Poltergeists is a biweekly feature in which Michael and Wes share tracks that they have had on repeat over the past two weeks.
Michael
FLESH - “In Der Nacht Von Freitag zu Donnerstag”
FLESH, from Germany, is a great witch house project that I came across a few weeks ago in my bandcamp search for the French band, also called FLESH. The album art for their newest EP, “Nachtangst” is what sucked me in initially, but the second I pressed play I knew that I was in for the long haul. There is a great sense of longing and darkness to the tracks on this EP. A lot of really subtle layers come in and out of a morose background and I just can’t get enough. It is definitely worth checking out if you are feeling nice and gloomy.
100blumen - “Time Loop”
Don’t be fooled by the long, ambient intro, “Time Loop” is pure aggression. This is definitely not the 100blumen that I am familiar with, but a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed the ant-zen “Surveillance” era 100blumen, which had a lot of great noise textures and a wonderful message to every track. This new electro-punk version is a great change and I embrace it equally, if not more than that era! There are still full electronic elements beneath the acoustic drums and distorted guitars, which make each of the tracks on “Under Siege” unique. This is the kind of genre bending and changing that I look for in new music, and it should be no surprise that the brilliant minds behind 100blumen are at the wheel.
Wes
Lié - “Sorry”
I’ve seen Lié twice in about a month, so I figured it was about time that we wrote about them. Lié is a cold punk/dark wave/whatever you want to call this particular mix of influences band from Vancouver, B.C. I think the cold punk label is particularly apt, as they mix the drive and energy of punk music with the dark vibes of your gothier jams. In this particular song, I feel like these energies are especially present. While some of their songs veer more punk than others, “Sorry” in particular balances the dark tones with the fast driving energy that you’d expect from punk. If you haven’t listened to Lié, and you have the chance to see them live, make sure you take advantage of the opportunity.
estates - “Stuck”
When I was in high school, I considered myself a purist when it came to punk music. I didn’t believe in emotional music unless that emotion was angry as fuck and let’s destroy everything. These days, however, I am finding myself engaging more and more in music like estates; music that high school me would have wanted to punch me in the face for listening to. Either way, it reminds me of the days I spend in tiny venues pogoing to whatever local punk band was playing, regardless of how street it was.