After three years of brilliant pop frivolity, 1987 has a huge contrast in mood with albums and singles that seem far more thoughtful and downbeat. U2 turned in a career best with ‘The Joshua Tree’; Pink Floyd made a huge comeback with the moody ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ and from a more alternative perspective, Sisters of Mercy and The Jesus & Mary Chain made huge waves with epic goth sounds.
Tag Archives: goth
DOOL – Summerland
On their debut album ‘Here Now, There Then’, Dool formulated a sound that blended goth, hard rock and a touch of trad metal to create a sound that drew a lot of influence from the early 90s, but in some ways sounded almost timeless. With elements of Killing Joke providing a core influence – especially in some of Job van der Zande’s chosen basslines – it was a record that had a relatively strong musical foundation, even if some of the songs weren’t especially memorable. A cover of ‘Love Like Blood’ flaunted their love of Killing Joke further on an EP in 2019 that, in the band’s own words, saw them growing in confidence.
Watch ‘Dangerous Game’ – the new video from Lindsay Schoolcraft
Lindsay Schoolcraft released her solo album ‘Martyr’ in October 2019. Nominated for a Juno award, the album presents a world of melodic goth metal that should very much appeal to fans of Evanessence, Nightwish and other bands within that musical sphere.
Listen: Norway’s Mayflower Madame stream new single
Ahead of their second album’s release, Norwegian indie/goth band Mayflower Madame are streaming their new single, ‘Vultures’.
Taking a pinch of Jesus & Mary Chain and a huge influence from Bauhaus and ‘First, Last & Always’ era Sisters of Mercy, the track really delivers in terms of mechanical rhythms, cold riffs and a brilliant alt-pop darkness. Everything has been recycled with so much love, it could even pass as authentic find from a vault of rare 80s alternative music.
WHY SUN – Frugte EP
Copenhagen’s Why Sun bill themselves as a “sleepy noise trio”. To most people, especially those old enough to be absorbed in alternative sounds circa 1986, this translates as “heavy gothic shoegaze with dream pop guitar”. There isn’t anything new in the noises Why Sun create – most of their influences come over like the proverbial sledgehammer – but what they lack in originality, they make up for with absolute conviction.