V/A Dark Nouveau (Digital Album – Metropolis Records)
Genre/Influences: Gothic, cold-wave, dark-pop, minimal-electro, dream-pop.
Background/Info: “Dark Nouveau” features a fine selection of twenty four bands from all over the world and dealing with ‘dark’ music. The compilation has been realized by Athan Maroulis (Spahn Ranch, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, NOIR ao). “Dark Nouveau” stands for the contemporary exposure of ‘dark’ music.
Artists: NOIR, FTR, Paradox Obscur, She Past Away, Ash Code, Hante, Dark Door, Antipole, Shadow Age, Balvanera, Skeleton Hands, Dancing Plague, Push/Button/Press, Night Fail, Canter, Decedent vs. Slighter, Seeming, The Harrow, Dead Leaf Echo, Twin Tribes, Weird Candle, The Shyness Of Strangers, Iamtheshadow, Inopera.
Content: Twenty four bands is an impressive tracklist to celebrate the newest formats of ‘dark’ music. The featured bands are covering an impressive canvas, which is moving from gothic and cold-wave to dark-pop and wave-pop. Somewhere in between you also will discover bands dealing with dream-pop, minimal electronics, but also a few artists clearly inspired by the cold-wave icons such as Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, The Cure ao.
+ + + : Athan Maroulis did a great job on this compilation. He brought a nice selection of artists together, but there’s an impressive list of great songs. From the Turkish goth sensation She Past Away to the phenomenal minimal-electro from Greek Paradox Obscur to the dark-pop from Argentina project Balvanera to the sexy French dark-wave revelation FTR to the raw electronics from Canadian duo Weird Candle to the Portuguese hybrid between Skeletal Family and Joy Division called Iamtheshadow, this compilation has a lot to offer. It also is an opportunity to discover less familiar bands and who knows, maybe further Metropolis artists.
– – – : I don’t have a real minus point about this compilation, which is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best I’ve heard this year. It’s just a pity this work is not available as a physical format.
Conclusion: Most of the compilations today are a kind of shop window for the labels, but luckily there are still a few compilations bringing something new! That’s why “Dark Nouveau” is a must have!
Best bands: Paradox Obscur, FTR, She Past away, Balvanera, Weird Candle, Iamtheshadow, NOIR, Dancing Plague.
Rate: (8½).
Label: www.metropolis–records.com / www.facebook.com/MetropolisRecords
About Metropolis Records
“Dark Nouveau” was compiled by Athan Maroulis, known for his work in Spahn Ranch, an electro-industrial group active in Los Angeles from 1992 to 2000, and for his later project Nøir.
Metropolis Records was set up in 1994 by Dave Heckman and built its American roster around acts including VNV Nation, Front 242, Front Line Assembly, Wumpscut, Project Pitchfork, KMFDM and Numb, several of which connect to the gothic and cold-wave lineage “Dark Nouveau” surveys.
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