SKREEN B BLOG

Class! That about sums up Twin Temple 's new recording 'Nothing Matters'. The song rolls out like a 1960s standard - it is pop, but performed with a dark, haunting majesty. The production is spot-on, expertly leaving the beguiling vocals to take centre-stage, as the sophisticated instrumentation wraps around with restrained drama. The tune is sumptuous, the melody providing Alexandra James all the peaks and passages to bewitch the listener with her heart-breaking vocal delivery. Twin Temple have built a devoted following with their gloriously subversive mix of retro rock ’n’ roll, occult theatrics and darkly playful flair. Fronted by Alexandra and Zachary James, the duo envelop themes of rebellion, empowerment and unapologetic individuality around vintage sounds, delivering a live show as spellbinding as it is mischievous. Quite clearly, they show the Devil always has the best tunes!

Winter may be peeking over the horizon, but Drama Dolls clearly haven’t put away their beachwear just yet. Their latest romp 'Dancing' arrives with a glorious blast of summertime attitude, where surf-rock swagger meets three women determined to kick up the sand, let their hair down and forget their troubles. Think the Ramones with suntans, a gender-swap and cocktail umbrellas.  Formed in Los Angeles by Doc Egg, TKO and Scrambles, Drama Dolls have been making a gloriously chaotic racket from the punkier end of the party since that fateful January get-together. Here they throw punk, new wave and retro pop into the shaker, with a twist of Blondie-style sway and a big, spacious beat that compels your hips to shimmy. As the band explain: “Everything’s a mess and we all need a dance break.” By the time those infectious “ba-da-ba-da-bas” arrive, resistance really does seem rather pointless. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best ones - and Drama Dolls will always keep you on y...

It has been ages since I last featured a track with throat-singing, so it is a delight to hear Sainkho Namtchylak 's 'My Dear Left - Reimagined'. I’ve always enjoyed listening to music that features unusual sounds and a unique identity, and within seconds this track captured my attention. The Tuvan-born, Vienna-based avant-garde vocalist brings her extraordinary seven-octave range to a track about standing against violence and the understanding that "real strength lies in compassion, not aggression". Re-worked in conjunction with Noam Helfer and Ran Gerson, the duo have built around her voice with deep beats, industrial textures and organic sounds, giving the song a contemporary edge, whilst retaining its mystical roots. Namtchylak’s remarkable journey from the Tuvan/Mongolian border to the international experimental scene makes her a fascinating artist, and this collaboration shows just how powerful the human voice can be.   'My Dear Left - Reimagined' is...

Let's bask in the darkness again! There’s something suitably confessional lurking beneath the surface of ‘Kissing Lions’, the latest offering from Massachusetts darkwave/post-punk outfit Ghost Painted Sky . Swathes of gothic guitar provide the gloom, while Lisa Wood’s despairing vocals hover above an elastic bassline. There's also a great melodic underflow to the recording with long-time collaborator Aurora Grabill contributing violin. The song’s themes of breaking the mundane by chasing fleeting thrills and making bad decisions shroud the atmosphere - although, as the title suggests, those decisions have teeth that sometime bite back. Founded by multi-instrumentalist David Strong in 2014, Ghost Painted Sky became a creative partnership with Wood in 2018, later adding guitarist Michael Boudreau. 'Kissing Lions' is a suitably uncaged taste of the band's forthcoming second album, Failure Blooms. The accompanying video spans the band’s history, weaving vintage 8mm foot...

One of my main bugbears with electronic music is that a lot of acts simply throw a generic vocal sample into the mix in an attempt to make it more interesting - you know the "oh yeah-yeah, dance to the beat" type phrase. Ultimately, the choice of vocal sample is far too uninspired and I would say - lazy! Thankfully, Glitch Garden has not succumbed to this trapping with new release 'Haze', as the electro track includes an introduction to and excerpts from the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem "No worst, There is none" which was written in 1885. Just having that extra attention to detail sitting amongst the melodic flow of synths and gentle beats makes this recording stronger than your average electronic piece. As Glitch Garden states this is "Danish electro made with love". 'Haze' is taken from Glitch Garden's debut album, 'Garden Leave'. Go dig out a copy! Garden Leave by Glitch Garden

'Play Date' immediately put a grin on my face. Hendricks the Hatmaker and Fire Cult , two bands working together, deliver a sparky, energetic slice of pop-punk that feels driven by the sheer joy of making music with friends. The vocal interplay is great fun, with the different voices bouncing off each other before those shouty “Play! Date!” chants kick in and give the track an irresistibly youthful energy. I particularly liked the contrast between the mundane working day in the lyrics - early starts, traffic jams, grey office walls and corporate boredom - and the escape that music provides. It’s a feeling many of us will recognise (I do!): getting through the day while your mind is already elsewhere.  Amusing, spirited and wonderfully playful, this left me wanting to act like the bands - turn off the laptop and forget the work. However, that would mean this review wouldn't have been written! 'Play Date' is available on the Silly Songs Vol.1 (Split EP) - there's...

I am always delighted to feature some music from Japan, usually it can be a little bonkers, but this time with 'mermaid' by  Atria. the recording is delicate and refined. Taken from the forthcoming album "-Sea Surface-", the track is a part of a conceptual tale, with Atria. explaining "it's a positive song about a mermaid who, even when her loved one goes far away, uses her singing voice to forge her own path. Furthermore, the mermaid's singing voice guides the characters who appear in various songs throughout the album. As a result, she appears in the lyrics of other songs as well, serving as the protagonist of a single overarching story across the entire album". 'mermaid' is built around an ever-changing flow of keyboard and piano motifs, backed with strings and soft layers of floaty vocals - the piece really encapsulates the feel of a watery environment. It is a lovely, relaxing piece with both ambient and neo-classical elements.

Formed by members of Be'lakor and Rainshadow to explore darker, heavier territory, Dusk Cult have already carved out a rather gloomy little corner for themselves. Their third album, Folklore Discipline, follows Embrace The Lunar Age and Night Sky Revelations, but this time the gaze shifts from the night sky towards darker historical myths and the cult’s own philosophy.  Their instrumental track 'Noctis' is another timely track for Halloween. Consisting of spooky piano and haunting synths, it works well as either a short intro or a reprise. The band term it "a palate cleanser for a larger project" - which conjures up images of a sonic sorbet before something meatier comes along. The track is well arranged and serves up a reminder of that classic goth sense of drama I always enjoy. Caelum by Dusk Cult

I am not that keen on the artwork for 'un hombre bueno es difícil de encontrar', but I will gloss over that as this latest Chicago Boys track really caught me off-guard. Unlike previous submissions to me, this recording goes way beyond the usual three minute mark - coming in at over seven minutes. Also, the song is rather melancholy and reflective and having translated the few words (sung in Spanish), the theme is really dark, for example: "I saw you, and I dragged you along, and I shot you" alongside "I saw you in my dreams, and a plant came into my room and devoured me". The overall sound is a sort of desert blues rock, but the twist comes at the end with a surprising fairground organ outro. A really intriguing track - quite unexpected and that's a good thing to hear. un hombre bueno es difícil de encontrar by Chicago Boys

Oh, this is a neat segue from the last review, going from a song about blurry vision to Zoomatic 's new release 'Vision'. Coincidentally, the tracks almost follow the same path, with Zoomatic showing more focus by keeping the recording to last under two minutes. 'Vision' is a simple, gentle instrumental which sounds like an electronic device undertaking some sort of abstract calculation, busy one minute, pausing to cross-check the next. It would be great in one of those old 1960s sci-films where the last human is floating through the cosmos.   

Belgian duo MONOLYTH turn 'Blurry Vision' into something that feels less like a conventional song and more like the soundtrack to an ominous procession. Its rhythm clatters along like bones rattling down a railway, while biblical choral melancholy hangs over the track like a requiem with occasional sonic booms. There’s a distinctly cinematic quality here, unsurprising given the duo’s filmmaking background, and although the trip-hop and alternative-rock influences are lurking in the shadows, this feels almost entirely instrumental in spirit. It’s dark, brooding and beautifully unsettling - with terrific artwork to match.

It is Halloween month and there's no better way to start the month than with 'Golden Lore', the new release from New York's JOHN X BELMONTE . Sparse electronics sit at the graveside of some wonderfully gloomy vocals, the single is a perfect gothic recording, spooky and atmospheric. Don't fear, this is not one of those style over substance tracks; the song maybe be subdued, but there's a decent tune.  The music video should also delight the darkwave fans out there. Release the bats!

'Valeu' by  Macnolia is an intriguing instrumental track, there are fairly subtle elements of Krautrock, but that's all scrambled within an almost spooky framework. The recording is not exactly horror film soundtrack, but more like a seance of synths - all quite downbeat and mysterious. The gliding experimental feel looms in the background but the main synth line and percussive footsteps really work to retain your attention. I just really like this for being something a little different. There's not a lot of information with this submission, but it apparently originates from Spain. 

Swedish punk pioneers Vacum emerged in 1979 from the northern industrial city of Sundsvall. Racking up over 150 gigs and three albums before splitting in 1985, their sound evolved from wiry punk into experimental new wave and postpunk electronics. Reformed in 2018, they now return with their first entirely new material since 1985, with fifth album Dum Dum Tiden due in October 2026. 'Minnet av dig' arrives as an introduction to that album and there’s something distinctly claustrophobic about it. The song is an intense, sometimes wayward five-minute-plus journey through sorrow and longing. The slow, desolate verses give way to heavy choruses, while the imagery of wind, sea, mountains and autumn darkness creates an increasingly enclosed atmosphere. Marina Ammouri’s Ukrainian recitation and powerful backing vocals add another layer of drama to the mix. The repeated chorus refrain of "Minnet av dig" (the memory of you) feels almost obsessive, circling those beautiful memo...

Eventually Flowers are Tom (Tender Glue) and Janise (Lavender Bones), a duo who like to weave natural frequencies and botanical symbolism into their recordings. Their latest release 'Chasing Time' was originally written ten years ago and it has taken quite a while for the song to find its definitive identity. The band say "The song was inspired by the feeling that time is fleeting, and that we should make the most of the time we have. That idea feels even more meaningful now, having watched this song change and grow over an entire decade". In some ways, the irony is that a song about living in the moment has taken so long to come to fruition, but the good news is that it was well worth the wait. 'Chasing Time' is a jangly beauty of an indie track with lovely vocals and bright guitars - the growth may have been slow, but it has blossomed into something delightful.

Here's a lights off, shades on, sort of moment - there’s something wonderfully shadowy about Fernando’s Eyes ’ rumbling 'Room On Fire', a moody piece of post-punk with gothic undertones that keeps things understated and uncompromisingly minimal. The programmed drums work neatly against live toms, giving the track a satisfyingly physical pulse, while the sparse lyrics leave little room for ambiguity - this is a song about leaving and not looking back.  Best known as the vocalist and co-founder of Stockholm’s Principe Valiente, Fernando Honorato handles production himself, with Hans Olsson co-producing and mixing. And then there’s Lina Langendorf’s sax, cutting through the gloom like a shimmering blade of light. No lengthy fade, no fuss, just forward motion - much like Honorato as he strides along a new creative path. Cool video, too!

Every so often there can be some light-hearted fun within the gothic genre (anyone remember 'Watch That Grandad Go' by bauhaus?) and that's the case here. Nashville-based alternative rock duo Sleep Nation , founded by vocalist, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bran Merritt, have been evolving their high-energy blend of rock guitars and modern production for well over a decade now. Their latest release is a fresh take on Hall & Oates classic 'Maneater' - cloaking the vocals with gloomy synths and melancholy strings. The result is an unexpected treat, a stripped down to the bones re-invention with a dark sense of humour, especially good when experienced with the amusing vintage horror-styled music video.

Charm School are releasing a flurry of great tracks and hot on the heels of a couple of stand-out mixes of 'Simulacra', comes an absolute electronic thumper called 'Desolation'. Appearing as part of the same EP, the track was recorded as a one-off in collaboration with EBM super-producer Matia Simovich (of InHalt fame). For lovers of darkwave and old school electro, the song strikes home from the very start - the opening line "I know just what you want" could not be more correct. This is exactly what we want, just like that classic Depeche Mode knack of engineering bright pop hooks within a tormented context - 'Desolation' is a fantastic tune. Desolation by Charm School

Now this is a fun track, possibly my first from Chile?  Zumba La Calavera have just released 'Canis Mortem' which they say is a "protest song" about "about white-collar thieves". However, the track isn't your usual sort of protest song, they usually come all angsty and shouty - or folky and preachy - Zumba La Calavera offer up their protest in the form of a jolly pop song. Distorted guitars, electronics and amusing lyrics, translated roughly as: "he steals the salt shaker, and the sachets too, the sachets" seemingly about the phenomenon of dine and dash. 'Canis Mortem' is a highly enjoyable slice of dark humour with a message and a good tune.

The amusing artwork gives a visual indication that there's fun to be had here. Open the lid on the music and the signs are correct -  there’s a gloriously wonky charm to Oski XD Doski ’s 'we only do harm'.  Upbeat yet edgy, where indie geek rock collides with post-punk, and a dash of anything else they can find, it’s a suitably eccentric showcase for the quartet. Originally formed by four high-school friends in the ’90s, they have now been reunited across different states via modern technology. Oski, X, Danny and Doski (hence the band name) bring guitars, bass, synths and vocals together in a wonderfully genre-mashing concoction that refuses to sit still. The title track of their new six-song EP, it’s proof that distance clearly hasn’t dulled their creative chemistry - and they still have the natural biology to perform. Wonky but class! We Only Do Harm by Oski XD Doski

Second tip from the Cherub Dream Records double-header is Blous3 with 'fernet's cigarette'. Blous3 have been making their noisy mark on California’s DIY scene since 2021, blending punk energy with abrasive textures, wonky rhythms and gloriously unpredictable songwriting. Their latest album, The Turn, The Pledge, pushes that restless sound further, with a near-conceptual collection of songs inspired in part by cinema. Vocalist and bass-player, Riley Waite says “Some of these songs are about wishing I spoke my full mind instead of lightly self-censoring and reserving my full, authentic thoughts”. 'fernet's cigarette' is the closing track on the album and is another masterstroke of putting so much sonic vibrancy and abrasion into a song with a length of exactly 3 minutes. Another winner from Blous3 and another point for Cherub Dream Records. the pledge, the turn by BLOUS3

Here's the first of a double heads-up from the excellent, Cherub Dream Records . San Francisco’s Hana Freed, aka Tricky FM , creates an intriguing amalgam of sound on her latest release, 'Apartment', where glossy electronica gets a decidedly raw edge. Soft vocals and warmer tones are surrounded by a wonderfully abstract fringe of noise and dis-harmony, giving the track an unsettled quality beneath its sheen.  The lyrics are a hazy cocktail of attraction, memory and desire: wet hair, dry lips, smoke in the hair, perfume and the repeated realisation that, yes, “no wonder your boyfriend was jealous”. It’s intimate without becoming overly precious, and intriguingly abstract in its construction - providing a hint rather than an explanation.  Freed self-produces everything, and her background playing clubs, venues and punk bars across the Bay Area seems to have left its mark: this may be electronica, but there’s plenty of grit lurking under the glitter. 'Apartment' opens ...

First thing to mention, the cover photo is gorgeous - all that lovely blood red tint. But hold up, there might be a reason...  BRENNA ’s ‘Way It Goes’ arrives with all the subtlety of a brick through the french-windows, combining angry, shouty vocals with detuned, hard-hitting guitars and electronic textures. The track shifts gears impressively, moving from intimate singing and rhythmic rap into full-blown screaming, while a brief quieter passage provides just enough breathing space before the final ear-shattering screamo climax. Lyrically, it’s an unapologetic account of emotional burnout and cutting ties, with the wonderfully put “I don’t get violent, I get radio silent” summing up the cold-turkey approach to toxic relationships rather nicely. There’s a satisfying sense of controlled chaos here, as BRENNA bridges nu-metal crunch with alt-pop intimacy, creating something that can whisper in your ear one minute and roar directly into your face the next. Slightly scary - but allurin...

Montreal's  Chicago Boys  (brush that over!) return to unleash another classic understatement with their latest recording '(No) Hooks' - which they say is "an ode to the scene". Once again it is a no-nonsense production, just a basic drum computer rhythm, some synth augmentation and a passive/aggressive sort of sweary vocal. Somehow that all combines into making something rather fun to listen to - a case of minimal music making maximum impact. Play it once and it will stick. (No) Hooks by Chicago Boys

Dallas-based trio,  The Capsules ' new release 'Full Moon Factory' comes with a rather entertaining animated music video, which was apparently all hand-drawn by Miranda Parkin. The visuals are engaging in their own right, but they really work to enhance the music, which in turn makes the animation more striking.   The song itself is a lovely indie rock recording with the vocals of Julie Shields adding the layer of beauty to the muscular guitars and drums. The concept behind the piece explores electricity as something rather more human, that mysterious current that can pass between people as night closes in. There's a hint of Cranes in the sound that The Capsules create, but 'Full Moon Factory' has a fully polished and contemporary feel.  Arriving neatly alongside the full harvest moon on 25th September, the track is available on a limited-edition etched 12” via Graveface Records. Swanky!