The Soundshark
Find music. Eat music. Digest music.
Tag Archives: Post-Punk
February 12, 2019 by The Soundshark
20 Bands And Artists With New Music in 2019 You Should Keep An Eye On
By now, the hangover of 2018 should have long subsided, and 2019 should now begin to be as familiar to everyone as much as your work colleagues, classmates, or friends you go clubbing with, are. We've conversed, debated and voiced our collective opinions on what the best of the best of 2018 was, and ahead, we look into the eyes of 2019 longingly, yearning for continued musical excellence as this decade draws to a climax. So bearing that in mind, the site has put together 20 bands and artists bearing a variety of new musical fruit in 2019, that you should absolutely sample, and hopefully savour and find immense pleasure from.
Posted in For Your Listening Pleasure, List-O-Rama!
Tagged 2019, A Swarm Of The Sun, Alternative, Ambient, Amogh Symphony, Australia, Avant Garde, Belgium, Car Astor, Dead Animal Assembly Plant, Denmark, Djerv, Electronic, Experimental, Funk, Gabriel And The Apocalypse, Grime, Grunge, Hardcore, Heavens Blade, Hip-Hop, Independent, India, Indie Rock, Industrial, Instrumental, International Diamond Thieves, Kanga, Mammal, Metal, Moderns, Multiple Man, Music, New Music, New Wave, Norway, Post Rock, Post-Punk, Progressive, Punk, Raveyards, Rock, Rosy Finch, Silk Road Assassins, Sleep Token, Slime City, Spain, Stoner Rock, Sumer, Synth Pop, The Final Clause Of Tacticus, The Foreign Resort, The Soundshark, Under The Radar, Underground, United Kingdom, Unsigned, USA
December 31, 2016 by The Soundshark
The Soundshark Artist of the Year 2016 – Mr.Kitty
While this is the very first of the end of year posts for this site and officially the first time anything like this has been on the site before, it gives me great pleasure and happiness to write a piece, giving a greater emphasis on an artist that has been a constant for this year. Limitations are boring and if locking a piece like this solely to any artist's accomplishments in one year, it doesn't grant the necessary freedom to write something engaging enough. So take this as a love letter to the one artist or group of artists whose music has been cherished through thick and thin this year, and would like to dedicate this year's piece to self-proclaimed 'suicidal synth-pop' artist Forrest Avery LeMaire a.k.a. Mr.Kitty.
If you want to talk about 2016 for Mr.Kitty, then it hasn't been as active as past years. Despite playing numerous shows over in the States, we were expecting what was to be Mr.Kitty's sixth album in as many years to be released in October, making him certifiably in the conversation as one of synth-pop's hardest working artists around. Sadly but understandably, the album was put on hold until next year as health concerns became a priority into the latter half of the year. But that does not speak for the quality of the music that Mr.Kitty has produced over his six-year plus lifespan as a recording artist. Far from it.
Credit: Doug Schwarz Photography
Channeling the mechanical heart of classic 80's electronica and the drum machines of the great original goth movement, into chilling dreamscapes and darkened dancefloors, narrated by the oft distorted and reverb-drenched lullabies and shrieks of Forrest; the output of Mr.Kitty is an emotional outpouring of a vulnerable soul against an array of unforgettable analogue synth dialects. His first four albums form part of a quadrilogy of works known as the Dark Youth collection, spanning both light and darkness which broadcasts and touches upon many subject matters in that time frame, moving and macabre. It also serves as the perfect window or measuring post to show how much Mr.Kitty has grown and matured as an artist. But every release is its own separate universe, with its own atmosphere and a complete anthology of melodic masterpieces.
Arguably the greatest of his works is Dark Youth's final installment Time, which although is one of the darker albums of that collection, is uncompromising in its vision, truly emanating the rawest feelings of every song, no matter how black its subject matter. How so many of these songs contain the musings of a mind much darker than you can imagine, but are entangled in some of the most memorable synth-pop written this decade is a true wonder and testament to Mr.Kitty's abilities as a songwriter, let alone a fascinating juxtaposition. Although we have had snippets of a new album this year, how Forrest has tirelessly spun such outstanding retro-contemporary electronic webs together year after year is commendable. Each one is more enchanting and enrapturing than the next, and there is absolutely no hesitation in saying that everything that Mr.Kitty has created is consistently among the best music heard all year.
So if Mr.Kitty does get to read this, thank you so much for your music, with love and kind regards,
Five Essential Mr.Kitty tracks:
The vast majority of everything Mr.Kitty has ever produced can be found on his Bandcamp page, and if it can't be found there, then it can be found on his Soundcloud page instead. Though unconfirmed, a 2017 release window is pencilled in for A.I., to be Mr.Kitty's next album of which this site will take great interest in. You can shop here if you are in need of any t-shirts or the likes in the near future.
And finally, you can find all news and the means to give him a virtual hug right here:
http://www.facebook.com/mrkittydm
http://www.twitter.com/mrkittydm
And if you wish to give me a virtual hug at all for whatever reason, then you can do so at these social media channels, or by subscribing to the site using the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/IAmTheSoundshark
http://www.twitter.com/The_Soundshark
Tagged Ambient, Artist of the Year, Atmopsheric, Cold Wave, EDM, Electronic, Electronica, Goth, Mr.Kitty, Music, Post-Punk, Synth Pop, Texas, The Soundshark, Under The Radar, USA, Witch House
March 25, 2016 by The Soundshark
Randolph & Mortimer
History has gone to show it is infamous for remembering and celebrating the individuals and the cults of personality that have walked among us at one time or another. I'm sure that you really don't need me to go above and beyond to name a few here, you could all name a handful of people off the bat. Their influence and importance of course relies entirely on you as a person, which is perhaps why I'd say it's unfair to suggest that one person is of far greater importance than another. It's all subjective. On the other hand, history has shown that it can be just as good celebrating couples and pairs. You may be a little harder pressed to name some off the bat, but I can give you a few of varying life paths. Bonnie and Clyde, Torville and Dean, Brad and Angelina, Elvis and Costello, Jack and Jill… You get the idea. The point is they're all remembered for something, no matter their significance to you as a person. You're aware of them regardless. At first glance of the pairing of Randolph and Mortimer, you could assume they operate as a construction firm, (like Gibbs and Dandy if you hail from the UK) or the surnames of serial killers, or war criminals. The truth kind of combines the two in some capacity. Dependent on how you label bankers and politicians.
The name actually derives from the film Trading Places, where two stock brokers, going by the names of Randolph and Mortimer switch places with two gentlemen in less fortunate social and financial circumstances, as an experiment to experience life on the other side. Which in today's political climate we seem to be calling for a lot, to the governments and fat cats who more likely have never struggled in everyday social and financial situations. It certainly makes that name far more poignant. The Sheffield three-piece (yes, despite going under the moniker of a duo) practice a manifesto of condemnation and repulsion, punctuated by a series of electronically driven, industrial rallying movements. Powered by the analogue synths and percussive might of the 80's, it only makes sense that visuals match the sonics, with wireframe silhouettes and what resembles Thatcherite Britain providing the backdrop for the ire unfolding. Most recent single Citizens isn't so much a feast for the disenchanted, more a capitalist brainwashing broadcast if such an occurrence were to play out. Brought to a marching pace by booming snare hits and dampened synth arpeggios, the beat very much tribalistic in tempo and timbre, the checklist for what constitutes a valid member of society is rolled out, as well as quasi-motivational slogans in how to do so. A heavily distorted voice calls out in the distance, reaching indecipherable levels but certainly adds a touch of unease and morality to this otherwise calming instructional narrative. Later, a ferocious sawtooth synth wave cuts through the rhythm, near stopping it in its tracks, while a brighter counterpart, still as abrasive as its bass-heavy contemporary, layers atop before bringing the beat back and ushering in a new breed of arpeggios to meld with the originals. In the end, all of the individual synth lines piece together and play out increasingly chaotic percussion, to one last eerie inquisitive dialogue against a wall of noise. This is best experienced as an audio-visual sensation to truly get the best feel for the message Randolph and Mortimer wish to convey, but the music itself is just as an exciting head-trip in its own right. Though the political agenda is unmistakeable, these guys are producing stellar industrial in the veins of the old blood and will most likely not remain an underground sensation for much longer. History has every right to remember the constructs of these gentlemen.
Citizens has yet to see a release date, but no doubt will have a digital release at some stage in the near future. In the mean time, their $ocial £utures €P and single Enjoy More are available from their Bandcamp page, in addition to other singles and numerous remixes of theirs that can be found on most respectable music retailers.They are also playing the Saturday line-up on the main stage of Resistanz Festival 2016, but look out for a gig near you soon.
Go give them a great big high five:
https://www.facebook.com/randolphandMortimer/?fref=ts
https://twitter.com/RandyandMort
And you're more than welcome to give me a high five too if you so wish, through a like, follow or subscribing to the site:
https://www.facebook.com/IAmTheSoundshark/
https://twitter.com/The_Soundshark
Posted in For Your Listening Pleasure
Tagged 2016, EBM, Electronic, Industrial, Music, Post-Punk, Randolph & Mortimer, Sheffield, The Soundshark, Under The Radar, United Kingdom
January 19, 2016 by The Soundshark
The Soundshark's Top 20 Songs of 2015
Something somebody said recently struck me as it made an awful lot of sense. Exactly when do you stop saying, 'Happy New Year,' to one another? Or at least when does it become acceptable at the least. I honestly don't know, but for now, I'm still considering it an appropriate time to talk about my favourite songs of last year. Seeming I've made a habit of it, and I finally have time to sit down and write about them.
2015 was a challenging year as it more or less marked my transition from degree student to having to fend for myself. Sometimes it sucked, sometimes it didn't. But something that I didn't previously have was a companion, somebody that I hold very dear to me and somebody I look forward to what the future holds for the both of us. As such, she has had an impact on deciding this list, just as much as the rollercoaster of emotions I've gone through in the past year has. Like I've said before, I do these lists for biographical reasons, to show where I've been and what's happened in years gone by. Music and memory are powerful things.
So my rules for the list are as follows: I don't always pick songs from this year to put on the list, it involves literally anything I've listened to in the past year that I've enjoyed frequently enough (that said, there are a lot of 2015 entries on this list which makes a change), but I try to avoid putting more than one song by the same artist in. Some of my past lists had more than one or two. You can find them on Spotify if you want to.
I would like to make an honourable mentions list, but there were far too many to include on this year's list, so I'll skip that formality this time. Just so many good moments or songs to include the entire list. And if you would like to listen to this list uninterrupted, commentary-free, then head on over to the Spotify playlist instead.
Righty then, on with the show…
Posted in List-O-Rama!
Tagged 1980's, 2015, 3TEETH, Alexisonfire, American Wrestlers, Autopsy Boys, Black Futures, Canada, Celldweller, Continues, Destrage, Drum and Bass, EDM, Electronic, Fail Emotions, Fair To Midland, Gaytheist, Hard Rock, Hardcore, Indie, Industrial, Italy, Knife Party, Mechanical Vampires, Metal, Music, New Order, New Zealand, Noisia, Post-Punk, Progressive, Puerto Rico Flowers, Punk, Rock, Russia, Somastate, Synth Pop, Tech Metal, The Maras, The Netherlands, The Soundshark, The Sun Explodes, The Upbeats, Top 20, United Kingdom, USA, Woods Of Ypres
December 2, 2015 by The Soundshark
The Maras
So the saying goes that there's supposed to be no one you can rely on more in this world than your family. Some actually find resentment for their own family enough, pouring venom into the statement that you can't choose your family, twisting the most important support network to you as a person, into nothing but bitter disdain. It must therefore be a fascinating statistic for the amount of families that are able to completely co-exist and co-operate without a hitch amongst one another. Music definitely is an adhesive that bonds people and their interests together, and family is no exception to this rule. After all, it works for King of Leon and they're all cousins. It did work for the siblings of The Knife, before by their own admission, the creation of music and performing stopped being fun. It does however currently work for brothers Matt and Eric Mara whom after toiling and honing their floorfilling, pop-infected grunge bursts for five years, are finally releasing their works into the wider waking world. The unsuspectingly titled The Maras Go To The Mall! is their first long-player after a steady release of EPs earlier this year, squeezing the trigger hard for a myriad of aggressively charged bullets to the skull of modern rock. While you can claim that a lot of The Maras' output revels in the sounds of the past, the breadth of those sounds and pure passion for music of decades gone has rejuvenated that spirit and goes as far to even sound brand new again, testament to their brilliance for writing hooks. Certainly from day one of hearing Ray's Gun, that bass melody has been nothing but persistent in worming into my ear drums and burrowing deep into the pools of wax that lay within. But such is their talent that in just under two and a half minutes, they can pull off a near-perfect grunge-pit punch-up. Think the Pixies in a disco mood and you're about there. Sound production has weaponised the drum beats so it carries across as a steady stream of bludgeoning projectiles, while the bassline calmly injects itself into your aural channel. Reminiscent of its era, monotone vocals seeped in reverb soon join the fray, still keeping a composed demeanour to the track. Vocals then take an anguished turn for the chorus and its contagious repetition, again keeping the instrumentation in a slightly numbed state, leaving just enough room to tease some tension for good measure. The mesmerising melody picks back up to start the cycle once more, coming back to that outrageously infectious chorus hook before jolting synth stabs take over and the bass slows the pace to a crawl and concludes. This is just one aspect of The Maras' songwriting capabilities. Songs such as Church of Mad and Red Hair have far more fleshed out synth elements, and Texas Blood Thirst takes their angst to a far higher level. Ray's Gun balances these both with just simplicity in structure and a killer series of hooks, and really that's what The Maras excel at, writing bite-size tracks that have absorbed everything good from their respective 80's record collections and translating it into a formula that hits your memory as hard as it does your eardrums. A true treasure awaiting discovery. Maybe that's what the real value of family is..
The Maras Go The Mall!, single Muddy Susan and EP Welcome To Wax Beach are all available from their Bandcamp page for a very reasonable fee. Physical copies of The Maras Go The Mall were recently made available too on Bandcamp, so I'd recommend investing in a copy of that. The album is a real sleeper hit waiting to happen, that's for damn sure.
Write them a love note of some description:
https://www.facebook.com/Themarasbrothers/?ref=hl
https://twitter.com/TheMarasBand
I am also welcoming of love notes too, but that's entirely your choice:
Tagged 1980's, Alternative, Canada, Grunge, Indie, Music, Ontario, Post-Punk, Rock, The Maras, The Soundshark, Under The Radar, Waterloo
August 13, 2015 by The Soundshark
Ghost Idols
Hundreds, probably thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of people on this planet claim that they have seen a ghost in their lifetime. But despite footage and images suggesting there may indeed be paranormal activity in this world, the subject still very much stays open for debate. People make fortunes out of it, however sincere or exploitative they may be. The jury is out for me personally. Some claims look more authentic than others, but until I kinda see or experience it for myself, my guess is as good as yours. Hello fate, I didn't see you there! But whether you want to dispute the authenticity of LA's Ghost Idols however, you'd be entirely foolhardy to do so. They are an anomaly, but purely because their sound doesn't fulfil a ticklist for given genre conventions. There are nuances of many sounds absorbed into their matter, perhaps so many that the original sources are all but unrecognisable. Here's what I can tell you. At its truest centre, Ghost Idols are at best a super heavy indie band, at times pouring enough fuzz and distortion onto a guitar to drown out a building demolition, while keeping the poppy vocal melodies and harmonies present, injected with force straight into your brain. Every second of a Ghost Idols song never misses a beat, there is always something switching or shifting around to demand your attention. Take Heathens from their self-titled EP from 2013. There's a tirade of thunderous drums, meshing together with roughened chords and optimistic vocal tones that would sit well in Bloc Party's back pocket, later going into a hardcore style breakdown harbouring a infectious kick pedal pattern, full buckshot-impact sludge guitar accompanying it. There's even a lovely, understated little solo atop both bass and drums going hell for leather And if they aren't switching up the texture of the sound, then they constantly switch the time signatures too. Literally every note has meaning and purpose on an unprecedented level. Ghost Idols, unlike ghosts themselves, are something you should fully believe in, as their adventurous sound is so versatile and dynamic, they should be heightened from underground dwellings to mainstream music acceptance.
Their self-titled EP is currently available on a pay-what-you-want basis for a digital copy, or a reasonable sum for a physical copy, as well as their most recent single Monsoons which can be bought on vinyl, all on their Bandcamp page. These guys are also recording an album right now, so any money given to them will be appreciated. They have a killer sound, they deserve it.
https://www.facebook.com/GhostIdols?fref=ts
Tagged California, Ghost Idols, Hardcore, Indie, Los Angeles, Music, Post-Punk, Rock, Sludge, The Soundshark, Under The Radar, USA
The Soundshark Meets… Mr.Kitty
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