Mothica : "Kissing Death"

The third album by this dark pop singer finds a mix of post-millennial dark-wave sounds with thoughtful hooks in a concept album theme of romancing the death as personified as the Grim Reaper. As someone who has a worshipful adoration of death myself, I can appreciate this, as well as an artist who steers clear of the normal pop tropes. Sonically this falls somewhere in the zip code of Poppy, though vocally not as aggressive, with a more introspective approach closer to Imogen Heap, Taylor Swift. or Chvrches. "Exit Plan" contemplates the chaos of crawling out of addiction and the thinking that comes with those behaviors. 

"Another High" continues to ponder how you live when life has become something that is killing you. This album is well produced, with all the sounds very crisp and balanced in the mix. The more organic elements like guitars are not known until this song. "Doomed" finds her reflecting back on her early days making music in her room as a teenager. It's more of a ballad. Where melodramatic pop ballads normally would bore me this has enough raw honesty to make it work. "Curiosity Killed the Moth" exceeds expectations with more adventurous sounds than what your normal Tiktok pop dabbles in. 'Red" has more of a 90s alternative radio sound. The dynamic had the recoil/ expand formula from the 90s in place, but it still works as well here as it did back in the day. 

Much like Blue Oyster Cult, her take on "the Reaper" shows little fear and focuses on an infatuation. There is a very Los Angeles sound to "Toxins" which has a playful electro feel. Reverb heady guitar rings in the background of "Afterlife" It's a smooth neon ride, with the rock guitar creeping up in the undercurrent. "Mirage" toys with the Western feel, as her sultry voice glides over the grooves when they kick in. Once again she proves to be a step ahead of pop artists trying to climb up to the Taylor Swift pedestal, but not playing the same game and creating a more original sound. 

The title track is another bedroom ballad with strummed guitars pining for the Reaper. There is an acceptance of death in this song. The last song closes the album with more of a synth wave vibe to the thoughtful brand of pop she continues to weave. I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, it finds her carving out her own place in the pop landscape, which appeals to those who find the more vapid radio-dominant forms of it insulting, the concept alone will win over darker hearts. If you want honest pop music that is in touch with its shadow side this is for you. 

MOTHICA · Exit Plan

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Pinkish Black : "Bottom of the Morning"

Just when you think it's safe to start making your end of the year lists something that I had been waited for so long that it slipped my mind came out. The new one from the Fort Worth synth drone duo, who really defies most genres , but that won't stop me from trying to peg one onto  there dark brand of synth drive post-punk. On their debut for Relapse Records , the vocals are even more prominent coming out from behind the wall of murky effects and over driven synth swirl that dominated previous releases. Due to this the lyrics are more discernible than previous releases. Before you are too quick to compare them to Joy Division they are much more like a darker version of "Obscured by Clouds " era Pink Floyd. I read one review of this album where Mike Patton was brought up and I wonder what album they were listening to.If anything there is sometimes more of a Josh Homme feel to the melodies.  They take on a heavier drive with "Special Dark" that finds their singer dropping down into a more ghoulishly goth croon. It's pretty murky even with the hammering pulse of sounds like a bass, but knowing these guys is more likely over driven synths thickening the low end.

"I'm All Gone " is the most reminiscent of their previous albums with droning groove, the generally balance out retaining their trademark sound while reaching towards new heights, but this is achieved much better on "Burn My Body" that follows. This song is more hypnotic, yet still packs plenty of punch and leaves room for the singer's croon. It spins out into something more proggy around three minutes in taking me back to the previous Pink Floyd comparison. This is also the first song that really hooks me in on this first listen. They returning to the creep of a more driving bottom end sound with "Everything Must Go".  One thing that is different on this is the fact that I never think of this as being heavy as in metal.The vocals take more of a back seat here, not coming in until over a minute and a half into the song. The stay in the background like the ghost of Jim Morrison.

The title track continues the haunting of the Doors, due to the almost jazz like nature of the drumming.The vocals take a back seat in a hushed murmur. The hang on the same groove with the synth melodies bubbling around it. In the final three minutes of the song things get a little more intense as the dynamics build. The chant of "every things the same again" rises. While their Bandcamp lists the cover of "New Dawn Fades"  the did for Cvlt Nation's Joy Division tribute its not on the promo I got so for the purpose of this review the last song is the kraut rock like " the Master is Away". It has a a big industrial strength beat , but not the groove. It instead floats on an opium cloud over the dmt dreamt city of the future. This could be from the Labyrinth soundtrack or really any early 80s sci-fi flick. For an instrumental it's got a nice surreal drugged out drone, but not a song I need on my iPod , so for the songs that will get more of a shot I'll round this up to a 9 and see how it holds up. If you are a fan of their previous work, they have not sold out by a long shot.

Lower Dens : "Escape From Evil"

All right I'm check out Lower Dens, a name I know with more than there music they just came up as artists related to War on Drugs. From the first song I'm on the better side of o.k. They are not goth, but only a shade or two happier than the National putting them somewhere in range of hipster apathy ridden Roxy Music. The synth and elctronic tinged drum beat lets "Ondine" wander in. I can an elements that is  not unlike the Shins mixed in . "To Die in LA" skips around almost like a Police song, but with more androgyny to the vocals. In fact I had to click around to find Jana Hunter is a woman. the album has some great guitar tones and the cross roads between the electronic elements and the organic is a very blurred intersection.

The smoothed out pop of "Quo Vadis" is easy on the ears , but not as gripping as the other songs as the inital surprise of their sound begins to wane. There is more of a chill wave electronic cruise control to "Your Heart Still Beating". This songs weaves it's way into a more interesting wave of sounds as it progress, thats not going to be  like many things you have heard before until it breaks back down into the vocals . "Electric Current" feels like it flows somewhere between Siouxsie and Gary Numan. The groove would be thicker if the bass was more present in the mix.The static synth chords help hold the tension.

There is a darker and looser feel to " I am the Earth". The drums are somewhat spactic in this giving it an jazz like feel. A sleek dancey future pop kicks in on " Non Grata". The guitar becomes more adventurous as well. This contrasts the dreamy gallop of " Company" that coasts along with a brisk swiftnees before the songs builds  into an odd rythmnic slant. The album closes with a brisk post-punk  pace that has far more ambiance to it.These guys and gals are onto something I am not sure that it hits me with the same flare that the War on Drugs does , but I will give this one an 8.5. Not sure it will make the iPod cut.

Decades / Failures: "Goodby3"

This project has grown  into a duo since their last outing and it gives Decades/Failures a bigger more post-punk sound than the stiffer cold wave they offered up last year. The bass lines are more organic. The vocals have distortion to them and are further back in the mix. They fix the need for a human voice, but come across like an instrument. The new post-punk coating finds them adoring Joy Division and Wire. The presence of more guitar fills things out and if they add a member every album by the next album these guys will be holding their own against the bigger bands of the post-punk revival. The next thing they need to acquire is a drummer as the thin beats of their drum machine limit what they can do dynamically.

"Fractured" wanders around despite the cool synth bass line that you think would anchor it to something. The vocals are even more distant and incomprehensible. Which is not a bad sound , I think on a song with less form, having the vocals hold it down might be more effective.  They are back to spookier dark wave with a pretty killer bass line of "Secret Superstitions". But a bass line alone doesn't make a song, not does ghostly keyboards. The vocal stick to the same stiff narrative voice. I understand the minimalist trent, but you can't minimize the elements needed to create songs that go some where, the drums are minimal enough, beyond that something has to have enough meat to bite into.

The songs range from four to five minutes with the five minute jams seeming like they drag a little. The Cure ish vibe to "Slow Waves" makes for their best song. The vocals don't have to do much , because the song is already laid out and they would then be the icing on the cake. Which is good because they are almost a whisper. The bass line add a little more drive on "Midnight to Six" , which is a pretty decent song, though it reminds me a really lo-fi version of She Wants Revenge. There is a darker and more heady element to the almost Kraut rock drone of "the 3 Line". The guitar tone is really cool here and this song is one of the clearest indications of how this project is evolving.

There is a Interpol underwater feel to the closing "Pretty Deadly" like most of the others songs it finds it's place and drones you into the slow motion dance floor riot that is brewing. The vocals are almost a robotic vibration at this point in the album.The synth sounds get better as the album progresses and they find their groove. This album is fun for dark rainy nights, I'll bookmark the Bandcamp, but I already have a bunch of stuff close to this sound on my iPod so I will give it a 8.5, the highest rating I'll give an album if I don't feel compelled to own it, but you might and it's pay what you want.

Cairo Pythian : "Touched"

So what's up with goth coming outta the Pacific Northwest? Cairo Pythian might have been the best kept secret. There have been enough post- punk band's worshipping Ian Curtis and friends so why no one at the alter of Love and Rockets. Often they weave a weird piece of dark wave that pulls out the rock n roll more than I anticipated. The synths are darker than the guitar solos that are more Brit pop. The singer can sing, on some songs he carries a seventies glam streak. But we are getting ahead of our selves because it starts of with a colder electro synth pop streak.

The lyrics have a silly 80's rock element that billy idol, but then again the lyrics to "So Alive" didn't break poetic ground. To their credit these guys pull from more places than just Daniel Ash. There are traces of "Controversy" era Prince to "Pretty Hate Machine" N.I.N. The poppier industrial elements don't give this too much of a mid nineties feel. The title track is one of the strongest arguments for the band finding their own sound through the myriad of influences.

The s&m ode "Asexual Cake" is sexual chaos not unlike some of Rozz Williams more experimental moments in Christian Death. This album heavily lean on punk rock side of goth.This guy really captures some iconic sounds in the narcotic glimmer Brit pop's sleazier side, surfaces on" Yesterday's Make-up" gives me flashbacks of pre-dawn partying I did in the late 90's. It's what was goth before goth was goth and bands were avidly worshipping David Bowie...as they should have been. This is not to say there isn't any edge or grit to what he does. There is plenty of creepy snarl on "Goin' Fishing". The thick coat of general weirdness would make Psychic Tv  proud at times with swirling ambiance dominating songs like "Forbidden Days".

The industrial elements are glamorized for the dance floor and not really for rivet heads throwing punches in latex. The genius in the production is the lo-fi indie rock distance the songs have to keep them from sounding like something on the oxymoron that is mainstream alternative radio. Yet the sound are crisp enough for the melodies to shine through, think pre-"After the End" Merchandise. They are goth enough to have a Dracula reference on "My Friend Renfield".

If you are tired of "cold wave" albums that sound like they were recorded on a four track in the bathroom and open to some genre defying drug crazed nonsense that is fun as all hell, do not waste another second of your life by not hearing this "band". I was able to just stop keeping score as I knew I was going to like each song. This one gets a 10 no question, the less song oriented drifts into the bizarre are balanced out by his keen ear for song writing.

Decades/Failures : "002"

Right in time for Valentines I caught this new album by this dark synth act from Richmond VA. It takes the darkness of Joy Division and couples it with New Order's more dance oriented side. It is certainly cold and murky enough to suit the new wave of hipsters getting into goth, but jaded old purveyors of the scene should be able to appreciate the mood as well.

" I ( Never)  Wanted to Believe" , finds the color spectrum of their sound expanding. It doesn't stray far from the depressive side of the dance floor. This is fine by me. The vocals stay pretty close to the Ian Curtis monotone baritone.

"City Streets" finds things taking on a nastier edm that borders on club goth. This is an even darker turn for the band. The title track develops a more creeping vocal that stalks the more Daft Punk like synths that sound to have landed from the land of Blade Runner. The vocals remain plaintive in their dismal croon. The sense of dynamics circles some where around a surreal pulse. They veer close towards some of the synthier industrial moments even a slight Romeo Void element under coating a song like " Gentle Forces". It's impressive things continue to grow increasingly dark through out this album.

The oppressive electro cloud lifts on "Tell Me How". The vocals bury themselves in the mix, you can tell their in a voice chanting something, but it steers the song out of becoming synth pop. Things take a more dystopian turn when the album closes with " Everything Went Black". IN some ways this has a ballad feel to it ,as the song sways at a much slower bpm than most of the album until it begins to build before the two minute mark. I'm feeling generous so I'll round this up to a 9 out of 10, we shall see if this grows on me. The vocal can lean towards monotonous, and limit the dynamics slightly , but for the mood it's pretty perfect.    

6

Xiu Xiu : " Angel Guts- Red Class Room

The San Franciso band spear headed by Jamie Stewart returns, finding a darker and more brooding place to emerge from than Stewart did with "Always". The album often forces you to ponder the line between experimental and music. Do they sacrifice song writing for sonic freedom? The second track on the album " Archie Fades" is more of a song than the opener. Stewart's voice retains it's fragile tremble and I appreciate the mood it creates ,but  tends to drone on the one idea rather than really going any where.

Without question " Stupid in the Dark" is the album's strongest song on it's chorus hook catapults it to the top of the heap as far as the band's body of work goes.The lyrics are smart, the line " you taught me a lesson , people are stupid in the dark" is the same kind of passive aggressive stab Morrissey would take. From this point on the bands tends to flirt with an almost industrial feel like some of Skinny Puppy's less dancey moments. When I think of the album in this way I can appreciate the forsaking of melody, song structure and dynamics more.

"Black Dick" is the next track that sounds like a song. The beat has more movement and the sparse synths creep around it. The vocals act more like abstract spoken word around it. They continue to wallow deeper into a hole of self loathing on "New Life Immigration" . The vocals take a more melodic approach, though the beat becomes more shapeless. "El Naco" feels almost like a witch house or rape gaze song. The vocals are more crazed and the entire presentation feels like a mental break down

A clearer rhyme and reason emerges on "Adult Friends". The remains experimental but the song is more effective in creating a sense of dynamics. Similar can be said of " The Sliver Platter", though it might be even darker than its predecessor. The desperate tenderness to "Bitter Melon" is executed well and shows they are capable of blending experimentation with conveying emotion.

"Knife in the Sun" sounds like the soundtrack to Dallas Buyers Club if it had been a horror movie. It's abrasives but counters it's self with a groove. The noise indulgence returns on "Cinthya's Unisex". "Bontanica de Los Angeles" returns to the more industrial laced murk of synth noise for Stewarts pleading to bleat over, and it works pretty well, leaving the title track as an outro that sounds like a farting chainsaw.

I'll give this album a 7.5 for now though it's darkness might speak to me more in a low swing and allow the album to continue to grow on me , if you like a lot of dark noise to go with your desperation then round this up to an 8, but I think Stewart is too good of a song writer when he actually tries to write a song.