavy rock/goth project of a mysterious Brooklyn-based artist, who blends coldwave textures, heavy analog distortion and dark atmospheres to craft material that’s simultaneously intimate and volatile. Their sound is intentionally analog and physical — loud, low end, corroded textures, cassette tape-like saturation and tension that feels more like a live room recording than a clean, polished digital mix. Thematically, the band’s work explores grief, obsession, addiction, masculinity and spiritual decay through a modern Afro-gothic lens. 

Earlier this year, I wrote about “The Still,” which served as a bold introduction to the project and its sound. The project’s latest single “I Grieve” is a bruising blend of post-punk, industrial, dark wave and goth — with the song arguably being the most decidedly goth-leaning song from the act to date. And while rooted in raw, soulful emotion, “I Grieve,” continues to showcase the artist’s ability to craft punchy, hook-driven material.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Crá Croí Shares Punchy “Just Another Day”

County Cork-based JOVM mainstay act Crá Croí — RG (songwriting, production, mixing and mastering) and CD (vocals and visuals) — will be releasing their self-produced 12-song, full-length debut Tá brón orm on October 30, 2026. While the band have built up buzz through the release of a handful of singles that include “Radiation Romance,” “Fires At Dawn,” “Feeding The Fear,” and “Lost In The Electric Blood,” and “Flesh Machines,” the new album will feature completely new material.

Tá brón orm will include the previously released “Lord of the Wild,” and “Black Snow,” as well as its latest single “Just Another Day.” Much like its immediate predecessor, the album’s latest single features the incorporation of 80s New Wave-styled synths to the brooding, goth-inspired mix. But “Just Another Day” manages to channel blend of Freedom of Choice-era DEVO, Bauhaus and Joy Division anchored around the JOVM’s uncanny knack for punchy hooks.

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Delivery Shares Club Friendly Art School Rock Tune “Measuring Cup”

Rising Melbourne-based indie outfit Delivery — Bec Allen (bass, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, synths, vocals), Scarlett Maloney (guitar, vocals), Jordan Oakley (guitar) and Liam Kenny (drums, vocals) — emerged from their hometown’s COVID pandemic lockdowns and quickly established a sound that blends elements of post-punk, punk, garage rock and dance floor rhythms into something distinctly their own. The quintet have built moment with the release of last year’s Force Majuere, which Rolling Stone called a “statement of intent” and relentless touring to support the album, becoming one of Oz’s most compelling and restless rock bands.

The rising Aussie quintet’s highly-anticipated third album Zone 3 is slated for a February 26, 2027 release through Heavenly Recordings. Zone 3 reportedly marks a new chapter for the rising Aussie quintet. Written in the wake of extensive time on the road, the album captures Delivery as a fully-formed unit that’s confident enough to trust their instincts and adventurous enough to push beyond the sounds that initially defined them.

Conceived as a late-night record, Zone 3 is specifically for crowded bars, packed dance floors, darkened clubs and the hazy hours before sunrise. Sonically you’ll hear rigid drum-machine driven grooves, synth pulses, wiry guitar bursts, hypnotic baselines and vocals that effortlessly shift between detached cool and infectious urgency.

Recorded in a furious 12-day session at Melbourne-based York Street Studios with producer Dan Lusscombe and engineer Stefan Blair,. the Aussie quintet’s third album reportedly finds them at their most focused, playful and expansive — and may arguably be their boldest effort to date.

Znne 3′s first single “Measuring Cup” is hook-driven tune anchored around a hypnotic, motorik groove, wiry post-punk guitar lines and pulsing synths paired with coolly delivered vocals. The result is a song that sonically to my ears is one-part Sonic Youth-like art punk, one-part pub rock and stoner rock bombast, one-part dance punk.

“There is a certain kind of pressure in modern society to be vigilant about who someone is, what they stand for and if they are ‘your people,'” Delivery says. “But it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a challenge to engage positively with people who hold different values or stances, and a celebration when you know you’ve found someone who aligns with you, whether that’s politically, socially, or personally. ‘Measuring Cup’ is like an invitation to get on a level together and join the club.”

Directed by the band’s Scarlett Maloney, the accompanying video for “Measuring Cup” features the members of the band as they plan and then commit a perfectly planned, perfectly executed heist, complete with an inside man. And the only way it could have been possible was that they were all with their people.

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Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: TV On The Radio Perform “Wolf Like Me” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

TV On The Radio perform “Wolf Like Me” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Hamburg’s N/CTRL Shares Punchy and Anthemic “Let It Sleep (Beneath The Ground)”

Hamburg-based duo N/CTRL — Sven Enzelmann (vocals, electronics, production) and Carsten Lienke (guitar, bass, songwriting) — specialize in a sound that moves freely between post-punk, New Wave, synth pop and indie rock paired with atmospheric […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Gurriers Shares Bruising, Arena Rock Friendly and Politically Charged “Waiting For Fisher”

Rising Dublin-based post punk outfit Gurriers — Dan Hoff (vocals), Ben O’Neill (guitar, backing vocals), Mark MacCormack (guitar), Charlie McCarthy (bass) and Pierce O’Callaghan (drums) — formed during the pandemic and they’ve built a reputation […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 52nd Birthday, Daniel Kessler!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Interpol guitarist Daniel Kessler’s 52nd birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 40th Birthday, Faris Badwan!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates The Horrors frontman Faris Badwan’s 40th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Dummy Shares Double Single “April Limousine”/”Alluvial Fan”

Los Angeles-based outfit Dummy — Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, Joe Trainor and Lance Umble — will be releasing their fourth studio album, do you love the color of the sky on October 16, 2026 through Polyvinyl. If 2024’s Free Energy and its subsequent remix album evoked the spirit of Manchester and the optimism of the rave, do you love the color of the sky is reportedly rooted in a lyrical skepticism inspired by the post-rock and drone of Seefeel, Windy & Carl and Disco Inferno while playfully adorned in the jubilant pop hues of early Björk, The Sundays and Ray of Light-era Madonna. The album is essentially an anti-zeitgeist effort, freezing the listener into their incorporeal moment of time, freed from the rat race and trends, embracing insularity to the point that it somehow becomes the future.

And yet despite the allusions to futurism, the Los Angeles-based outfit are a band in the classic sense, grounded in work ethic and commitment to the music. As Joe Trainor says of their time since the release of Free Energy, “We toured a lot, around 150 days, and played approximately 113 shows” which included several tours of the US and two of Europe, “. . . and on larger stages than ever before.” Alex Ewell adds “Touring has had huge impact on us and our music.”

“Making music shouldn’t be fun,” the band jokingly asserts. But it also comes from earnestness and a love for the game so deep that they don’t want to cheat it. The blood, sweat and tears of “putting in the work” is at the heart of do you love the color of the sky? — a byproduct of shedding skins through live performance. Sonically, the album is a bold, creative and downright effortless leap forward for the Los Angeles-based quartet that finds them at their most creatively in-tune.

Thematically, the album may arguably be their most politically trenchant and yet simultaneously, their most inviting. Breakbeats and keyboardist Emma Maatman’s vocals belie a mischievous and purposeful sleight of hand — the listener may become entranced by the band’s hypnotic grooves, but they’ve also subconsciously accrued a vision of a new, radical politic, informed by our increasingly dystopian hellscape.

do you love the color of the sky will include the previously released “Full Spectrum Dominance” and the double single “April Limousine”/”Alluvial Fan.” “April Limousine” serves as the literal introduction to the album and inlaces references to every other song, including demos that didn’t make the cut. Featuring skittering breakbeats, glistening synths beneath Manama’s dreamy delivery, “April Limousine” reminds me a little bit of Earthling-era David Bowie — in particular “Little Wonder” — with a little bit of 90s and early 2000s big beat. “It leaves you with the thesis statement and the question, ‘do you love the color of the sky?’ … among others,” Dummy’s Emma Maatman says. “The video is supposed to show a dichotomy of the beauty of nature and the chaos of impending technological advancement, which leads us into the next song, ‘Alluvial Fan.’ In the video, Nathan is drawn by a mysterious force to the wires around him.”

“Alluvial Fan” on the other hand features glistening reverb-soaked synth stabs, boom bap-like breakbeats beneath Nathan O’Dell’s dreamily delivered lead vocal and the melodic toplines of the band’s Maatman, Alex Ewell and O’Dell. Sonically, recalling a bit of New Order, Electronic, The Horrors, and Absolutely Free, “Alluvial Fan” may arguably be the most atmospheric and downright trippy tune of the released singles off the album. “The lyrics are a hybrid of two ideas,” the band’s Nathan O’Dell says. “The first being based on imagery from a certain 2000’s anime where the goal of mass digital connection blurs the lines of our human reality and a sense of self. One can’t help but follow the humming wires further and further until they are completely lost in the ‘Wired’ web. The other idea is the phenomenon of Alluvial Fans. They’re sick… check them out. This song also features some silky smooth vocals from Allyson and Paul from New Issue.”