NYC Coldwave revivalists Xeno & Oaklander offer their second single ahead of the release of Vi/deo in October. As per all of their releases, “Poison” retains a minimalist yet mesmerizing aesthetic, its composition restricted to the use of a particular set of synths and a drum machine while supporting the wisplike voice of Liz Wendelbo and occasional Morrissey-evoking backing vocals from Sean McBride. The track whisks the listener away to a particularly ghoulish 80s nightclub where entranced and undoubtedly shadily-garbed attendants move about as though they were commanded by the synthed-out staccato bassline. Wendelbo plays the part of a questionably living enchantress, enticing her audience to accept a serving of a dubious concoction. Scintillating progressive synth lines encourage the brew out of your cup and down your throat as the enchantress casts her last spell – the imbibers now helpless as they lose themselves in the feeling of the Poison.

Vi/deo will without a doubt be a wonderfully haunting release just in time for the end of October.

An essential imprint on the current darkwave scene, Dais Records end the year in style with a brand new signee. Formerly a member of Crimson Scarlet, a goth-punk five-piece inflaming the souls from the California bay area, enigmatic musician and visual artist Niff Nawor is now going solo as Riki for two years. On Valentine’s Day 2020, she will unleash her self-titled debut record and explore “courage, physicality, and romance” through dark and anthemic synth-pop soundscapes. Already available, the lead single, “Napoleon”, revisits the story of the French Emperor, combining his imposing, almost mythological imagery with the insanely decadent sound of New York’s clubs in the 80s (a fusion of the uptown and downtown cultures). The up and coming artist invites listeners to “reveal their useless habits of complacency and fear…and witness their own rebirth, a rhythm universal”. Phosphorescent and intoxicated, “Napoleon” also comes with a thrumming video, courtesy of director Amanda Siegel. Watch, dance, and pre-order via Bandcamp below.

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Whilst it may seem impossible when listening to the twinklingly light voice of Adam Klopp, the singer-songwriter at the helm of Choir Boy, his musical journey began in the punk music scene of Ohio. After briefly attending college in Utah, Klopp paired up with Chaz Costello to reclaim the so-called insult of Choir Boy, transforming it into a self-affirming project.

On “Nites Like This”, they retain that same ethereal element, the swirling and hazy soundscape that’s become so distinctive of the band. Klopp’s falsetto vocals drip over sickly sweet synths and chimes, undercut with a dark and near grungy bassline that works in keeping the track away from the realms of sounding too saccharine.

Lyrically, there’s a similar effect at play. With lines such as the very opening “Spin me around/Dance with me now like you used to/I’m so bored these days/We are wasting our time away”, we’re set up for a tale of woe and dwindling emotions as opposed to one of blooming love as the instrumentation might suggest. According to Klopp, the song “contemplates the impermanence of romantic love and is meant to simulate a dream in which you’re dancing with your lover, but they are slowly pulled away by an invisible force”.

This dichotomy, the delectable sorrow that’s seemingly expressed through the lyrics of “Nites Like This” and the silky smooth, seamlessly steady music, makes for a rich listening experience. Klopp has a self-effacing quality to his voice that immediately draws the listener in.

There’s also depth to be found in the jarringly sinister bassline when coupled with Kloss’s voice; it’s an effect that the band have honed over their three-year career and one that only sounds more solidified with the addition of new permanent band members Jeff Kleinman and Michael Paulsen. Listen and buy via Bandcamp below.

Last month, NYC dark synthpop act Tempers announced the release of a new album, a project that is described as “moodier and more introspective”. Following up on the lead single “Capital Pains“, the duo, comprised of Jasmine Golestaneh and Eddie Cooper, returns with a contemplative and thumping new track, “Peace Of Mind”. Playing with nocturnal and shadowy tableaux, the haunting and cinematic track deals with solitude and loneliness. Listen below.

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Tempers, the New York-based duo consisting of Jasmine Golestaneh and Eddie Cooper, have just announced the release of their third album on avant-garde and underground label Dais. Combining dark indie, electronica and synth-pop, the pair is going to bring its darkwave aesthetic into moodier and more introspective territories.

Going back and forth between envy and rejection, the lead single, “Capital Pains”, sets the tone. It’s an upbeat and kind of bipolar offering which encapsulates the instability caused by your own insecurities. “Capital Pains is about opening an internal space of possibility, in a world where you are told what to do and think based on other people’s interests,” explains Golestaneh. The track also comes with an amazing, cinematic video which was directed by Zev Deans. Watch and pre-order the album via Bandcamp below.

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Two years after The Demonstration, Los Angeles darkwave and post-punk act Drab Majesty have announced the release of their third album. Produced by Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, this conceptual record will reinterpret the mythological story of Narcissus from a modern and perspective, incorporating elements from modern science fiction and reflections on technology.

According to the press release, the album is “a journey of self-reflection, nostalgia, love, beauty, and heartbreak told across eight addictive and emotional synth pop anthems – a seemingly classic tale delivered unblinkingly through the frame of the modern world.”

The expansive and quite uplifting first single “Ellipsis” is already available and it comes with a Thomas McMahan-directed video. Watch the video and check the full track list of the album below.

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Drab Majesty – “Modern Mirror” tracklisting:

1. A Dialogue

2. The Other Side

3. Ellipsis

4. Noise of the Void

5. Dolls in the Dark

6. Oxytocin

7. Long Division

8. Out of Sequence