Gothtober- Spike Hellis : "Successor"

 

This is an experimental industrial artist from Los Angeles. This project is more about making music for cool kids on drugs than for Halloween, but that can be said about a great deal of industrial music. Not far removed sonically from Street Sects, combined with a bit of "Pretty Hate Machine"- era  Nine Inch Nails. It is dark enough to be worked into a mix between Reznor and Thrill Kill Kult.  It has the funkiness or early 90s industrial, for sure. The vocals have a bit of creepy undertones to their otherwise chaotic exclamations. 

"Temptation" has a bit more of a body-rocking bounce to it. I am impressed by how they have nailed this early 90s sound that finds some of the more experimental elements of 80s new wave bleeding into it. The female vocals that have been a layer backing the main vocal step into the spotlight for this song. They have a sultry attitude to them that helps give the song its own identity. Not that there has been a shortage of female fronted hyper sexed electronic acts in the past couple of years, but these guys are finding their own niche. 

"Unwound' has a more 80s retro sound to it. There is an interesting trade-off with the vocals. Not as hooky as the previous songs, though. "Enemy Lines" gets marginally darker. There are still retro synth sounds, but also more deliberate lyrics. This creates an almost Gary Numan "No Bite" vibe; it's more of a quirky new-wave type vibe. It's dancey but not that dark. "Pillow Talk" follows a similar breakdancing-like drone; there is a lingering hint of Tom Tom Club meets Grand Master Flash going on. The vocals are kind of boring. As the record progresses, the vocals seem less important in the grand scheme of things. The last song, "Entirely Mine," is a little more intersting as there are more melodic lements in play. The vocals have a little more going on, which plays a large role in what makes this song work. Overall, this album might sound like the breakdance remixes of Pretty Hate Machine, but it retains a unique sense of self. I'll give this one a 9.