An evening of haunting tales from a count, a witch and a siren
We’ve gone down the steps to the basement of Aces& Eights countless times but the vibe that was generated that night, a few days ago cast a dark veil over the space and made it feel much darker than usual. From the first second, the feeling was that of stepping into a post-ceremonial macabre celebration. The intimate arrangement of tables and chairs set the tone for something austere and measured, requiring a composed ‘aristocratic’ behaviour. At that moment, we had the feeling that we were not just attening a gig but that rather, we had been summoned there.
A waltz macabre loupe came from the speakers, playing games with our concentration, creating a sonic labyrinth whose exit was only visible once Down From Above appeared on stage.
We listened to 70 independent/underground releases during October 2023, and we were stunned by the debut singles/EP/albums during this month. 26 of these 70 releases form this monthly playlist and let us admit that there have been a few disappointing releases that did not make it despite our biased convictions that they would.
There are some big highlights here and I am not just referring to the customary October release by Nox Arcana who once again gave us a haunting gothic sonata to get us through Spooktober! Oliver Marson, whose intriguing stage presence we enjoyed recently at the 100 Club, released a very memorable, new wave, synthwave album entitled ‘Why Did I Choose This?‘. The overall sound of this album brings to mind equally the Psychedelic Furs and Japan and the melodies are addictive beyond belief. The lyrics also share some Bukowski qualities and are quite poetic and pop at the same time.
The dark alternative music scene has had a myriad of new bands emerge during the last decade but very few have stuck around. Even fewer have consistently released interesting and genre-bending music. Bestial Mouths started in 2009 and hit our radar a few years later after the release of ‘Hissing Veil’. 14 years later, they are one of the most visually and sonically interesting bands to follow, not only because they defy any categorisation but because the quality of their releases is quite remarkable every single time.
August is traditionally a calmer month when it comes to music releases but this one had some significant highlights which are hard to bypass. The return of PiL 8 years after the release of their previous studio album ‘What The World Needs Now’ with a punk gem that brings in some subtle Belgian coldwave elements too. ‘End Of World‘ is the bone-cracking title of the band’s latest offering ahead of the celebration of their 45th anniversary with a gig at O2 Forum Kentish Town.
How do you all feel out there by the choices we have this autumn when it comes to live gigs ? I can confess that us here feel quite optimistic about the future of live music in London. Things might not be quite right yet but, hopefully they will soon be.
Dear darklings,
2023 might have been a disappointing year so far when it came to the live dark alternative scene but the weeks ahead look a bit more optimistic. We will not go into the details of why promoters have been reluctant to organise gigs and why big venues remained shut throughout this year, as everyone can probably make correct assumptions about the reasons behind this situation.
We are ecstatic that the next two months look great with some all-time favourite musicians resuming their tour schedules that include a stop in London and that most ticket costs are being kept at reasonable levels.
Heavy guitars, grinding synths, industrial textures, and captivating post-apopalyptic folk were the order of this month. Our favourite albums and music releases seemed to respond to some sort of ominous call. Maybe it’s Johny Brown ‘s poetic farewell to an imaginary Babylon or even the title of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s self-released album, but in any case we feel that there is something sinister in the air, something close to what this band describes through heavy psych rock music as a petrodragonic apocalypse.