Three post punk singles and they all coincidentally have some great cover art too!
The City Gates – Hanged Drawn and Quartered
I know a few people who don’t like post punk because it’s “gloomy, dark, melancholic and sung by goths”. These same people also profess a love of Joy Division but that’s another story. Suffice to say they had best avoid the new single from Montreal’s The City Gates because it’s erm gloomy, dark, melancholic and sung by goths! Marvellous in other words. It’s out now via Velouria Recordz.
Black Doldrums – Dreamcatcher (KVB Remix)
The KVB sweep the dark guitars of the original away, replacing them with driving synths that provide some pulsating electronic beats. They have not tinkered too much with the moody vocals either which suit the new arrangement well making the track a cert for the post-punk dancefloor. Dreamcatcher (KVB Remix) is out now digitally via Fuzz Club Records.
SYNTHESE – Whip Party
SYNTHESE are from Russia but on this, their debut single, they sing in German. Whip Party is really a vintage sounding song and could easily be taken from another of those obscure coldwave collections I have compiled in my head. The track mixes retro synth sounds with noises from an arcade whilst female vocals, that blend from the robotic to harmonic, rise above them. Whip Party is more like sound of 1980s Sheffield than 21st century Russia but either way, it’s very good indeed.
Records I Like 