Montreal post-punk The City Gates are back with a brand new single, “Lapidation”, from their forthcoming album, due by end of 2024. “Lapidation” is the second single of The City Gates next album to be released on Icy Cold Records and Velouria Recordz.

The band will embark on a European tour next April. The band will also open for The Chameleons in Montreal on August 12th, and will play with L.A. band Forever Grey on March 19 at L’Esco.

The material was recorded, mixed and mastered by the City Gates own François Marsan at Velouria Studio in Montreal. The video was shot in the attic of the band’s Velouria Studio by The City Gates’ own drummer, Bitou.

The City Gates – Lapidation European tour 2024

• 19/04: Geleen, NL- Das Reunie w / The Lost Tapes, Fragment
• 20/04: Berlin, DE – Lido – Dark Spring Festival
• 21/04: Prague, CZ – Kampus Hybernska w/ Cosmo Brigade, RIME
• 24/04: Bielefeld, DE – Movie Bielefeld w/ SUIR
• 25/04: The Hague, NL – The Grey Space w/ Resplandor, Death by Audio
• 26/04: Holzminden, DE – U-Rock w/ Boy with Apple
• 27/04: Paris, FR – Supersonic Records w/ Varsovie

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-Wave, Post-Punk.

Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.

Background/Info: Varsovie is a French formation hailing from Grenoble and active since 2005. They already released several works and stroke back by the end of 2023 unleashing “Pression A Froid”.

Content: The main influences of this band are getting us back to the darkest hours of the 80s. One of the band’s main characteristics are the French vocals. The album sounds dark, sometimes a bit depressed but still dealing with sexy themes at other parts.

+ + + : Varsovie has a very personal sound -which is however not that new and original, but it has been adapted into a very own and even intimate style. The singer’s timbre of voice is reminding me to the great French artist Alain Bashung while the lyrics have something dark, sexy and poetic. One of the best and darkest cuts is the totally depressed sounding title song. I also salute the last song as a homage to the Ukrainian people. 

– – – : It’s a pity the work only features nine songs. The French language isn’t maybe accessible for a wider, international, audience although this album has a true potential.

Conclusion: Varsovie is a band you have to discover and this album is a great exposure of the French band.

Best songs: “Pression A Froid”, “Perspective Nevski”, “Pochodeň Č​Í​Slo Jedna”, “Sous Les Radars”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.facebook.com/varsovie.propaganda

Label: www.facebook.com/icycoldrecords

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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