A Shrine To Failure
Undone
self-released
Despite the heavy trad-goth connotations of German duo A Shrine To Failure’s name, promo photos, and hell, even choice of fonts, there’s precious little influence from gothic rock or deathrock to be found on their debut Undone…at least on the surface. The beats and synths which make up most of Undone aren’t that dissimilar from the instrumentation that makes up so much run-of-the-mill darkwave in 2025, but A Shrine To Failure press them into plaintive, heart on sleeve tunes which hearken back to a broader pool of inspirations. Tunes like “Reverie” and “This Is Surrender” borrow from all manner of classic goth acts both in terms of lyrical drama and musical flair, or at least more adept contemporaries like Wingtips and Rosegarden Funeral Party who have a clear read on how much goth history was built on pop and rock fundamentals. Despite its minimal and modern construction, “Bleakware” brings a decent amount of melody and harmonics without relying too heavily on its pure darkwave rhythm. Similarly, the straightforward staccato punch of “Starving”‘s synth program builds alongside increasingly anxious vocals, almost recalling early Ashbury Heights. A very strong debut from a band with clear songwriting chops beyond their tenure. Recommended.
Viva Non
Natural
self-released
Winnipeg’s Viva Non has been a lot of things over the course of last decade, touching musically on darkwave, industrial, techno and ambient. With the James Hofer recently announcing a return to performing and releasing synthpop-styled material, the most recent EP Natural takes the role of summarizing the project’s instrumental technoid era, a role that it does in fine fashion. “Hollow” is encapsulates the shuffling, rhythmic sensibility of Hofer’s live PA sets, its judiciously placed kicks and snatches of programming immersed in waves of hissing static and low hypnotic drones. Alternately, “Break” dips into straighter kick-snare patterns, but subtly layers in more synth parts, some chirpy, some fluid and snake-like, all leading to a tense crescendo that recalls Mlada Fronta amongst others. “Encircle” in both its original form and its Filmmaker remix embodies Viva Non’s focus on mood via production; the former keeps its pads and non-percussive elements ephemeral, the latter has them follow in the wake of the beefed up drums, suggesting distance and scale through placement in the mix. If this is the last EP of this style for Hofer for the foreseeable future, its certainly a fine capstone for this incarnation of the project.
