- Drab Majesty – ‘Too Soon To Tell’
One of the currently most electrifying and impressive projects in the darkwave and synth-pop scene, is undoubtedly the one-centred on the unique artistic genius of Deb DeMure aka Drab Majesty, the androgynous alter-ego of Hollywood-native Andrew Clinco.
Since his early 2012 tape bedroom-recordings, his mesmerizing “interdimensional transmissions from outer space”, evoked by an occult “Divine influencer”, were comprised of the best suggestive synth parts from the new wave and 80’s synth-pop and the “finger-style” guitar arpeggio of post punk master guitarist like The Durutti Column’s Vini Rilley and Felt’s Maurice Deebank, the whole thing magnified by Deb’s star child-looking “part alien, part mime, part priestess” character, clearly influenced by the Aladdin Sane-era Bowie, the Genesis P. Orridge’s pandrogeny and the Asian style of David Sylvian.
Drab Majesty’s amazing and surreal live performances, with the recent addition of keyboard player and far-out twin Mona D, have strengthened further his cult status.
‘Too Soon To Tell‘ is the 2nd single taken from his sophomore full-length LP ‘The Demonstration‘ via Dais Records, and it’s another gorgeous overflowing and hypnotic transmission of oneiric new wave bliss, “Don’t You Wonder? How It Could Be? Too Soon To Tell, Too Soon Too See”, let yourself be inducted in a magical and ethereal trance-like state, you’ll feel like you’re ascended on the outer space.
Enjoy the video below directed by Amanda Siegel and features Susan Subtract (High Functioning Flesh) and Sabrina Brody.
Fabrizio Lusso
- Apocryphos, Kammarheit, Atrium Carceri – ‘Drawn Like A Moth‘
Apocryphos, Kammarheit and Atrium Carceri have teamed up again for their second collaborative album, ‘Echo‘. Following the all around positive feedback on their previous album, ‘Onyx‘, the trio hopped right back into the mix and birthed this brilliant collaboration. ‘Drawn Like A Moth‘ is a really interesting track, which seems to step a bit beyond the usual boundaries of all three musicians, producing a track that is surprisingly novel. Much like the entirety of ‘Echo‘, ‘Drawn Like A Moth‘ is anything but a continuation of ‘Onyx‘, bringing forth a full album’s worth of tracks to discover, as if there were no precursor.
Michael Barnett
- Fragrance. – ‘Collapse’
I choose this tune for the week, (released January 7) out of the synth new renaissance wave. This is Matthieu from Paris and the project Fragrance., having just released ‘Dust & Disorders‘ EP on 13th January. It is a typical synth wave song of a certain quality, where you may find a lot of dream pop melodies inside with the certain groove. The quality of Fragrance. is out of Mattieu’s talent and guess what..? Mastering has been made in Synth Religion Studio….. Does this ring a bell?….by miss Hélène de Thoury herself!!! Yeah, that quality so, loud if you please ‘cause it’s a really good one!
Mike Dimitriou
- Spiral Stairs – ‘Dance (Cry Wolf)‘
Scott Kannberg‘s (ex-Pavement, Preston School Of Industry) music vehicle Spiral Stairs is about to release their follow-up album to 2009’s ‘The Real Feel’ on March 24th via Nine Mile Records/Domino/Coolin’ by Sound. ‘Dance (Cry Wolf)’ is the first tune from the upcoming album, featuring Grandaddy‘s Jason Lytle. This is really cool stuff, and really excited to hear from one of the founding members of one of the most influential indie bands. So, this is it:
Christos Doukakis
- Field Route – ‘Come Back’
Since the early 80’s I grew fond of that quintessentially British ageless and melancholic jangle indie-pop signature sound, often slightly dark and dreamy psychedelic other time sunny and catchy, with trembly arpeggios, intricate guitars and slightly wobbly hushed vocals; the early Creation Records and Postcard Records, Felt, The Pastels, The Durutti Column and The Smiths’ Johnny Marr guitar melodies.
Soon followed around 1987 by the bright star of the militant proudly indie DIY Bristol-based Sarah Records, one of the UK’s most underrated label, founded mainly upon a catalogue of highly-collectable and artistically gorgeous limited edition 7” singles by seminal and talented new bands like The Field Mice, The Wake, Even As We Speak, Heavenly, Blueboy, Another Sunny Day, Brighter, St. Christopher…
When few days ago I listened to this song by the Mancunian outfit Field Route, I was astonished…if I’ve gone back to those glorious days.
Field Route is a brand new band featuring members past & present of Manchester’s janglers finest Horse Beach, and they have just released their ultra limited (200 copies only with a fantastic artwork and lots of goodness inside) 5-track debut vinyl 7”EP on Box Bedroom Rebels.
‘Come Back‘ deservedly belongs to that unforgettable legacy, shimmering jangling guitars and emotive heartfelt vocals, the perfect pop song at its best.
Fabrizio Lusso
Compiled by Fabrizio Lusso, Michael Barnett, Mike Dimitriou & Christos Doukakis