Justine & Juliette - Kiss of the Whip (Arbeit Group, 1988)

I just stumbled across this today. I had never heard of it but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to rest until I find this cassette. American sexy female S&M  industrial duo from 1988. Mostly fast pulsing low end bass explorations contrasted with high pitched Lydia Lunch'ish spoken word. Minimal but rhythmic and sublime in a subtle synth punk way. Sick, sick, sick. Must have. Wow, just wow. In the interim we can all make do with the youtube tracks below. You're welcome.

Pieter Nooten and Michael Brook - Sleeps With the Fishes (4AD, 1987)

On my annual winter way down memory lane, I always revisit that 80's 4AD sound. It had a phenomenal impact on me as a teenager. Hearing This Mortal Coil was life changing. I remember the moment I realized that these embarrassing tendencies I had of listening to Hearts of Space radio and Brian Eno's ambient work were ok. 4AD artists were dark and mysterious and goth. It was ok. Right? Maybe my punk / metal friends wouldn't get it but I suddenly didn't care.

This year's excursion has yielded this lovely discovery. By late 1987, Pieter Nooten had left Clan Of Xymox, but Ivo (bossman) continued to be intrigued by the tapes Pieter would send him. He suggested a team-up with guitarist/producer Michael Brook, who had been working with Brian Eno as well as recording for Eno's Opal label. The result was a quiet album of fragile songs and dreamlike soundscapes entitled Sleeps With The Fishes.

I don't know how I missed this album for so many years, as I'm also a big fan of Michael Mann. His album 'Night Song' with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (Peter Gabriel's Secret World label) was educating and necessary listening for me. I was also very into his film scores (Captive, Heat).

This album produces a elegantly beautiful mix of ambient and chamber music, drifting between faux film score and ethereal vocal melodies. The strings, guitar and synthesizers are definitive 4AD but Nooten and Brook have their own particular chemistry that distinguishes them. Wonderfully somber.

Tropic of Cancer - Restless Idylls (Blackest Ever Black, 2013)

Each winter I seek out new records that fit that certain special mood. You know, dark and beautiful, foreboding yet hopeful, somber but bright. It looks like Camella Lobo's first release after going solo (Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant stepped down earlier in the year) is that record for me this season.

One characteristic my winner must have is that Faith / Pornography / 17 Seconds era Cure vibe. Well, the records starts off with just that. Sort of an 'All Cats are Grey' homage. From there it probably gets compared to Zola Jesus on the 'Stridulum' EP's most mellow and subtle cuts. One lovely aspect is how she uses her vocals as more of an instrument than an attempt to convey meaning. I prefer to think of this as an instrumental record because the music does stand alone. The slightly atonal guitar lines remind me of Blessure Grave, the bass is straight Simon Gallup, and the drum programming is just classic with a bit of tribal thrown in for good measure.

2013's good time goth platter.

Demdike Stare - Post-collapse (DDS, 2013)

Well they've outdone themselves again. Here's a new mixtape you absolutely must have. They are the kings of crate digging. From cosmic jazz to proto-club jams, drum edits to field recordings, you will never have a clue what these tracks are. Cuz they ninja.



Buy this at Boomkat.

Veil of Light - S/T (Belaten, 2013)

The chill in the mountain air signifies an annual return to the dark side. Tis the season for a cold, numb, masochistic aesthetic. I'll still be reviewing many genres, just don't be surprised to see mostly melancholy and blackness up in here til around late March.

Veil of Light is a solo project from Switzerland. This cassette reveals no surprises, and it doesn't reinvent the wheel. He worships Faith / Pornography era Cure, nods to 13th Chime, and throws in some Death in June albeit without the questionable lyrical content. VOL is definitely in the same revival camp as Blessure Grave, with its self-pity and self-hatred right up there with the best black metal subject matter. Similarly to The Soft Moon, what distinguishes this act for me is the guitar. This guy really knows how to play. Sometimes the musical skill in this genre is forgiven when the vibe is delivered so well. Not so here. Nothing is sacrificed.



Incidentally, the Belaten  label is really cooking at the moment. Its run by ritual ambient / industrial artist Thomas Martin Ekelund. Check out his latest mix for Secret Thirteen:

The Blue Angel Lounge - Narcotica (8MM / A Records, 2010)

One of the greatest tortured genius assholes in the music business has been hard at work, not with his own band, but with several others under the guise of his own label A Records.

Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre has produced and mastered the work of Germany's own, The Blue Angel Lounge. They haven't had quite the internet presence that Iceland's Dead Skeletons (Newcombe's new band) has worked so hard at marketing but they do bring a similar gothic bluesy psychedelic shoegaze sound. The difference here is more control. There is a definitively post-punk / new wave / Nico bent, as opposed to the straight Jodorowsky psychedelic psychosis Dead Skeletons work in. I appreciate the idea of the "in between" presented here, the working within the margins mentality akin to Warlocks work on The Mirror Explodes. Keep your eyes on this one.

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No More - 7 Years (Rustblade, 2010)

No More is yet another German band from the 80's I just discovered that is now blowing my mind.

They were formed in Kriel, Northern Germany in 1979. After their wildly successful 7" single "Suicide Commando", NME was prompted to state that they were "suitable German Electro fashion". The song was so big that a Belgian band named themselves after it.

It was a typical setup of vocals, guitar, bass, synth and drums but they really had their own thing going on. This was an fascinating blend of minimal wave, electro and edgy post-punk with early Cure, Joy Division and Bauhaus all over it. Several of their tracks broke barriers as well, seeping into the techno scene.

Most of their really good material was on on singles so here is a fantastic compilation of their work from 1979 to 1986.

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The Cure - Paris (Elektra / Asylum, 1993)

If you want to bitch about The Cure being capitalistic by the early 90's, I'll give you that. If you want to say you were sick and tired of them putting out every damned live show they felt like, I'll give you that too. But, did you ever hear this one?

I remember digging through the cut-out bin at K-Mart when I was 18 and finding this failed gem of a cassette for $2.99. It was quite a nice surprise to see the track listing of older, darker, more cult classic songs like "The Figurehead" and One Hundred Years" (this was pre-internet, so I wasn't familiar with every available release by the band. Guess I had stopped following Rolling Stone at that point).

Recorded at Le Zénith de Paris, in October 1992 during their Wish tour, what makes this show so special is the voracious crowd. They can't get enough of these classic early goth tracks, songs that make up what the band (Smith) was originally about. Its pretty powerful to hear the whole place singing along to the keyboard line on "Play for Today".

A moving recording for those fans partial to the early work.

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The Tear Garden - The Last Man to Fly (Nettwerk, 1992)

This is the best output of a very special collaboration. Edward Ka-Spel (The Legendary Pink Dots) enlisted cEVIN Key (Skinny Puppy) for this project after Key served as sound engineer for a Dots tour in Canada in 1985.

This is a shift in sound for both of them in that the sound is essentially psychedelic rock. Dirty electric guitar slithers through dirgey bass lines and a slow, bobbing, dub-influenced live drum kit sound. The vocals are trademark Ka-Spel but more pleading and the music is obviously Key but less abrasive, more sensitive, and ambient groove-based.

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Cult of Youth - A Stick to Bind, A Seed to Grow (Dais, 2008)

Is it possible? Could it be that a Gothic Neo-folk record can exist without utterly emulating Death in June? Could this also be an American artist? Why, yes, its actually happened. Sean Ragon has recorded an acoustic guitar driven album ripe with that martial sounding european pop intensity that we all know and love. He nods to many artists here, DIJ, Current 93 and I even hear a little Bad Seeds thrown in for good measure. I'm impressed and very excited about this debut full length. There is also a new one out on the ever impressive Sacred Bones label. Eat this one up.

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Vestibule - Transient Marsh Maneuver (Mixtape, 2011)

So this is a late night mix that's pretty out there. Take some downers and clean the house or something... Just don't hate.

Download and / or Stream Here

Soft Kill - An Open Door (Fast Weapons, 2011)

Awww, there's just not much cuter than a couple Goth kids in love. Toby and Shiloe Grave retired their brutally depressive Blessure Grave project (sadly) and lightened up with Soft Kill. Apparently, the couple describe this record as "an open dialog love letter in song form". Its Death Rock, Post-Punk and New Wave all in one tidy package.

I was initially very disappointed in their decision to retire BG but I'm surprised to call this a fantastic album and I'm relieved with the direction they've chosen.

Get Some Goth Kids Exchanging Vows

Vinyl, t-shirts, etc.

Virgin Prunes - A New Form of Beauty (1981, Rough Trade)

While Bono was making a name for himself as the leader of a Dublin teenage gang on O'connell Street, some of the other members were up to something that would be quite different than a world famous musical supergroup.

Before Gavin Friday was a slightly ridiculous Irish pop star, he founded The Virgin Prunes with Dik Evans (The Edge's brother) and Guggi. These kids weren't interested in the accessible sounds of the then current Post-Punk phenomenon.

The Virgin Prunes are darkness. This is ritualistic Goth, No Wave and sackcloth n' ashes sado-masochistic chants of sorrow. There is no hope here. These are mournful tomes and sarcastically religious themes of violence and death.

A New Form of Beauty was originally released as a series of three singles (7", 10" and 12") and was supposed to include a fourth release of a cassette but that never actually happened. Finally everything was released on an Italian version as a double album.

This is an underrated band that deserves its cult following. Many later Goth, Experimental and Pop fans included musicians from Coil and J.G. Thirlwell to Bjork and Trent Reznor.

Current 93 - Black Ships Ate the Sky (2006, Durtro-Jnana)

Prophecy? False prophecy? Apostacy? No matter your opinion, David Tibet knows that Armageddon is coming and he's been sharing his own doomsaying gospel for thirty years. Here, he employs a central theme with Idumea, Charles Wesley's 1763 Methodist Hymn of doom and doubt.

"And am I born to die?
To lay this body down?
And must my trembling spirit fly
Into a world unknown -
A land of deepest shade,
Unpierced by human thought,
The dreary regions of the dead,
Where all things are forgot?"

"Soon as from earth I go,
What will become of me?
Eternal happiness or woe
Must then my portion be;
Waked by the trumpet's sound,
I from my grave shall rise,
And see the Judge with glory crowned,
And see the flaming skies."

There are eight fantastic versions of this death-addled hymn. With vocals by Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Antony Hegarty, Marc Almond, Shirley Collins, Baby Dee, Clodagh Simonds, Pantaleimon and Tibet himself. And with a cast of musicians like Ben Chasny, John Contreras, William Breeze, Michael Cashmore and Steven Stapleton (Nurse with Wound), this a recipe for disaster...er...which, in this context, is a success.

Each version of the hymn is surrounded by lovely and simultaneously disturbing tomes and drones which are composed and executed impeccably. He speaks of endtimes, its characters, their insanity and their virtues.

Once again, the sheer intensity of Tibet's sackcloth and ashes murmurs and dream-like wailings make the impending apocalypse appear oddly romantic.

"I am the black ship...I am the black ship."

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The Soft Moon - The Soft Moon (2010) Captured Tracks

Luis Vasquez has crafted an engaging retro 80's tribute album....sort of. He's a one man band who incorporates Post-Punk, New Wave, Shoegaze, Goth and some early Cure. Quite the perfect sound for me.

With Breathy vocals and icy dense instrumentals, he takes the listener on a spooky and atmospheric journey that feels wrought with pain and despair. The deeper I listened the more I noticed the anger and fear buried under most of the tracks which also draws the Gothic and Industrial comparisons.

The breadth of emotion here is multi-dimensional and as is the current Goth revival trend, there is a great deal of hope masked in the sadness.

This is a stunning debut that crept into my Top Ten Albums of the Year list even though I'd only been listening to it for three weeks. Of course, that was multiple times daily for three weeks.

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Trisome 21 - Million Lights (1987)

Taking their name after the condition known as Down Syndrome (for reasons unknown to me), Brothers Phillipe and Herve eventually created this definitive French Coldwave classic. The first two records are also solid but this is the one I find most cohesive and accessible.

Meandering through dark Ambient synthesizer interludes and banging yet lush drum sequencing,, they accomplish an oddly romantic hybrid of Joy Division, Dead Can Dance and early EBM. This is a dreamy, quirky, cerebral and impressive record.

Get It Here

Legendary Pink Dots - Seconds Late for the Brighton Line (2010)

Three decades and over fourty albums on and the Dots still fail to disappoint me. This follow up to the accessible pop deviation that was 2008's Plutonium Blonde sees Ka-Spel and Knight returning to their trademark Post-Industrial and Neo-Folk brooding that we know and love.

Eschewing guitars and drums, they rely on heavily psychedelic keyboard and synth sounds, producing a somber and melancholy yet warm and intellectual work that softly penetrates the dark recesses of the mind.

The lyrics feel like Ka-Spel is reflecting on the history of the band and its output and although its probably hard to believe, the lyrics are even more impenetrably cerebral than before. Regardless, the creepy electronics coincide with this ever darkening narrative.

I must say that as a long-time fan I sincerely miss Niels van Hornblower's occassional but brilliantly effective skronking but I'm thankful for the return to
the pre-pop Dots.

If you're unfamiliar with their body of work but enjoy misanthropic pop music and the drone aesthetic, begin with this and prepare to research back through thirty years of deeply beautiful contemplation of the subconscious.

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Kommunity FK - Close One Sad Eye (1985)

When Patrick Mata founded Kommunity FK in 1978, not many knew the terms Gothic or Industrial. In the process he also founded the L.A. Deathrock scene. This album is the best documentation of his work. upon listening to this you'll hear many elements of other Goth, Darkwave and Industrial acts that you're familiar with. The difference is that Mata wasn't following trends. He began the American trend. Its his own original brand of dark Post-punk with a touch of 70's Glam. Bataille, Genet and Cocteau meet Bowie. Absolutely brilliant.

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Group Hex - EP (2010)

R.I.P Blessure Grave. I was upset about this until I began investigating related projects. Do not dismay. This EP by former members Tobias, Shiloe and J. Gradin (also Total Fang, Secret Tones) is a a taste of the Dark Minimal Synth coming our way soon. Beat-driven Minimal Wave synthesizers meet early Robert Smith guitar on a barbituate Coldwave dancefloor.

Just check out anything on Talking Helps. This should get me through my mourning period with ease.

Listen Here

Blessure Grave - Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six (2010)

If you're a friend of mine that sees me often, you can probably disregard this one. I ramble on like a blithering idiot about how much I love this band.

Blessure Grave stunned me. At first listen I felt as if every room sound besides this was pushed into the background. Had someone asked me to describe a band I'd like to be in and proceeded to fabricate it? Because it felt very close to home.

T. Graves and Reyna Kay, along with a full live lineup, remind me of the early days of Goth before the hair and make-up, a time when Post-Punk musicians were clumsily yet honestly foraying into dark, depressing and self-loathing territory;taking the cue from Ian Curtis' honest emotion and starting the Darkwave movement. Blessure Grave describe themselves as drawing influence from Death in June and March Violets (and with an EP called "Unknown Blessures" obviously, Joy Division. I assume they are aware how difficult it is not to be pigeon-holed as Goth revivalists when creating such stylized material.

Its an authentically updated 80's vibe: fuzzy bass, minimal guitar melodies and synth lines, drums almost exclusively floor tom and snare, gutturral yet subversively elegant vocals; Its just an opiate for me.

I want their first tape more than anything else at the moment. Obsessed. Any help with that would be greatly appreciated.

Get it here.

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