Harsh Symmetry - Imitation

Imitation or Archetype? Mimicry or Mandela Effect?

Harsh Symmetry, the darkwave project of musician Julian Sharwarko, is gearing up to launch its sophomore album titled “Imitation.” Recently relocated from Sacramento to Los Angeles, Sharwarko has crafted an album that seamlessly blends the nostalgic elements of influential bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure, and New Order, with the modern sounds of contemporary acts such as Twin Tribes and Boy Harsher. The forthcoming nine-song LP is set to be released via Fabrika Records, a label renowned for its roster of influential darkwave and post-punk artists.

LP / Digital Album

Posted on September 27th, 2023 under Releases, ,

Jovana

Jovana landed on this planet during a pandemic lockdown. It is still unknown how long she will stay. For the time being, she inhabits the city of Athens/Greece adopted by the band Selofan. According to rumours, she will try to steal your hearts.

LP / Digital Album

Posted on January 16th, 2023 under Releases, ,

Double Echo - ☾

☾, the fifth full length studio album by Liverpool and New York-based band Double Echo on Fabrika Records in 2021, requires no words. Only a simple crescent moon symbol is necessary, a bright entity in the night sky to illustrate its contents. Members Ash Lerczak, Chris Luna and Ellon Souter approach the new album with a pure pop mentality littered with dark undertones. It is synthpop sweetness with an edge, a glittering dream of neons and city lights… but not without the foreboding sense of danger ahead.

After the success of their single “The Bairn”—a song worthy of Anne Clark’s rhythmic lacerations—☾ is an extension of that same mood of 1980s pop music with a pout, sullen but sure in its delivery. The ten tracks are primed for the clubs, reminiscent of the chilly and eerie melodies of Numan and Sharpe, or the synthpop accessibility of Celebrate the Nun or, further, new wave darlings Thompson Twins. However, post-punk guitars peek in at times to add a dismal atmosphere, much like their previous LP releases. Double Echo have morphed into what they were meant to be: music on the fringes of a passing storm, the cool colors of dawn.

Even though it’s easy to compare Double Echo to the heroic synth-based music of yesteryear, the LP is a rousing reinterpretation of it, as proven in “Cruelty in Your Heart.” With the use of unsuspecting pan flute synth sounds, Double Echo concocts a new form of synthpop that is far from tacky. The balance between guitars alongside bell and synth pads harken to the harmony achieved in instrumentation with mid-80s darkwave acts, and each track is as addictive as the next. “Fountain of Remembrance” is an epic song that’s enveloped in a blanket of melancholy, and is reminiscent of John Foxx’s upbeat hit “Dancing Like a Gun.”

“Last Standing” is lush and tender, a triumphant song full of hope in its pastel daydream. The track “Melody Saw” introduces guitars at the forefront, as they gallop to the finish line alongside its punchy beat. “No Stars” is a song worthy of Altered Images, downcast but divine. And speaking of new wave acts, the voice of Phil Oakey of Human League is conjured for “Rendezvous” as they intertwine with spooky synth pads.

☾ reaches pop perfection with “Resilience.” As a track primed for the dance floor, it is followed by the sorrowful “Sometimes We Are Strangers.” Here, the band finds their darkwave groove that brings an additional goth-infused element to the overall feel of the album. “Spectre” is a brilliant song, a composition that would sound at home in a synthwave soundtrack—one to match a movie rife with images of night drives and cool ocean breezes.

Finally, “Verge of Tears” closes out ☾ just as strong as it began: full of desire and possibility. And while there is sadness laced throughout the LP, there’s a brightness that holds prominence—Double Echo yearns for a future that is not so wretched.

LP / Digital Album

Posted on August 21st, 2021 under Releases, ,

Selofan - Partners In Hell

A match made in heaven and hell, since forming in the cradle of Europe Athens, back in 2012, dark synth duo Selofan have paved their own perditious way, reinventing the modern Darkwave scene throughout the continent and worldwide with their prolific creativity and work ethic over the past decade.

Through varied experimental synth-scapes conjured with keen ears for sound design, production, and theatrical aesthetics, Selofan rest not on the laurels of just creating highly danceable coldwave infused music, but with together with Joanna Pavlidou’s haunting vocals, and Dimitris Pavlidis’ throbbing bass guitar, and modular synth compositions, the pair conjure whole other worlds and narratives throughout each album and music video they create.

LP / CD / Digital Album

Posted on October 15th, 2020 under Releases, ,

Lebanon Hanover - Sci​-​Fi Sky

At the dawn of the global pandemic, where dystopian nightmares that were only ever seen before within the pages of books and flashes of silver screen celluloid, has become a daily reality, a new kind of darkness envelops the world. It was at this Lebanon Hanover returned, sharing a glimmer of hope with the single “The Last Thing,” the duo’s first song from their forthcoming sixth studio album Sci-Fi Sky.

Spanning an epic journey across ten tracks that wander through industrial landscapes, and ascend beyond the atmospheric aether, Sci Fi Sky is Lebanon Hanover’s most cohesive artistic statement to date. With their icy hearts on their sleeves, this is the culmination of a decade’s worth of musical creativity radiating from the minds of both Iceglass and Maybelline, and altogether an otherworldly beacon of hope in a time of sheer darkness.

2 x LP / CD / Digital Album

Posted on October 14th, 2020 under Releases, ,