With its sparse, spacious production, glacial synths, oscillating synth bass and 4/4 Roland snare sound, this 10” harks back to the early 80s, with a nod to Factory acts like ACR and more than a hint of Visage. Despite – or perhaps because – the vocals sitting low in the mix and swimming in reverb against this backdrop of crisp, detached electronica, this is anything but soulless. ‘Nite Yacht’ plunged down into doomy, gothic territory, the vocals conveying anguish and angst. Propelled by the dominant snare, think Alien Sex Fiend with keyboards instead of guitars. ‘Pact With the Devil’ is pacier, with a punky edge and gets darker still.
With savages breaking through in a big way, and a host of other acts, such as Cold in Berlin, Partly Faithful, Isolated Atoms and Aztec Doll all bubbling under and pushing into similar territory, the new zeitgeist really does seem increasingly to mark the revival of gothy post-punk. Maybe it’s simply a case of what goes around comes around, or maybe it’s more a reflection of the times, marked by a bleak economic outlook and a general sense of pessimism for young and not so young alike. Either way, there are new currents flowing in contemporary music – and not before time.
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Vulgar Fashion Online
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