Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks.
Michael
Animal Bodies - “Lies in Your Eyes (Tribute to Snowy Red)”
I am going to lose all of the goth points here, but I had no idea who Snowy Red was before hearing this cover of “Lies in Your Eyes.” I think honesty is important to our relationship, and I just wanted to get that off my chest. Also, I stole this from Alex Kennedy of I Die You Die fame, who posted it this morning on Facebook and completely ruined what I had lined up for this article. This is the kind of goth rock that I enjoy most (or whatever you kids are calling it nowadays) - it has the perfect amount of squealing guitars, distant vocals, and electronic elements to put me into that blissful avalanche of sorrow. Really good work.
High-Functioning Flesh - “Confuse The Call”
I really like this track because it brings back a lot of old school feelings for me and really encapsulates the things that I first liked about this type of music. It had the kind of cheesy synths that I liked so much while maintaining a brooding and aggressive facade. HFF were just added to this year’s Canadian summer camp (Terminus Festival: Velocity,) and I know they will just kill it there.
Wes
O. Children - “The Realest”
In “The Realest”, O. Children manages to produce a sound that mixes influences from Rome-esque neofolk with a more traditional post-punk feel. There’s an interesting melancholy to the song; at time it makes you want to feel upbeat, that there is hope in the world, but that hope is pulled from under you by not quite brooding verses. The song feels personal, in a way that a lot of music doesn’t seem to feel lately.
Light Asylum - “Skull Fuct”
Somehow this song manages to not do a whole lot, but still manages to stay interesting through out. Repetition of claps, repetition of synths, repetition of vocals all work together to build a feeling of intensity that never lets up. Maybe it’s the martial feeling of the kick and clap rhythm, maybe its the not-quite-but-sort-of growling vocals, but the intensity that builds up quickly at the beginning carries through.