Lovelorn Dolls welcome new bassist Fabien and unveil ‘Call Me Your Ghost’ video + interview
Lovelorn Dolls welcome new bassist Fabien and unveil 'Call Me Your Ghost' video + interview
Belgian gothic/synth-rock act Lovelorn Dolls have introduced new bassist Fabien and also present the official video for “Call Me Your Ghost”, a track from the 4-song digital EP “True Crimes”, released on October 3, 2025 via Alfa Matrix / Spleen+ in download form.
According to the band, the concept for the “Call Me Your Ghost” video draws directly on slasher and serial-killer cinema. They characterise it as “a love letter to slasher cinema, twisted into our own nightmare,” shot in a DIY manner.
“True Crimes” is available as a digital EP on Bandcamp, featuring the tracks “Dahlia Bleeds”, “The Boy In The Box”, “Call Me Your Ghost” and “Velvet Little Voice”. A special physical edition titled “True Crimes (In Memoriam Bernard Daubresse)” is planned as a limited release in early 2026 through the band’s Bandcamp page.
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New bassist Fabien joins Lovelorn Dolls
The new video arrives as Lovelorn Dolls adjust their line-up following the sudden passing of guitarist, composer and co-founder Bernard Daubresse in November 2025. Daubresse had been a core member of the Brussels-based project since its early days, writing and producing alongside vocalist Kristell Lowagie and forming the group’s blend of gothic rock guitars and electronic arrangements.
For upcoming concerts, the band now introduce Fabien as new live bassist. Rehearsals with Fabien have already started.
Lovelorn Dolls are preparing a series of shows in 2026 that they have announced as dates they particularly wish to honour following Daubresse’s passing.
Confirmed appearances include:
- 30 May 2026 – Harmony Metal Fest, Antwerp (Belgium) – Lovelorn Dolls join a mixed heavy and melodic line-up at the Belgian indoor festival.
- 21–23 August 2026 – INFEST Festival, Manchester (UK) – The band appear at the long-running alternative festival, which lists IAMX among its headliners for 2026.
- 4–6 September 2026 – NCN Festival, Deutzen near Leipzig (Germany) – Lovelorn Dolls are part of the 2026 NCN line-up, alongside artists including Marc Almond.
Lovelorn Dolls interview: ‘Silence Is Not My Option’
“True Crimes” is the final Lovelorn Dolls release shaped by Bernard Daubresse before his sudden death – an EP haunted by absence, unresolved voices, and open endings. Frontwoman Kristell Lowagie looks back at the making of the record in this short interview.
SL. “True Crimes” now stands as the final release formed by Bernard. When you listen to it today, do you hear closure… or unfinished sentences?
K. I don’t hear closure. I hear something that’s still alive. The songs feel finished musically, but emotionally they don’t close anything. They leave space. Bernard never liked full stops, he preferred open endings. So yes, it feels unfinished, but in a natural way. Like a conversation that keeps going in your head.
SL. These songs deal with dead voices, unresolved crimes, ghosts that refuse to disappear. In hindsight, does this EP feel disturbingly prophetic or is that a narrative we only impose after loss?
K. I think we impose that narrative after loss. It’s human. Bernard and i weren’t predicting anything. I was writing about themes that always fascinated me: death, silence, what’s left unsaid. Now that he’s gone, those themes hit differently. But that doesn’t mean the songs were warnings. It just means we’re listening with different ears.
SL. Bernard’s writing always balanced cynicism and innocence, beauty and cruelty. Was “True Crimes” a peak of that duality, or was he already pushing toward something darker, sharper, more extreme?
K. “True Crimes” feels very balanced to me. There’s darkness, but also a lot of fragility. Bernard could be harsh and gentle at the same time, and this EP really shows that. I don’t think he was chasing something more extreme. He was trying to be more honest, more precise. Less decoration, more truth.
SL. Lovelorn Dolls were always built on a very specific complicity between Bernard and Kristell. The EP also introduces Eric Renwart and marks “a new chapter.” Without Bernard now, does the band risk becoming something else entirely or is transformation the only honest option? You recently announced continuing the project and confirmed the planned live shows – could this be seen as an act of defiance… or an act of mourning. Which one is closer to the truth?
K. The band will change. There’s no way around that. Bernard can’t be replaced, and I don’t want to pretend he can. But stopping everything would feel wrong too. Playing live is a way of staying connected – to him, and to the people who loved the band. Silence is not my option. See you in Antwerp, Manchester and Leipzig to make some noise…!
SL. There’s a fine line between preserving a legacy and freezing it in time. What would Bernard have hated more: Lovelorn Dolls stopping completely or evolving beyond his original vision?
K. He would have hated stagnation. Repeating the same thing forever, just to be “faithful” wasn’t his mindset. I think he would rather see the project evolve than disappear. As long as it stays sincere, not safe.
About Lovelorn Dolls
Lovelorn Dolls is a Brussels, Belgium-based gothic / darkwave / synth-rock project built around singer Kristell Lowagie (Ladyhell) and the late Bernard Daubresse (Corpus Christi) who was the composer-guitarist. The duo started working together around 2010 under the name Lovelorn before adopting the Lovelorn Dolls moniker. Their music combines guitar-driven gothic rock with electronic production and pop-structured hooks, a sound they describe as “Synth Gothic Rock and Creepy Cute.” The band is signed to Alfa Matrix / Spleen+.
After early demos, the duo issued the EP “An Intense Feeling Of Affection” digitally via Alfa Matrix. The band then released the EP “After Dark” and moved towards a more developed studio sound.
Lovelorn Dolls’ debut full-length “The House Of Wonders” arrived in 2013 on Alfa Matrix, mixing gothic metal guitars and synthpop-oriented melodies. Their second album “Japanese Robot Invasion” followed in 2014, again via Alfa Matrix, and generated several spin-off releases, including the “Happy Valentine EP”, which combined multiple remixes with live recordings from Eurorock 2015.
In the second half of the 2010s, the project issued the “Lament” EP and the third album “Darker Ages”, recorded with producer Maxx Maryan.
After a quieter phase focusing on side projects, Lovelorn Dolls returned with the album “Deadtime Stories” in May 2024 on Spleen+, produced again by Maxx Maryan. The record features guest contributions from Dero Goi (ex-Oomph!) and US rapper Vvitchboy.
In 2024 the band also marked the tenth anniversary of the song “Happy Valentine” with a new video and a Bandcamp charity campaign benefitting Belgian organisation CVFE.
“True Crimes” (2025) followed as a digital EP focused on four crime-inspired tracks and introduced guitarist and sound engineer Eric Renwart into the project’s recording and live configuration. With Fabien now joining as live bassist for 2026 shows, Lovelorn Dolls continue live.
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