This time Fighting Boredom brings you terrifying new music from Gazelle Twin, the split EP from Too Many Things and Da Googie, featuring members of Thurston Moore’s band and My Bloody Valentine. The new EBM album from KMFDM and the darkwave \ post-punk of Yama Uba.
Gazelle Twin – We Wax. We Shall Not Wane
This release consists of two pieces of music that were part of an installation for Somerset Houses’ Horror Show. I didn’t see the piece but the photos make me feel that it would have been terrifying. Which is the word I’d use to describe this music. Bloody Terrifying. It’s insidious and creepy to the point of paralysing fear and that’s before the voices start making spells, damning you, talking about digging ditches with your nails. The whole thing is an excellent slice of folk horror, no, make that folk terror. Bloody Hell.
Too Many Things – Too Many Things \ da Googie split
This release is a split EP by Too Many Things and Da Googie, Deb Googe has played in Primal Scream, Thurston Moore’s band and My Bloody Valentine. The four songs are a laid back, drone filled bass led treat. Slow moving and layered, the songs drag you down underneath them and absorb you. The stand out track is Old Fashioned Love Affair which sounds like it was recorded in the Twin Peaks mountain bar as bikers cry to the music. It’s wonderful.
KMFDM – Let Go
Metropolis Records
Exactly what you want from KMFDM. For a fan, this is the bees knees, honestly, big slabs guitar laid over synths and big massive pounding drums. Built for people in ridiculously massive boots in leather coats to bounce around to in dark places. Don’t get me wrong, I have space in my dark goth tinged heart for KMFDM and Naive is a particular favourite of mine but I haven’t heard them for a while. If you like growly whispered vocals, angry female singing and the aforementioned beats, guitars and synths, you’ll love it. No massive departure from anything else they’ve done but because of that, it’s a great KMFDM album.
Yama Uba – Silhouettes
Psychic Eye, Ratskin Records
Yama Uba give us a darkwave synth layered sound with more than a touch of Goth dramatics. It’s built on hard beats from the same place that birthed Doktor Avalanche and swathes of synths. The guitars run from gentle notes to huge masses falling down over the synths. It’s reminiscent of the Banshees, especially the lyrics and slower songs. The Cure at their darkest and impenetrable yet has a fresh post punk feel as well, when they head into synth pop they are sublime in places. I’m pretty sure that so far my review has you thinking that this has a retro feel from the comparisons. But that would be a wrong assumption, they sound fresh, new and of the moment, it’s not my fault that the moment is dark and lost.
Gazelle Twin’s website is www.gazelletwin.com, she is on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp. She Tweets as @gazelletwin.
da Googie’s website is www.dagoogie.com, she is also on Bandcamp and Instagram. Too Many Things are on Bandcamp & instagram
KMFDM’s website is kmfdm.net, they are on Facebook, Bandcamp and Instagram.
Yama Uba are on Bandcamp, Instagram, Facebook and Tweet as @YamaUbaMusic.
All words by Adrian Bloxham