MUSIC EDITORIAL
DARKWAVE IS DEAD (2017)
Ah, the wonder of the subgenre. It combines the best of as many worlds as you can possibly fit into a track and if you know how to navigate music discovery on your favorite streaming service, it’s the gift that keeps on giving. So if your friends aren’t exactly impressed when you play them the latest Chainsmokers track, I highly encourage you to dive into the world of darkwave.
Now hear me out - It’s been around for decades, but in the 2010’s, it rinsed off the pancake makeup and the spikey black hair for good. Let the following five acts open up a whole new world of cool for you.
1. TR/ST
Hailing from Toronto, Robert Alfons – also known as TR/ST – has had a pretty stellar run for such a short career. He was nominated for Electronic Album of the Year at Canada’s Juno Awards in early 2013 along with big names, Purity Ring and Grimes. He's since toured around the world in support of his latest effort, Joyland, released in 2014.
Sounds like: Depeche Mode meets Crystal Castles
Start with: “Capitol”
2. Cold Cave
Wes Eisold, who performs and records as Cold Cave, welds a cool mix of synth pop and gothwave that’s addictive and anthemic. His discography – including his latest LP, Full Cold Moon – is a wild ride filled with mixed emotions. Dance while you cry, ok?
Sounds like: Where The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, and Nine Inch Nails all meet
Start with: “Confetti”
3. Drab Majesty
Alright, so I may have lied earlier. Drab Majesty’s aesthetic includes full-on pancake makeup and alien-like costumes. Deb DeMure describes the project as “an inter-dimensional platform aimed at channeling aural and visual messages.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Their newly released album, The Demonstration, is beyond excellent.
Sounds like: A different galaxy’s response to The Smiths
Start with: “Dot In The Sky”
4. Black Marble
This Brooklyn outfit’s sound is minimal and melodic, filtered through a moody, cold lens. However, Black Marble’s guitar riffs and quick beats are still fun enough to dance to at a house party. Fun fact: Their latest album, 2016’s It’s Immaterial, was written and produced entirely by founding member, Chris Stewart.
Sounds like: New Order’s Power, Corruption, & Lies gets a hip, Brooklyn makeover
Start with: “Iron Lung”
5. Lust For Youth
Everyone knows Sweden’s music exports are some of the best in the world, so it should come as no surprise that Gothenburg’s own Lust For Youth are the most melodic, and perhaps most epic, entry on the list. In 2016, they released Compassion - a near perfect collection of experimental pop tracks.
Sounds like: Erasure meets Duran Duran
Start with: “Better Looking Brother”
the xx, i see you - review (2017)
Review: The xx, I See You (2017)
It’s been seven years since The xx released their critically acclaimed debut, xx. The London trio created a sonic landscape that wasn’t quite comparable to anything else out at the time and they single-handedly set off a wave of emulators – London Grammar, Banks, and Daughter, to name a few. The band broke into the mainstream through appearances in fashion campaigns, movie soundtracks, and writing & production credits for huge names like Drake and Rihanna. Since then, the band released their sophomore record, Coexist (2012), and the groundbreaking Jamie xx solo effort, In Colour (2015), which included features by both bandmates, bassist-vocalist, Oliver Sim, and guitarist-vocalist, Romy Madley Croft.
On I See You, the band opens up the bedroom window to let the light in, weaving shining moments of joy into the signature xx sound. The opening track, “Dangerous,” and radio-friendly first single “On Hold,” feel particularly distant from the seductive, brooding style of their past productions while standing proudly on their own. On “Say Something Loving,” Sim and Croft’s vocals are notably effervescent, joyous with the wonder of a new-found love.
The album’s highlight, however, possesses the gut-punching depth that The xx is so well known for. On “A Violent Noise,” Sim reflects on the dark side of drinking and how it alienates those around you - a personal battle which the singer has previously addressed and attributes not only to coming of age but also to touring and learning to navigate the band’s sudden success. His vocals pour over Jamie’s soaring signature production, Croft's echoing guitars, and the interesting lack of a steady percussion, which isn't missed.
In a time where new acts come and go so quickly, The xx have found the formula that will allow them to stay afloat for a very long time. Their music catalog is an authentic, living and breathing body of work that continues to shape shift into the decade, never replicating themselves or the landscape that surrounds them.
Catch The xx on tour in Spring 2017.
Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence and Feminist Politics (2015)
Lana Del Rey's Ultraviolence and Feminist Politics (2015)
The voice of the feminist movement never really left - but over the past year, it's risen from a dormant state. Feminism was never exclusive to policing men. We also judge women themselves on the way they choose to reinforce the concept. While the social media era has made it accessible for people to voice their thoughts, the P.C. era has made it almost mandatory to do so.
For better or for worse, celebrities are joining the debate and Lana Del Rey is currently one of the biggest and most polarizing names in music. On her sophomore effort, Ultraviolence (2014), Del Rey recalls the classic 70’s rock energy, spotlighting dirty guitar riffs and her signature husky vocals. She sings of her affection toward an unnamed man who physically abuses her, and declares her preference for being the woman "on the side." The record is infinitely different to all other commercial releases from current female pop vocalists, and in that way, she’s breaking the norm and doing what feels right to her. A woman in charge of her artistic direction - isn’t that a feminist statement in itself?
The 2000’s were a shallow time in commercial music. Most radio hits consisted of pre-packaged hip-hop & rap records tailor-made for mass consumption, and it wasn’t until late in the decade that the landscape started to shift. In parallel, we fully digitalized music. We stopped fighting the inevitable and began to welcome the idea that music should be consumed in more accessible terms. Some artists have gone as far as to promote and favor the free propagation of their material.
Music releases are now forever intrinsically and fundamentally tied to social conversation. As an artist, if you fail to make waves online, there's little chance you'll make an impact on radio and otherwise. A millennial herself, Elizabeth Grant a.k.a. Lana Del Rey, exercised her understanding of this, and she paraded herself on YouTube long before discovering her fame in 2011 when her D.I.Y. “Video Games” clip garnered international attention and became a viral hit. She was widely criticized for being what people felt was inauthentic, but found a huge cult following with online hipster community, Tumblr. She followed up her 2012 debut, Born To Die with the Paradise (EP) the following year. Her trip-hop tinged tunes voiced love letters to gangsters and personal confessions of naughtiness. She quickly became the cool kid’s darling.
For her second full-length LP Ultraviolence, Del Rey brought The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach on board, altering her sound from a dreamy bop to a smoke-filled haze. The transition was worth it as the album debuted at number one on Billboard. It packs the punches of its success and should be considered a radical release for a pop act, regardless of any personal opinions on her authenticity. There are no radio-ready tracks on the record and sonically, it's heavy and unpolished. Most of the songs were recorded live with a seven piece band. Auerbach, a major rock star in his own right, spoke of the recording process - "Nobody does that, there hasn't been a number one pop record that was recorded like that in forty, fifty years." Lyrically, the record is also hard to digest. The songs feel deeply personal and many of them detail her appeal to being and experiencing things that other females would feel shame over sharing with the world. She elaborates on her longing for a man who abused her. "He hit me and it felt like a kiss," she sings on the title track. The contents of the record are shocking, especially considering so many women in media and music now are speaking up against misogyny. It's extremely unusual to have a major artist who admittedly finds freedom in submission.
The concept of feminism is being used as a marketing tool by many artists who hide behind the word but rarely act upon or fully understand the notion of feminism . For example, it's not uncommon to hear white women speak of their freedom and rights but then speak out against the same issues when it comes to women of color. It's also not uncommon for feminism to be misconstrued when it comes to female sexuality when some use nudity as a means of expressing sovereignty and others criticize and "slut-shame" the same acts in the name of feminism. Lana Del Rey herself has expressed a great disinterest in the topic, which earned her tons of bad publicity from media outlets and top feminist voices, but who's to say that as a woman you can feel confident and sufficiently in charge that you don't feel the need to constantly reinforce your authority?
As a young woman, she took charge of a major project and delivered an incredible body of work that was both critically acclaimed and trailblazing. She's unafraid to discuss personal kinks in her music, an idea that usually applauded and deemed as groundbreaking in male musicians. Music, as an art, form should awaken something within the individual. We're not perfect, so why would we ever seek perfection from our favorite musicians? There's something liberating about this record and how it prioritizes immediate pleasure over responsibility, a mentality that permeates heavily on many generations, especially millennials. In the end, we often prefer authenticity over aspiration, and as a proud feminist myself, I see a lot of power in a woman who's genuine and true to herself.