Xero – But I Want You
The original goth kids wanted the world to know one thing – they were not afraid of death or of its messengers. That’s why they dressed up as corpses, zombies and vampires who’d just arrived from Bran Castle.
But get people together for long enough in the dark, get them to dress up in black and have them dance for hours on end, and things are bound to change. A darkly romantic tendency gripped gothic music, in no small part brought in by crowds of S&M enthusiasts.
Modern goth kids want the world to know two things – they’re still not afraid of death, but they’re not afraid of love anymore, either. It is the latter, of course, which is the most terrifying and destructive. And it’s a big ingredient of modern goth music.
Xero’s “But I Want You” is typical of the late-night goth playlist. It’s a sinister but romantic song. It’s a song about finding affection in all the wrong places and being all right with this. Like the great French romantic poets, Xero is in love with ugliness as much as beauty to the point where the two become the same thing. And, listening to this, it’s hard to deny this mad theory makes more than a little bit of sense.
AN_NA – You Want Gold
It’s hard to make the brain go silent for, at least, a while. There’s a buzz that accompanies nearly every labour, every activity involving some kind of stress factor. And that buzz has the habit of sticking around long after the day is done.
It drives some people mad, while others become addicted to it, seeking it through every stress-inducing situation that they can find. There are also those who understand just how harmful this can be and are willing to pay anything to make that endless hum go away.
Most of the modern music echoes that buzz. Most modern music is loud, wants to deliver a lot of information quickly, and overpowers the listener. The songs that rely on minimalism, striking sounds, and a stark presentation are the only ones that can put the mind at ease long enough to make sense of what it wants.
AN_NA’s “You Want Gold” feels like the soundtrack to a hypnotism session. Your therapist may try to riddle you with what you see, but, really, it’s only up to you to understand. Maybe the sounds have made you think about all of the riches you desperately want, or maybe this is merely a reflection of all the daily stress. Whatever the answer, AN_NA’s modern gothic sounds have found a way to interact and pick apart the human psyche.
