To coincide with their new monthly residency on the MDR airwaves, Where Are The Girl Bands? offer us a monthly glimpse into what they’ve been up to and what’s caught their attention over the past 30 days…
This month at Where are the Girlbands has been spent putting together our Halloween Party gig in collaboration with Bitch Palace. When creating the line-up, we found that sourcing some spooky scouse sounds for our night of unearthly serenades went across genres. Artists making the softest bedroom pop, to furious riot girl grunge, all gave us goosebumps (in the RL Stein sense and because these tunes are UNREAL). And so we decided to put together a playlist of all the most Spooktacular songs we found on our quest – this article is a guide to some of our favourite terrifying tracks!
Natalie and the Monarchy – Envy the Villain
‘Envy the Villain’ is a seductive song to dance to in the darkness. As Natalie sings “let me lose myself and never be found”, you will feel yourself sinking into her dreamy melodies. Met with heavy instrumentation and a chorus that speaks to 80s post punk anthems, you’ll be whirling around your bedroom in no time. Not only is this song well produced, catchy and unlike any other sound on the Liverpool scene at the moment, it also manages to capture that feeling of being alone with your demons and deciding to invite them in. This feeling of falling into the arms of a more sinister version of yourself is echoed in Natalie’s statement about the song: “ ‘Envy the Villain’ is about the behaviour I experienced when taking on the role of ‘Mistress Veronica’ as a dominatrix. The song is about wanting to be that confident and intimidating character 24/7 and how mentally draining it was until I found balance.”
If you want to fall further into the otherworldly feeling of this song, you need look no further than Natalie and the Monarchy’s YouTube channel, where you can find their music video made in collaboration with local photographer lens of a wool.
The video flicks between imagery of sickly sweet birthday cakes, blindfolded yearning, a grinning devil smoking a 1920s cigarette and long forgotten dead flowers – a combination that brings to life the tantalising narrative of the song. The bewitching tune is available on all streaming platforms, with all Bandcamp proceeds going to the Red Umbrella Fund.
Natalie and the Monarchy are known for their immersive live performances and the seductively sinister something that can be found in their music, making them the DREAM band for a Halloween gig. We are lucky enough to have Natalie and the Monarchy headlining our Halloween Party at Bloom Building on Saturday 30th October, if this teaser has left you yearning for more!
Anyone’s Ghost – Anyone’s Ghost
This single is just one song from an entire EP filled with yearning and the ghosts that haunt each of our lives. When I first sat down to review this EP, I had just finished a day spent juggling work and managing some intense family issues. Putting in my headphones and pressing play, I felt myself immediately submerged. Soundscapes and lamenting melodies swarming around me, shutting out the world, carrying me to the place in which these songs were born; the place these lyrics and immersive waves of sound were thought up and felt. This EP was exactly what I needed; to leave the noise of my life and enter the heavenly vocals that seemed to relate, reaching out to draw me in, a comfort and a companion in my feeling. As soon as you press play you will understand exactly what I mean. This EP is pure feeling manifested, intense and overwhelming in the way that you need when you too are feeling intensely. Amongst the fields of ascensional sounds, you hear whispers of delicate lyrics speaking of death, romance, mystery and ghosts. ‘Anyone’s Ghost’ feels like mist; it feels like mourning and solemnity, the heaviness of coming to your own thoughts at the end of the day, and yet it feels like escape. Poetic and unrelenting in its beauty and haunting, I know this record is one I will return to time and time again, a soundtrack to a time and a heavy place, lifted up by soft vocals and the knowledge that others out there are feeling the same waves crashing against them as I am.
Abi Rose Kelly – Kill the Waitress
This single is drenched in the horrors of the everyday and how murderously mundane it can all become. The single’s pounding drum intro is an instant hook and the punchy guitars are what fully pull you in. ‘Kill The Waitress’ is rough around the edges, with a fiery moodiness running through. Switching from breathy vocals to a fierce, gritty roar in the chorus, Abi firmly sets herself up as an electrifying no-nonsense musician, whilst also laying bare her undeniable songwriting skills and crystallising an incredibly accomplished sound for a musician so new.
Abi says of the track: “‘Kill the Waitress’ is a song about how angry I am with facing the same angry people every day and how I view my life in general, coming to terms with being miserable and getting on with it. No self-pity here, we’re all human.”
Kristrún – Godless
Kristrún creates ‘music for star crossed lovers’ wrapped up in crashing synthesisers and hauntingly delicate vocals. With songs that speak to spiritual experiences of love, loss, desire and religion, Kristrún captures you in a powerful and trancelike soundscape filled with clever lyrics and ever-building intensity. Kristrún’s latest release, ‘Godless’, is a perfect example of the entrancing force of soft vocals carrying the weight of a dark and intense narrative, to the soaring sound of synths and cyber glitches.
Kristrún enraptures the audience with her enchanting performance, filling the stage with presence and power. We are absolutely thrilled that Kristrún is also performing at our Halloween Party gig! You can’t help but feel yourself rise and fall to the songs, eyes tied to the theatre on stage. Goosebumps are a definite when you see her perform live, and what better a time to lose your soul to spiritual synths than at our Halloween Party at Bloom Building Birkenhead?
To hear more about the WATGB Halloween Party, along with tonnes more tunes to fill up your own October soundtracks, check out their ‘October Catch-Up’ episode on Melodic Distraction Radio. And don’t forget to cop a ticket to their WAGTB Halloween Party here!
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