In response to the public’s brutal slaying of the Monster Mash, I’ve compiled my own selection of retro and campy Halloween tracks for this year’s litany of costume parties.
The Playlist
“Dracula’s Daughter” – Screaming Lord Sutch and the Savages
“Evil” – 45 Grave
“Drac the Knife” – Gene Moss & Fred Ross
From the album “Dracula’s Greatest Hits,” this track is Dracula’s cover of Bobby Darin’s 1958 “Mack the Knife,” but specifically if Dracula was like the dad from Hotel Transylvania.
“Absinthe” – The Damned
“Jekyll and Hyde” – Jim Burgett
“Buried Alive” – Radio Werewolf
A musical collective active from 1984 to 1993, Radio Werewolf amassed a cult following (called the “Radio Werewolf Youth Party”) during its highly controversial ritualistic theatrical performances.
“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is a classic. Originally performed by (my beloved) Bauhaus, this cover by The 69 Cats has a jazzy psychobilly slant, making it highly danceable and perfect for a Halloween hootenanny.
Us waiting for awards at NSEMC, and not for Olive Garden. Image: Jamie Lynn Gilbert
I, and five other of my treasured members of WKNC staff (plus our amazing advisor Jamie) had the special privilege of getting to represent the station at the CBI National Student Electronic Media Convention in Orlando, Florida from Oct. 19 – 21. While there, we scored three awards for how awesome we are, along with an even bigger prize: knowledge that will be applied to make the station better in the near future.
Music-makers have been hard at work putting out new music, and I”ve been hard at work listening to it.
Here are some highlights from this month:
Tears For the Dying
Based in Athens, Georgia, Tears for the Dying produces music in the vein of deathrock, post-punk and dark punk.
With a corpse-cold sound and the richly plaintive vocals of Adria Stembridge at their disposal, Tears For the Dying puts out consistent bangers.
The band’s latest release, “Heterochromia,” is straight up arctic.
Cover for “Heterochromia” by Tears for the Dying
Compared to other releases, the band’s deathrock style appears restrained, creating a vacuous and frigid atmosphere. The song’s lyrics only compound this effect.
I’ll rip you apart from everything you love
Slithering from beneath black waters
The rotting carcass splits and sprouts
Fertile ground of rot and death
Efflorescence of drifting mist
Tears for the Dying, “Heterochromia”
What is the driving force behind such tortured and melancholic lyrics?
Adria Stembridge, frontwoman and founder of the band, draws inspiration from her experience growing up trans and autistic in the American south.
Subjugation, alienation and victimization — and the inner darkness stemming from these influences — contribute to the band’s vivid sound.
While this isn’t my favorite song by the band (that award belongs to “Go Die” from their 2021 album “Epitaph“), it’s a solid track.
Their sound ranges from nostalgic and idyllic shoegaze to vigorous post-hardcore, and I look forward to seeing them when they make their way to Cat’s Cradle next month.
Cover for “Fortress” by Modern Color
Modern Color’s newest single, “Fortress,” definitely embodies more of the band’s emo and shoegaze sound. It’s a warm and summery track with more upbeat energy than some of the band’s other releases, such as “Pale.”
I definitely prefer the band’s earlier music, especially their 2020 album “From The Leaves of Your Garden,” and hope they continue to experiment with the post-hardcore aspect of their style.
Buzz Kull
Buzz Kull is the musical project of Sydney-based artist Marc Dwyer.
I’ve played Buzz Kull on air several times before. His sprawling darkwave and EBM beats are transfixing.
Cover for “A Place (That’s Meant To Be)” by Buzz Kull
There’s an attractive bluntness to his work, a gothic apathy that commands focus to a more emotional and complex synth and drum machine arrangement.
Buzz Kull’s most recent single, “A Place (That’s Meant To Be),” is strongly electronic. Highly danceable, this EBM track is both fast-moving and languid, with staccato beats overlaid by ringing tones of brass.
It’s the kind of music you can lose yourself in on the dancefloor, best enjoyed amid the smoke-scented bustle of the goth club.
Bunker Punks' release "Screaming Death" album art.
Hello. It’s another week of me exploring the local Raleigh music business, and it has been brought to my attention there’s a label here doing great things with local punk and hardcore bands, Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes.
They were founded in 2018 and have just a few releases under their belt, but with the music they’ve helped get out into the world so far, I’d say they have a lot of promise. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find too much about their business and founders except that they’re friends (according to Discogs).
The Music:
In terms of releases and artists, they’ve got some notable and exciting bands working with them. For example, Scarecrow, a Charlotte native band that I talked about in a previous article about local hardcore bands, is signed on with Bunker Punks.
Bunker Punks released a split album, “Screaming Death”, two weeks ago on October 6. Scarecrow has four new killer tracks, one of which, “Sixth Mass Extinction”, absolutely scrambles my brain everytime I listen to it. It’s got a lot of chaotic energy and anger coming out from all the ways you could wish.
Another band that has a release on Bunker Punks is Bloody Flag. Their only release is a self-titled EP with sounds like slicing the head off an enemy and… (I don’t think I can finish this thought without it getting too graphic). I am very excited to hear more from this band, as this album rips. My favorite track of theirs right now is “Sabbatic Goat Devotion“.
Vittna has a 7” self titled EP also released through Bunker Punks. They are another Raleigh hardcore punk band I’d love to see more from. This EP was released in 2018 during the first year of Bunker Punks existence. Favorite track of this release is “Mundane Genocide“.
While Bunker Punks Discs & Tapes is young, they have already scouted much amazing local talent, and hopefully they’ll continue to grow and keep fostering the sounds they have going. Looking into these record companies’ histories has been a fun way to connect with the culture of the surrounding area. Also, it’s a great way to discover local sounds you might not know exist.
Dig through the trash of the past to find local delights!
I don’t often talk about it, but jazz is vitally important to me. While my affinity for other genres is often transient and ever-changing, my love of jazz remains constant.
Jazz feels like home to me. It’s pure jubilation and pure comfort.
“Ruler Rebel” is no exception to this standard. Listening to this album, as well as its companion pieces, was transformative.
The album manifests jazz with a staunchly contemporary voice, drawing from a wealth of influences.
Though it’s been years since I first listened to it, I still find myself excitedly offering this album to my friends and loved ones.
A Sobering Assessment
“Ruler Rebel” is the first installment of the Centennial Trilogy, proceeded by “Diaspora” and “The Emancipation Procrastination.”
Produced by jazz artist Christian Scott, “Ruler Rebel” pays homage to Scott’s native New Orleans.
Cover for “Diaspora” by Christian Scott
The multifaceted, deeply contemplative and tactile album presents a “re-evaluation of the social political realities of the world through sound.”
The album itself is relatively short as jazz albums go, with its eight tracks adding up to around 35 minutes.
Though a quick listen, the album is unignorable in its impact. An expert craftsman, Scott weaves the ebullience of hip-hop into the jazz tapestry to establish an accessible narrative voice.
Stretch Music
Christian Scott dons many hats — a jazz trumpeter, a producer, a composer, a multi-instrumentalist — in his pursuit of musical innovation.
A staunch experimentalist, Scott’s shirks the confinement of the “jazz” label in favor of something more elastic: stretch music.
Cover for “Stretch Music” by Christian Scott
Stretch music pays respect to jazz traditions while also exploring the fusion of the genre with other stylistic frameworks. While also the name of Scott’s 2015 album, the term expands to encapsulate his novel approach to music.
In “Ruler Rebel,” the marriage of jazz and hip-hop stands as a prime example of this. The music is distinctly jazz, but the warmth of its hip-hop slant cultivates a menagerie of vibrant moods and tones.
Final Thoughts
“Ruler Rebel” strikes listeners right between the ribs.
The album’s opening track, “Ruler Rebel,” is a magnificent vehicle for the butter-smoothness of Scott’s trumpeteering, which stands out amid a dreamlike chorus of musical conversation.
The song is both vibrant and agonizing, beautiful like shards of glass. Its remix is even more striking (and is one of my all-time favorite songs).
Cover for “Ruler Rebel [X. aTunde Adjuah Remix]” by Christian Scott
Another track on the album, “Rise Again [Allmos Remix],” has a strong hip-hop influence with its rhythmic backing beat.
“Phases” introduces female vocals provided by rising vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles, creating a sense of wispy ephemerality.
As a whole, the album represents a multitude of voices. Unflinchingly unpretentious, “Ruler Rebel” presents itself in steadfast allegiance with the common person and in opposition to musical classism.
My excitement is immeasurable, and it’s all because I get to see one of my favorite bands of this year next week. Screaming Females will be in Durham on October 27 playing at Motorco Music Hall. They’ll be joined by Lip Critic as the opener.
Screaming Females hails from New Brunswick, NJ and they’ve been releasing music since their first album, “Baby Teeth“, in 2006. I think I started seriously listening to this band two years ago when I was making a funky, crunchy DJ set, and I haven’t been able to get enough of their sounds since.
Earlier this year, Screaming Females released their newest album “Desire Pathway”, which I have enjoyed so much over the past few months. The album’s well produced and now contains some of my favorite tracks they’ve made.
It opens with “Brass Bell“, a magnetic track featuring the lead singer’s, Marissa Paternoster, amazing voice and some of their most addictive guitar sounds from Paternoster as well.
Lately I’ve been listening to “Let Me Into Your Heart” on constant loop. It starts a little slower, but pucks up the pace, transforming into a rock n’ roll giant wall of sound.
I don’t know too much about Lip Critic, but their EP, “Kill Lip Critic“, is noisy and will be a perfect thing to get hot and sweaty to. The opening track destructs and builds momentum beautifully.
While y’all can probably see I’m brimming with excitement her, that doesn’t mean you can’t be too. As of writing this, there are tickets available to purchase for the show in Durham, which is only the first stop of a long Fall tour.
