This is a great EP from an up-and-coming band straight out of Germany. They mix elements of melodic deathrock darkness, surf guitar riffs, and the hypnotic momentum of the most nocturnal and romantic English post-punk (Sturm und Drang-style). Four songs that feel like four anthems. You don’t need more.
I don’t know if “deathrock” is strictly a genre, or just a feeling, but this tape definitely has a deathrock feeling. Dissonant guitar chords build tension and resonate with the listener’s internal sense of impending doom, while everything else is brooding and dark. The guitar player’s style of fast, continuous staccato picking is like DICK DALE transmuted into a sinister underworld creature. Slow, deliberate vocals In German complement the vibe. Released in February 2020 with a note stating “burn after listening” and images of a virus, the tape artwork is disturbingly prescient.
