Night Rites – Dark Patterns
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Alternative Rock
Similar artists: The Black Angels, A Place to Bury Strangers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Cult of Dom Keller
Strange American cults have done almost as much for the music as two or three decades of records in the U.S. Not listen, I am not for one second trying to legitimize the horrible violence and abuses conducted by some of those cults.
However, being frank, the reasons why those still show in popular culture is because, well, they are certainly more exciting than Maroon 5, Coldplay, or any of the lightweight pop-rock groups making a killing in the charts.
And, rock music made in that era, or inspired by it is a constant companion of those stories. It is not that those were great times. The fact is that the direct, overbearing evil that the post-hippies represented are more interesting than the cheerful, but bland pop of this age.
With this in mind, Night Rites’ Dark Patterns are here to scare your kids straight or make them cult members. It’s a simple and honest plea, really. Will the kids resist? What and go back to watching Chris Martin ride a bicycle? We leave in dangerous times, and the apocalyptic charmers, like Night Rites, are back. I’m sorry to tell you, but the world needs them.
Ernan en VHS – Full Melancolico
Similar artists: Joy Division
Somewhere along the way, pop music stopped only being about shouting the news or getting people to dance. Once it was clear that the role of pop music in individuals’ lives couldn’t be overtaken by anything else, it was depended on to be the therapist, the physician, and the old friend with a shoulder to cry on.
Simply put, pop music in its many forms is important to people, and to the way that they process problems. The host of post-punk and goth groups, in particular, prized reenacting one’s deepest worries. To outsiders’ ears, this was only a new method of wallowing. To those in the know, it was simply an effective strategy to overcome one’s personal issues.
Argentina’s Ernan en VHS mine the post-punk dread Full Melancolico as a ceremony meant to blow the gloom away. The tense atmosphere brought on by the emphasized bass and the stiff vocals reveals a fascination with Joy Division. Just like Ian Curtis, Ernan en VHS is looking towards brighter days. But, it will take all the artist’s energy to overcome these ones first.
