Troller : "Graphic"

This is the Austin based projects second album. The go for a cold cave like club sound that recalls the 80s. With their singer's moaning croons lurking under the drone of the synths, the lo-fi pop of the minimally programmed drums sounds more like the crack of a whip. Unlike most dark wave band's their goal is not to get you out on the dance floor but to wallow in your own narcotic induced misery. On first listen the effect is similar to that of hearing a really heavy metal band for the first time. You are bowled over by the sonic weight that hits you, so it's not until the second song that you can ask"So can these guys really write songs?". The slow groove and thick atmosphere of "Not Here" provides enough of a smoke screen that the answer to this question is easily found. The singer's melodies seem to have more purpose and their is a bass line punching every thing forward even in the murky swirl.

My wife was not really impressed when I was listening to the album this morning and said it sounded like they are just jamming and making music for people who are high. She went on to state that it reminds her of when you fall asleep watching a movie and the credits wake you up. Unlike the more traditional dark wave this album is very raw. The atmosphere creates a thick drone in some places. The ballad "Storm Maker" is more of a misty drift that could play in the back ground of David Lynch movie. Perhaps not as haunting as Julie Cruise, but in the same school free drug zone. The album is riddled with synth interludes. One of the darker and more compelling moments that emerges from the haze is "Nothing".  There is a more defined beat behind "Sundowner" that helps rein in some of their more kraut rock tendencies. The album comes to close with a swathe of ethereal noise that tries to congeal into a song.

There is some interesting sonic exploration going on here and the album is certainly dark enough to suit my needs, I agree with my wife's criticism in the sense the album could use a firmer hand when in comes to writing song. Many of these drift around like ghosts outside of a dance club rather than being corporeal enough to move people to motion, not that dark wave has to make you dance in order to be effective. I think this needs to be more grounded in song even in the haze of it's gloomy heavens. I'll give it a 6.

Captive : "Black Leather Glove"

If this goth revival has taught us anything it's DIY dark wave should always be held with suspicion . Think about what qualities classic dark wave has. The beats are powerful. Maybe not as powerful as industrial, but have more behind them in the mix than a drum setting on a casio keyboard. The Cure got away with some lo-fi sounds and judging from the vocals that is an influence on this project. But can they carry the whole shebang here ?

The title track is the reason the album cover looks like the original version of Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove" album. Has a better guitar pattern, but the bass takes more of a back seat and the drum machine becomes buried. So the mix is the main struggle of the album. The vocal patterns and what I can make out of the lyrics I like making this a mixed bag.

O.k take the kick to "The Fool" and boost it a bit guys and you got it. Since guitars take more of a role in this than most darkwave it's ok to let the snyths fade into the background a bit. the vocals sound great here this is the first song all the pieces fit so now we know they are capable of sounding good when they sets their sights to it. You get my attention by naming a song "Love is the Law" or giving any winks to Thelema, even if they are just a piece of dark pop culture they picked up in passing. The song gets the job done though not esoteric.

They capture some great sounds again on "I'm Long Gone though the songwriting isn't as keen as some of the album's previous moments. The pace picks up on "Exaltations"  and the lead singer's voice takes on a more Rozz Williams like quality to it's fine whine. The music grows murkier, but this is mostly forgivable.  There is an improvement in dynamics on "The Maze" . The dramatic vocals get the elegance most miss out on when it comes to recapturing what makes goth ....gothic. The bass pounds "the Staircase" into a more Pornography era Cure-like place, if the drum machine would only keep up. "Coming Home" fires is blips and bleeps off into the sea of cold wave this album has established , but the inclusion of female vocals really gives things a much needed shift, even if it brings with it more of a skip in their step.

They close out the album with driving synth pulse of "Endless Lust". The intensity picks up. Not really a hook driven song or one that is likely to get caught in your head anytime soon, but for what it is this song works. Can't make up my mind if I would rather hunt down some darkwave from back in the day or toss this on the iPod, fans of this sub-genre might embrace this album with more opens arms , I don't dislike it in fact it got much better the further it was delved into, so I will give it an 8.5.

Youth Code: " A Place to Stand"

Youth Code are not just a hipster trend. This album proves to me there is no irony in what they do. Industrial with a strong edm influence. Sara's vocals have and androgynously harsh metallic scream to them, these are lashing at you courtesy of the little blond . I like that they are abrasive and in your face. Their video goes from their singer being tortured and experimented on to a monkey receiving similar treatment and fits the sounds they are throwing at you nicely. At three minutes this confrontational single has me pressing repeat on it rather fervently. They get right to the point not trying to artfully wear you down with long drones of electronic ambiance, instead they kick you right in the fucking throat.

"To Burn Your World" find the vocals taking a more jagged path around the angular beat. It touches on "Too Dark Park" era Skinny Puppy, which is interesting since they are currently touring with Ogre and Company, who are clearly an influence, though it would like being in a metal band and not be influenced by Black Sabbath."Litany( a Place to Stand) finds singer on her soap box. The beat underneath her rant could have developed into something interesting but instead makes the song feel like an interlude. I think a darker approach that was not so message blatant might have served the album better, but they do darken back up on "No Animal Escapes"

When  the remix of "No Animal Escapes" kicks in it does so with a slightly off center groove that is more edm than industrial , but shows this project has some range to it. This is song and the other remixes that follows are all from last year's self titled ep. The first odd mis-step of sorts in the remix of "Wear the Wounds" could have been spared of some of the Gangsta rapping, as it sets an odd juxtaposition against the message of "Litany" that seems to take such a strong stance against some of the stereotypes this song enforces. They redeem themselves with "Sick Skinned) which is the God Module Pandemic re-mix.  This finds them much closer to modern industrial, not unlike Pysclon 9 or the like. This also proves something interesting about this project which is they are really the first that is coming from hipster culture and being embraced by the latex make smeared industrial goths that come from the depths of the club scene. I think this serves as a testament to Youth Code's ability and vision.

The Silent Servant re-mix of "Let the Sky Burn" closes out the proceedings on this album. It sounds like make vocals are on this track, they are low in the mix , almost buried under the blip and bounce of the beat. I'll round this up to a 10, I think it's just a matter of me getting used to their politics and how those line up with throwing in some gangsta rap that I haven't yet wrapped my head around, and maybe I am not supposed to. Maybe that is where the irony is. They are not adoring your moustache or thrift store gym shorts, nor would they piss on Deerhunter if they were on fire as they are engrossed in what they are doing, just as you will be engrossed in it if you ...are into this sort of thing and give it a listen.

Zola Jesus: Versions

I have had this in rotation for some time now since it's August release but never got around to reviewing it since it came out around the same time as the Katatonia album which took a separate approach, but with Zola this seems to be  more dramatic turn than the normally morose, Swedish band, not that she is a bucket of laughs either but her music is so beat driven and electronic it makes this unplugged version of her work seem more like new songs.

She even takes a different approach to singing where Jonas of Katatonia  , was pretty much business as usual. This can be seen very clearly on the slow string accompaniment of "Avalanche" which is beautifully sung and arranged but not really a must listen for me."Fallback" does a much better job and allow her to open up and sing in a manner that's closer to what feel like her sweet spot. One thing that is noted about this album is she has found her own voice and is further from her earlier Siouxsie imitations , she very rarely carries her chest voice into the throaty belt that has been characteristic of her singing style up until this point ,which I think shows a good deal of maturation in her singing style. It translates well to songs like "Hikikomori" from her last album "Conatus".  "Run Me out" originally off of  Stridulum II, receives a much more somber treatment here.

"Seekir" is given a heavier nod toward her more electronic roots, and the strings propel the song along side the beat, which is not as in your face as the original version. The new arrangement of "Seatalk" really gives Zola a chance to spread out her vocal chops. It goes to show that when a song is well written it is going to be well written no matter how it's preformed if it is a song that will stand the test of time.

"Night" sheds it's 80's goth feel, but manages to feel just as dark. Her voice is a little more subdued than the original version , but its a tasteful vocal performance that serves the cello heavy new version. The beat pules in the distance before launching in when the strings build the tension.

The new arrangement to "In Your Nature" strikes as even slightly more experimental than the original and is sung much more emotionally than the original as well.The string accent where the bass lines would normal build the beat.

Though well sung, "Collapse' just kind of languishes over itself, luckily "Vessel" comes in behind it and bats clean up. Every part of this one blows away the first , which was an incredible song to begin with.The strings are best employed and arranged here. Overall , she succeeds and shows a lot of growth. I  was disappointed  when I learned this was just an unplugged rearrangement of her older material so she had to win me over with this . I'll give it a 9.5 .

Grave Babies : " Crusher"

This Seattle band tries to claim to be influenced by Nirvana and Nine Inch Nail while pumping out from the hipster gutters some very intentionally under produced goth rock. It is not the first place we have seen 80s goth influences married to shoe gazing. Here it's domes in a very weird manner, the thick wall of fuzz My Bloody Valentine often applies is slapped on what would otherwise be very straight forward almost anthemic punk feel that album opens with.

The rough edged bass line of "Skulls" has enough of a pulse to keep you interested, while the vocals and the guitar moan for under the wall of grit they are obscured by almost in the same way a lot of witch house music was overdriven to create a dark cloud of static around it.

"Slaughter" is the first song that really connects with me as the vocals take on a more morose melody. "Count Cuts" has a melody that is not hampered even by the best attempts of the fuzzed out production. So live they are just going to be loud? Is that the solution ? The vocals seemed to be more often than not doubled up. "Breeding" sounds like I was listening to the Pyschedelic Furs while I the swimming pool and the Walkman feel into Torche water but kept playing. Maybe this is what Witch House morphs into when no one was looking. The melody to "Pain Cycle" is infectious despite for them trying to give you every reason not to like it In the presentation.

"No fear" also dances into the same dirty corner of the dance floor that " Love my Way " does. They way the vocals are recorded disguises if the vocals are in fact in key all the time or not, though there are hints that suggest they might not be, the songs are all on the shorter side, with pretty crude arrangements which are normally only two parts. In the case of "Blood on My Face" it's more thn enough s the choru is Ing poorly on purpoe nd only redeemed through the post chorus melody. "Death March" darkens things up, I have seen things written on this band saying there are parts that come close to being metal and since we actually know metal here I'd like to dispel that rumor.

Though the vocal melody is different the accompaniment to "Haunted" is very similar to some of the albums previous songs. The vocal melody on songs like this is the only thing that changes as the music just drones on behind them. "Hate Repeats" gets Joy Division on it and at only two minutes I think their intention was to keep it simple. The album closes with "Prostitution" another more in the Joy Division zip code, it's slower than the albums other fare. I like the lyrics on this more than the others songs. I think this song the production is justified but as a whole it does get a little monotonous and while the band would argue that it's part of their sound, I think it's slightly lazy on their part.

I like this album despite its hipster cop out. I think they could take a lesson from Merchandise who's new e.p even sounds better than their previous releases which had a similar sound. So with the Hipster irony factored in I have to round this down to a 7.5 as I think they are trying to justify the music they are making but trying to present it as hipster fair and there is not enough of any other element of the whole My Bloody Valentine sound to compensate for the underwater sound as nothing else is all that surreal.