review: Sixth June - Everytime

Sixth June is a duo from Serbia that have just released their debut LP on the Genetic Music sublabel No Emb Blanc. Even before the LP came out they had some very nice video tracks circulating on the internet. These served as teasers for the upcoming album, and even more as the songs featured were really good.

Any fan of some good old elektro wave will have to dig this. It is nothing new but it is done with conviction and that is what you hear througout the album. Eleven melancholy tracks, which at times are down tempo but also some real dancefloor fillers, come and go and lead you the way into a mellow state of mind.

This band sounds a bit like Nine Circles mixed with Clan Of Xymox (two first albums on 4AD) and maybe even a bit of Frozen Autumn from time to time. Even though Sixth June could appeal to some goth fans the music could as easily be consumed by indie-tronics lovers. Also the artwork hints more to the indie scene as the goth/wave scene. A very good choice!

Highlights are the more uptempo pieces like the very 80's new romantics sounding 'The Night Is Coming' and the (should be) dancefloor hit 'Never Leave Me'. Next to that the excellent doomy 'Ohno, It's Burning' is a small masterpiece and The Cure inspired 'Afraid Of Lies' are songs in which the band shows their songwriting skills and their potential for the future.

Too bad I missed them live on stage recently as I am very curious how they put on a live show.

I have some copies in the webshop here...

new Enfant Terrible compilation (spring 2010)

Promo reel 1:

review: Blessure Grave - Judged By 12, Carried By 6

Release The Bats from Sweden began its activities with releasing some contemporary batcave and post-punk music. New and upcoming bands found their way to listeners through this label. More and more the label moved to more experimental music... music you could still file under post-punk but much more diverse in sounds and textures as before. With this LP by Blessure Grave the label shows it did not forget it roots and still has a good taste in more traditional post-punk sounds.

Blessure Grave from the USA is a relatively new name (they have some 7 inches out, among them a split with Cold Cave) around in the USA indie guitar/post-punk scene. Together with Swann Danger and Black Ice they are for sure among the most interesting bands around in this field of music.

Some people will complain they have heard it all before and yes it is all there... a bit of The Cure (Pornography LP period), touches early Death In June, some Jesus & The Marychain and so on... but even if this is the case Blessure Grave produced an album filled with quality songs that take you on a wonderful melancholy trip. For the fans of this music a real feast for sure.

Still for people not being die-hard fans of the style this LP could be the one to pick up as well. While many bands claim to be influenced by Joy Division and playing some sort of neo wave Blessure Grave truly goes into that territory. And, they do it with a touch of authenticity I do not hear that often with many of the guitar bands around today.

The best thing about this band is the lo-fi sound. Even though the guitars are quite clear the production is rather lo-fi. The vocals are a bit muffled as if they are coming from beyond the grave, but never annoying or anything.

If you are bored of all the fake Joy Division tributes but also are not looking for the typical goth bands then Blessure Grave is here to please you. Simply an excellent debut album! There are a few copies in the Enfant Terrible webshop here...