The 47th track on our free download compilation “Face The Beat: Session 4” (featuring 92 tracks) is by My Dear Killer.

My Dear Killer is the solo dark electro project of James A. Hepburn. You might already know the project from its contribution to “Endzeit Bunkertracks Act VI” and from the Rgesus Factor’s “Mann der Albeit – The Remixes (Vol. 1)”. The project has had a steady output the last 2 years and is slowly but steadily gathering a following thanks to the project’s dark electro style that has its roots in the early 90s dark wave / electro. Check the band right here on Facebook.

Listen to “Sea Of Trees” below and download it right here.

Check our “Face The Beat: Session 4” page on Bandcamp to discover the other 91 bands. All donations will go to charity.

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. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Genre/Influences: Dark-electro, electro-power-ambient.

Content: My Dear Killer is a band I was introduced to with their earlier releases. Back in time the work was quite rudimentary and revealing a rough and unpolished production dealing with the darker fields of electronic music.

James A. Hepburn always tried to improve different aspects of his production while holding on to the rough element, which became a kind of trademark. All over the years Hepburn also started to experiment with vocals, which was not always a real success, but here again the artist tried progressively to reach a higher level. The lyrical content has been supported by dark themes and it seems like lost relationships have been one of the main sources of inspiration.
“Lullaby” features 12 songs, which have been mainly constructed by bombastic rhythm sections and dark sequences. The electro style has been mixed with a few industrial- and ambient-like elements.

This way the sound becomes more accomplished like injecting some volume tot the global composition. Some passages remind me a bit of early Mentallo & The Fixer in a less elaborate format. The production of the vocals have been seriously improved by a kind of passionate way of singing.

Some parts of the album feel a bit like they’ve been written earlier, but a few tracks reveal the noticeable evolution of this formation. The best example must be “You Said”, which has been accomplished by a club-minded touch and a retro-minded lead reminding me of bands like Trans-X and Gary Numan. This song is well-crafted and definitely one of the most accomplished songs of this band so far. “I Can’t” is another noticeable song confirming the progression of Hepburn as a musician. The ambient aspect comes perfectly through at the different passages, but I have a preference for “Sweet Dreams”.

Conclusion: This is for sure the most credible work of My Dear Killer, which has the potential to now catch the attention of a label.

Best songs: “You Said”, “Just One Last Dance”, “I Can’t”, “September”.

Rate: (DP:6½)DP.

Band: www.facebook.com/mydearkiller.jahepburn

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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