Faith In The Faithless

While everyone seems to be clamoring over the microcosms of sub-genres like chill-wave and witch-house, it feels to me like another little seed is starting to spread root in the limbo between electronic, shoegaze and post-punk. It's a bit too mature to be considered dark-wave, a tad too bleak for synth-pop, and a smidge too guitar-driven to be considered electro, yet manages to weave in and out of all of the said categories combined.

Whatever it may end up being called someday, by a journalist far more clever than I, its pool of artists is starting to expand. Furthermore, they all share common aural ties and manage to evoke the same sort of visual elements. They're often clad in black, and have edgy features, making them shoe-ins as extras at the vamp-bar, Fangtasia, on HBO's True Blood series. Their press photos often depict highly stylized lighting environments or sterile, black and white grain. They seem to come from a lineage that spawned more recent predecessors like Autolux, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ladytron and Unkle's latter efforts, and all seem a bit more fashion-forward than their nearest rock-relatives.

Musically, there's an emphasis on droning guitars, synthesized swells and live-drums inter-spliced with pre-programmed selections. Without fail, they also all share interplay between female and male vocals. Below are several of the most promising acts on the verge of major breakthrough.







Starting on the international end, there is the UK's Dark Horses. Formed relatively recently, and with only several demo tracks available via their website, Dark Horses already have quite a buzz going for them. They're fronted by Lisa Elle, whose best known for her work as a guest vocalist on several Unkle tracks under the name of Elle J. Her stellar pipes on this year's Where Did The Night Fall sent me tracking down the mysterious singer's other associations. In Dark Horses, Lisa Elle's sultry vocals are the focal point of icy instrumentation by a backing band that looks like Guitar Wolf rivals. Musically, they borrow Velvet Underground's tinny-drug rock ala “Here She Comes Now” and slow it down to a crawl-pace, emphasizing some of the Eastern-psych tones and drenching in synth-string drones. While they've yet to release anything officially, they've already gained a loyal support-base of musical kin from Kasabian to The Kills.

(Black Ryder Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride LP)

Next up are Black Ryder, hailing from Australian shores. After splitting from their previous band, The Morning After Girls, Aimee Nash and Scott Von Ryper started up Black Ryder with a major focus on a more dreamy, shoegaze inspired direction. Borrowing from obvious touchstones like My Bloody Valentine and Ride, they definitely lean more towards the traditional guitar-centric end of the spectrum. However, they manage to fuse in enough synths and vintage organ tones to give it a bit of a psychedelic shove. Their debut album, Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride has already been released in Australia and is about to hit our shores here via Mexican Summer.

(ZAZA Cameo EP)

And now onto Brooklyn, the hotbed for this burgeoning scene of bands. First up of this bunch is ZAZA, whom mainly consist of the duo Danny Taylor and Jennifer Fraser (formerly of The Warlocks), and are presently rounded out by percussionist Dru Prentiss (whose role used to be filled by Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Depreciation Guild wonderboy, Kurt Feldman). ZAZA craft haunting melodies and loop them in spin cycles, weaving a noir filled soundtrack akin to Radiohead's darkest moments. Fraser's bass locks everything into place while Taylor's vocals are free to whisper above the plains the sonics inhabit. It is backed by tom-heavy percussion, adding to the ghostly vibe of it all. ZAZA quietly released the Cameo EP this past year and despite their reluctance at heavy promotion, it's already landed on several publications' year-end lists and landed the band on some heavily-desired concert bills.

(Kordan Fantasy Nation EP)

Thanks to ZAZA's recommendation, I was introduced to their like-minded neighbors in Kordan, who are another Brooklyn-based act heavily engaged in the dark-wave addiction sweeping their Gotham locale. Where ZAZA create ethereal lullabies for the afterparty come-down, Kordan soundtrack the pre-party build up with faster-paced songs drafted around cold-wave drum sequences and synth-pop melodies. Last year's Fantasy Nation EP caught the attention of Filter Magazine, whom gave the band some much-deserved acclaim. They've since been on a steady climb upward and seem to be gaining more momentum with each successive live show.

(Von Haze Von Haze EP)

Lastly, the newest addition to this noir-esque grouping of bands is Von Haze. Comprised of another male-female duo, Von Haze were best described to me by Neil at Origami Vinyl. He said “It sounds like a post-punky version of The Kills, if they were really, really slowed down.” While the fashionable, male-female aspect lends itself to those sorts of comparisons, the band deserve a little bit more credit in terms of their actual sound. There's elements of Swans in their snail-like pacing, and the buzz-saw guitars owe a debt to early industrial pioneers, but there's also an undeniable bizzaro quality to their electronic elements that brings to mind old goth and cold-wave. It's actually strikingly similar on the slower tracks to Lumina, the side project of Horrors front-man Faris Badwan and former Ipso Facto member Cherish Kaya. Regardless of musical terrain covered, Von Haze is on a clear path to recognition based on the merit of their self-tiled 12" EP out now on Hippos in Tanks.

While put together side-by-side, all these acts do have quite a variance between each of them; as a larger whole they seem to be drawing blood from the same aesthetic vein - and personally, I couldn't be more pleased. Long live noir-wave!

(All photos taken from each band's MySpace page. See credits there.)