Metropolis Records – 7th June 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
Oi, Nosnibor? Call yourself a goff? Well, yes… and no. Y’see, much as many people scoff at Andrew Eldritch insisting The Sisters of Mercy aren’t goth despite displaying so many of the trappings of goth, he does have a point, and one I’m willing to defend when it comes to my own musical preferences.
The Sisters, The Cure, Siouxsie, Bauhaus, bands I came to quite early in the formation of my musical tastes in my teens, are all largely considered exponents of ‘goth’, but were well-established long before the label existed. Tony Wilson said in an interview that there was something ‘gothic’ about Joy Division, and while they were contemporaries, and similarly dark, and – like the aforementioned acts – emerged from the post-punk scene, along with the likes of Alien Sex Fiend, The March Violets, The Danse Society, but somehow manage to avoid the goth tag. Ultimately, the whole thing was a media construct based largely on a false perception of a bunch of disparate acts who shared a fanbase. Just how much bollocks this was is evidenced by the fact the likes of All About Eve, New Model Army, and Fields of the Nephilim – again, bands who shared nothing but a fanbase, in real terms – came to be lobbed into the ‘goth’ bracket.
But then bands started to identify as ‘goth’ themselves, most likely as a way of pitching themselves in press releases, and things started to head south rapidly thereafter.
Having formed in 1981 and being signed to 4AD, home of The Cocteau Twins, and releasing their debut album in 1985 – the same year The Sisters released their seminal debut First and Last and Always – Clan of Xymox belong to the initial wave of proto-goth, in the same way X-Mal Deutschland do. Yet for some reason, they’ve bypassed me. Seventeen albums in, I’m perhaps a bit late to the party, and while I can’t claim to be fashionably late, it’s better late than never, right?
This does mean that I’m approaching Exodus with no benchmark in terms of their previous albums, and with the weight of recently-jettisoned preconceptions and prejudices. Perhaps not a strong standpoint for objectivity, but it’s worth getting these issues out of the way first.
It’s amusing to read how retrospective reviews of their debut criticised the fact it sounded cliché and dated, not least of all because of the synth sounds which dominate. What goes around comes around and vintage synths and drum machines, however tinny, fuzzy, basic, are all the rage once more, with people willing to pay crackers prices for the precise purpose of recreating those sounds.
Exodus sounds like an early-to-mid-eighties dark electro album, showcasing all of the elements of goth before it solidified, before the cliches became cliches. The drum machine programming is quintessentially mid-80s, a relentless disco stomp with a crisp snare cracking hard and high in the mix.
They slow things swiftly, with the brooding, moody ‘Fear for a World at War’ – a timely reflection on the state of humanity – landing as the second track. It’s moving, haunting, but drags the pace and mood down fast, samples and twinkling synths hovering and scrapping over a hesitant beat and reflective vocals.
‘The Afterglow’ combines chilly synths and fractal guitar chimes to forge a cinematic song. It’s unquestionably anthemic, and has the big feel of an album closer. Where can they possibly go from here? Well, by pressing on with more of the same… Much of Exodus is reflective, darkly dreamy, vaguely shoegazy, very Cocteau Twins – at least sonically, being altogether less whimsical in content. It’s undeniably a solid album, and one steeped in the kind of sadness and melancholy that’s quintessential brooding gothness. ‘X-Odus’ hits a driving techno goth sound that borders on industrial, but equally owes as much to The Sisterhood’s Gift, which is really the point at which ‘goth’ intersected with dark disco.
Eighteen albums in Exodus sounds predominantly like the work of a contemporary dreamwave / goth act plundering the old-school with some heavy dashes of late eighties Cure, and while many fans will be hard into it, to my ears, it’s good – really good – but much of its appeal is nostalgia and familiarity, and objectively, it’s just a shade predictable and template.
AA
Aural Aggravation 
Watch: ‘Please Reply’ by 404 Error
Posted: 6 August 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPsTags: 404 Error, creepy men, Electropop, Fad Gadget, goth, Heaven 17, inboxes, memes, Please Reply, Sexism, Single, social commentary, video stream
Released on Monday (29 July 2024) ‘Please Reply’ is the third promo single release from UK “synth and darkwave firebrands” 404 Error, taken from their debut album, Scene Killers. Hailing from Newcastle upon Tyne in Northern England, 404 Error is the semi-anonymous project of an artist known as 36663. ‘Please Reply’ meanwhile features an animated black and white lyric video, by someone credited only as Arif.
Known for sharp social commentary and provocative takes on goth scene politics, Please Reply is a pastiche drawn largely from the cesspool of unsolicited messages. Drawing from the biting social satire of Fad Gadget and Heaven 17, the lyrics sketch a man in his mancave, desperate and crude, yearning to be a woman’s submissive partner. His attempts to get her attention are filled with insincere promises and disrespect. He calls himself a nice guy, but his focus is selfish, driven by his own needs and desires, completely ignoring her boundaries or interests.
Watch the video here:
AA
“I think it’s terrible that women get messages like these. And I know many receive much worse, but I didn’t want to make the song too vulgar. I know a lot of women, especially goth women, who get strange guys addressing them as Mistress, or wanting to be their slave – even if there’s nothing they’ve said or done to signify that they’re even into fetish/BDSM. Some have had open propositions for pictures of their feet. And of course, many of these guys also try to guilt trip, hence the line “It’s so hard for men like me, nice guys just want a chance”. As if there’s anything ‘nice’ about propositioning a stranger.”
“I find it hard to say whether I even wrote this song, or if the lyrics are just the contents of far too many inboxes.”
The digital single on Bandcamp includes two bonus “virtual B-side” tracks: ‘Hawk Tuah’, and a cover of ‘Chop Suey’ by System of a Down.
“Hawk Tuah was a bit of fun that I didn’t know if I’d release. The problem with viral memes is they become old very quickly. But given the person in question is currently living her best life getting paid big money for club and TV appearances, I’d say people are still interested. Gosh knows how many messages she’s had from ‘Please Reply’ guys.”
‘Chop Suey’ meanwhile continues 404 Error’s tradition of rendering nu-metal covers barely recognisable (albeit, arguably more intelligible than the originals): a pattern established with a rendition of Slipknot’s ‘Wait and Bleed’, included with the debut single ‘ETHAL’. And where ‘ETHAL’ featured a guest vocalist known as J.A.N.E., ‘Chop Suey’ features vocals by one MXVC.
AA