(Photo by Ex-Hyena) Out via Re:Mission Entertainment is the newest single from the Boston duo Ex-Hyena. “In Slow Motion” is the inaugural single off Ex-Hyena’s forthcoming third album “A Kiss of the Mind: and comes backed with an exclusive remix of the title track by Ohio’s Child of Night.

This new single is the duo’s (Reuben Bettsak and Bo Barringer) debut for the Oklahoma-based darkwave record label Re:Mission Entertainment.

Since its inception in 2021, Ex-Hyena has delivered two albums (2021’s “Artificial Pulse” and 2022’s “Moon Reflections” plus a handful of singles and EPs, and collaborations with Control I’m Here, Hororhaus, The Gothsicles, BlakLight, Pleasure Policy, Jackson VanHorn, Denial Waits, Blood Handsome, and others.

“Things seem to move so fast sometimes and it’s hard to savor moments, or understand a magical day, a traumatic event, a breakup or a fight, etc.,” says Bettsak. “It’s kind of the whole imagining life as a movie where you could replay things in slow motion – with other psychedelic effects for good measure. In the lyrics ‘Leaning backwards / There’s impact from your words / They sneak into my brain like a scorpion,’ I was picturing an argument with a significant other in slow motion. With actual colorful letters coming out and such. The song is also a celebration of movement and cherishing life. And of course it delves into our fears and how they can be debilitating.”

The single was produced and mixed by Barringer, and mastered by Adam Stillson at Decade Music Studio.

And here is the video for the title track.

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Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Genre/Influences: Dark-Wave, Dream-Pop.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: This is the debut album of the American formation Child Of Night. They originally started as a duo and became a trio.  They have been active since 2017 and released a few EP’s. “The Walls At Dawn” was also released as cassette format by Beso De Muerte Records.

Content: The songs of this band are getting back to 80s New/Dark-Wave music, but still evoke the melancholic reverie of Dream-Pop productions. The guitar playing reinforces the Dream-Pop approach. There’re a few instrumental tracks featured, but most of the songs are alternating male- and female vocals.

+ + + : Child Of Night are mainly excelling in a very personal interpretation of Dream-Pop. I like the guitar accentuating the Dream-Pop orientation of the opus. “Son” is a noticeable track in the genre. I also want to say a word about “Unafraid”, which sounds darker and more into Electronics while featuring female vocals. And there’s also something to say about “Cult Of Satisfaction”, where the electronic sound treatments remind me of Siouxsie And The Banshees.

– – – : This is a cool debut album, but unfortunately without a true climax.

Conclusion: “The Walls At Dawn” is an honest debut album for Child Of Night.

Best songs: “Son”, “Unafraid”, “Cult Of Satisfaction”.

Rate: 7.

Artist: www.facebook.com/childofnight666

Label: www.waverecordsmusic.com / www.facebook.com/waverecords

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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Columbus, OH based darkwave act Child of Night have announced their first album “The Walls at Dawn” on Play Alone Records, Wave Records, Beso De Muerte Records.

The band debuted in 2017 and has since released various singles and EPs. You can expect a mix of analog synthesizers, noisy industrial dance beats, and guitar-driven post-punk. The music video for their first single “Unafraid” is out now and can be seen below.

Vocalist Niabi explain what inspired “Unafraid”: “The lyrics and vocal melody for Unafraid fell out of me, written all in one day. I will never betray the meaning of the song, but I will say this: The first line of the second verse was inspired by the admittance of a guilty pleasure, and I ran with the idea of safety for people that I care about, safety for myself. At the end of the song, the question is asked – “is it worth it to fall” – and only you can answer that question. When you see us perform Unafraid live, you’ll undoubtedly know my [our] answer…”

The music video can be seen below.

“The Walls at Dawn” will be released on September 24th. You can order the album below on vinyl, cassette or download (with T-shirt if you want).

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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With the live music scene in a physical stand still due to nationwide shut downs, experimental electronic act Child of Night enter the growing field of live streamed performances with the release of “Live from Lockdown”. Being from two different states (Pennsylvania and Ohio) during nationwide shelter in place orders, the artists achieved the difficult task of giving their audience the live show feel at home by using some deceptive video editing techniques.

J.Thompson explains the challenges encountered to deliver a complete performance: “The process was somewhat difficult, but less so than you might think….I recorded myself playing the backing track and then sent that recording to T. Wolfe who then recorded and took video of himself performing over the backing track. We then took the raw footage and edited it together giving the illusion of us together in one room. The recording itself is all one take, so we could make it feel as much like an actual live performance as humanly possible given the circumstances.”

The live performance premiered on May 15 on the Strict Tempo live stream hosted via Vox Sinistra out of Seattle. The performace can be see below.

About Child of Night

Hailing from Columbus, OH and Pittsburgh, PA, Child of Night is an experimental electronic duo comprised of J. Thompson and T. Wolfe. Established in 2017 as a part of the current analog darkwave revival, Child of Night has since established a new sound more akin to today’s European Pop scene than anything released in the 1980s. Child of Night stand out with an intense multi-media live show and more time spent on songwriting than worrying about a “Goth” image.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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Post-Punk/Darkwave artists Child of Night are to tour the USA with Shanghai Beach. The 20 date tour starts June 28th in Chicago,IL and wraps up July 20th in Cincinnati,OH.

Child of Night released their new EP “What Remains” in late 2018. Recently they released their new song “Compromise” which will be featured on Clan Destine Records upcoming compilation “Life its Krieg” and can be heard below.

New video clip “Compromise”

Tour Dates

• June 28th Chicago,IL @Burlington Bar
• June 29th Minneapolis,MN @Nomad
• June 30th Omaha,NE@The Sydney
• July 2nd Missoula,MO @TBA
• July 3rd Spokane,WA @Baby Bar
• July 5th Portland,OR @Blackwater
• July 6th Eugene,OR @Old Nick’s
• July 7th Seattle,WA @The Highline
• July 9th Salt Lake City,UT @Urban Lounge
• July 10th Denver,CO @NCRC
• July 11th Riverside,CA @Aurea Vista
• July 12th Los Angeles,CA @Redwood Bar
• July 13th San Diego,CA @Spacebar
• July 14th Phoenix,AZ @The Lunchbox
• July 15th Austin,TX @Cheer Up Charlie’s
• July 16th Houston,TX @Notsuoh
• July 17th New Orleans,LA @The Goat
• July 18th Nashville,TN @Drkmttr
• July 19th Bloomington,IN @Blockhouse
• July 20th Cincinnati,OH @The Hub

Child of Night hail from Columbus, OH and Pittsburgh, and is an electronic duo comprised of J. Thompson and T. Wolfe. Originating in 2017 as a part of the current Analogue Darkwave Revival, Child of Night offers a crystal clear production, a multi-media live show, and “more emphasis on songwriting than worrying about a ‘Goth’ image” as they say.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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