Vlimmer – Sommergesicht
If you’ve grown up in a city, no matter how large, practically devoid of modern culture, you rejoice the first time that a club playing goth-rock and post-punk opens up, and you even allow yourself to be optimistic the moment the said club becomes popular with skeletal figures dressed from head to toe in black clothing. This is, after all, this, and the gentrification of poorer areas is the fate of any largeish city.
But then you start to befriend the people who, by now, religiously visit the club and hear a million stories about how they lived in a commune in Berlin, how they’re really making a push with their fashion-centric social media account, and how modern dark-wave is better than goth. You sigh and tell yourself that this is just the way things go. But, you also, if you still have any reason left, start looking for the real thing, for bands like Vlimmer.
Now, the first thing about Vlimmer is that the group starts out with two massive advantages. First of all, they really are from Berlin, virtually the fashion goths’ Mecca. Secondly, the band’s lyrics are in German, a language so frightening that a shopping list written in it sounds like an ancient demon-summoning incantation. “Sommegesicht” is part goth-inspired dance music, and part chilling horror narrative. Your city may have a goth club, but it’s unlikely to have a band like Vlimmer.
Visitor Center – Low Hopes
What’s the easiest, most effective way of starting a novel or a movie script? Get one character to be elected King of the World and then fatally shoot that character for, seemingly, no reason.
Of course, the rest of the cast will need to spend the rest of the story trying to make sense of what happens. And, naturally, if you’re an attentive reader with a taste for mystery-solving, you’ll be moving right along with them.
I tend to think that the very best of rock n’ roll works in much the same way, and the post-punk revival band Visitor Centre tends to agree with me. Songs that are easy to interpret are also easy to forget.
On the other hand, songs that seem to suggest that they hold some kind of riddle are the ones that listeners tend to return to. Visitor Centre’s moody “Low Hopes,” will, on account of the vocals and lyrics bring to mind bands like Interpol or Editors. And, while that’s the selling point, I’d suggest also paying attention to that brilliantly layered intro.
