A perk of publishing this blog has been advance access to forthcoming releases. As such I’ve been lucky enough to receive a digital copy of A Cloud of Ravens’ “Lost Hymns“, out later this month.
Though their sound has always projected a unique anthemic flair uncommon to their genre(s), in just the few short years since their inception, A Cloud of Ravens’ seminal gothic/post-punk tone has since ventured boldly toward the adjacent realms of synthpop, dance-punk, and alt rock expressions. Short of a proper review, be assured their latest long-play effort displays these vibrantly.
The video for the second single released in anticipation of said album, “Requiem for the Sun” further illustrates why the faithful have taken to characterising the Brooklyn, NY two-piece as “Urban Gothic”. The single stuns in its soaring choral refrain, replete with three-part harmony: “And the wasted hearts – screams to fill my ears – I hear them testify from their wounds. Still the fading scars fester in the sun – light drenched and purified, amen.”
As some have remarked, posts have been few and far between here on Bleak Seasons this very trying year. We here at the blog are not unaffected. That being said, there have been many fine releases within the global post-punk community this year. These five have gotten the most plays here at HQ in the past twelve months. –>
Another full-length homerun from Portland, OR USA’s prolific post-punk soldiers, Soft Kill. Frontman singer/guitarist Tobias Sinclair’s lilting baritone suffuses compelling guitar figures and transcendent arrangements with a delicate precision. Its gloomy darkwave drive and accompanying synths belie the urban bent of the lyrical content, which is the story of their city and the triumphs and travails of the denizen therein. File this effort under: triumph.
In a rapidly growing scene where new bands seem to crop up daily, most drawing from a similar creative palette, Grandeur‘s The Illusion of Power explores beyond, effectively merging gradations of monochrome that range from darkwave to dance punk, and synthwave to dark alternative, (to say nothing of genre anomolies like Red Holiday’s hip-hop beat or the reggae guitar riff in Devout) creating something quite unique, powerful, and at times provocative, as it relates to traditional post-punk canon. A stirring effort.
Though I’d be hesitant to call it a covid album, March to Autumn was recorded during the onset and spread of the global pandemic we’ve all come to know too well. Berlin by way of Los Angeles’ Night Nail follow up 2018’s debut LA Demons with their finest offering to date. Jumping from the USA’s gothic flagship Cleopatra Records to Frankfurt’s ever-growing Cold Transmission imprint, March to Autumn expounds on the outfit’s core sound with dreamy layers, scads of guest artists, and glimmers of hope amongst the gloom.
Issued by Canadian/Icelandic Artoffact Records, Thin Skies finds the NYC quartet further exloring the sound that’s made them a leading voice in the contemporary post-punk scene worldwide. The album opener Traveling Light, with its propulsive, danceable backbeat and icy, spare guitar lines provide the perfect canvas for singer Panther Almqvist’s haunted baritone. With its seamless use of space, guile and creativity, Thin Skies stands out as an impressive milepost in Bootblacks‘ already mint output.
Sonsombre have been a leading proponent amongst the newer acts at the heart of the Gothic rock revival in recent years. One Thousand Graves, released through Cleopatra records shows why. 11 tracks of classic guitar-driven gothic rock simmer with cryatalline production, and an exhaustive laundry list of your favourite dark and foreboding touchstones. Singer/guitarist/songwriter Brandon Pybus’ voice effectively evokes the ghosts of his towering predecessors with reverence rather than mimicry.
As we enter the season of All Hallows’ Eve, the gothic community readies for the annual arcane festivities. Here Gothicat prepares for it’s 5th festival, boasting an impressive lineup of participants.
Though their output has been prolific, Connecticut USA’s Grandeur, with a somewhat steady stream of singles, EPs etc, have yet to issue a proper full-length album. That is until now.
Since 2018, poised just beneath the towering cultural shadow of NYC, the duo have etched themselves into the current post-punk landscape with a defining dynamic cultivated from the movement’s earliest minimal sounds, mid-1980s synthpop, and a guitar-heavy component probably attributed to frontman Matt McIntosh’s musical upbringing in hardcore-punk circles.
While lyrical content has been mostly personal with past endeavors, here the two-piece engage in a social commentary cut from the national headlines seen worldwide. The track Mine Eyes, with its choral refrain “Face down in the fields of artifice – break north at the face of avarice – laid out on the streets of conscience and time” voices an outrage felt by many, and expounds amply throughout with likeminded tracks such as the bouncy Tourniquet and Here Fall the Vacant Years (the former unapologetically lifting from When in Rome’s timeless The Promise). Still present from previous efforts are soaring, heartfelt sentiments, and Grandeur’s penchant for dramatic crescendos. A track like Under the Anvil will stick in your head for days.
The Illusion of Power stands as an immersive, articulate tome of a tumultuous era, populated with songs by a band of a singular sound and vision.
Warszawa Poland’s Under The Skin have long been a prominent name in the global post-punk reanimation, with a prolific output and defining sound of bleak drum and synth tones, understated and effective guitars, and vocals, at times reminiscent on this release, of Pornography-era Robert Smith or The Danse Society’s Steve Rawlings. This most recent offering is a striking EP of remixes featuring their icy coldwave track End This Summer, by notable names like Ash Code (our favorite mix of the set), Kill Shelter, Antipole and Shad Shadows.
Darkness Calling is a newer name in the post-punk/darkwave/gothic scene, boasting a mint blog and some stellar Spotify playlists. A recent endeavor seeks to shine a light on the #trevorproject, a non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention among the LGTBQ community, in which Darkness Calling matched Bandcamp revenue as it relates to donations.
Global pandemics aside, three years is an eternity between albums in today’s click-and-swipe youth culture. Thankfully, for Brooklyn USA’s Bootblacks, much of the time elapsed between 2017’s brilliant Fragments LP and thier latest effort Thin Skies, was spent touring; a benefit currently unafforded to active bands.
Issued by Canadian/Icelandic Artoffact Records, Thin Skies finds the NYC quartet further expounding on the sound that’s made them a leading voice in the contemporary post-punk scene worldwide. The album opener Traveling Light, with its propulsive, danceable backbeat and icy, spare guitar lines provide the perfect canvas for singer Panther Almqvist’s haunted baritone.
The title track showcases Jason Corbett’s crystaline production, layers of atmospheric tones mingle, pause and break for dramatic effect, the lyrical refrain “I live on the other side”, a subtle, if not convincing declaration.
The opening synth sequence of The Jealous Star, with its minimal, clean guitar accompaniment recalls Movement-era New Order. The song swells and ebbs throughout to great effect with the benefit of top-notch drumming nailing down an otherwise ambient arrangement.
With its seamless use of space, guile and creativity, Thin Skies stands out as an impressive milepost in this flagship band’s musical canon.
Following a protracted interval, Bleak Seasons is back. No better way to jump-start our long-neglected blog than with a new release from Brooklyn, NY, USA’s darkwave/gothic rock duo A Cloud Of Ravens. Here the two-piece combine their first two releases (Under the Tow single and Sacred Hearts EP), and issue it as a concise volume, as aptly, The First Year.
Herein the five overhauled tracks truly shine in a new way with added guitar, augmented arrangements and updated mixes/mastering. With their output since their 2018 inception, A Cloud Of Ravens add a commanding, anthemic flair to classic gothic rock sensibilities, resulting in a unique approach, while always tipping their proverbial hat to the genre’s rich history (of which, judging by throwback Facebook pics, the pair have long been involved), and its revered fore-bearers.
Aside from having quite possibly the most mint moniker we’ve ever heard, Dystopiarch deliver two tracks of apocalyptic post-punk, living up to said name. The noisy, foreboding songs combine elements of industrial, darkwave, and even hip-hop. The title track is drenched in a cacophony of air raid sirens and panicked crowds, further propelling the idea of the effort’s very title. Amidst the machine-like beats and garage electronics, hover vocals that go from a haunting Peter Murphy-esque croon, to a terse, distorted shout, often reminiscent of a young Trent Reznor. End days begin, indeed. Stream or download on Bandcamp.
The USA’s Obscura Undead, a prominent voice in the global post-punk and gothic scenes of late, have issued the truly mint compilation ‘Unobscured Vol. 1‘ today. The thirty track release features an impressive roster of artists who’ve made considerable sonic contributions in 2019, including the likes of Secret Shame, Angels of Liberty, Grey Gallows, Scary Black, Golden Apes, Grandeur, Pass/Ages and many others. Listen to or download this ‘name your price’ release on Bandcamp.
- Bleak Seasons - 