here’s a song in a genre i’ve never listened to before… gothic rock. but first, let me ask, what exactly is gothic rock? i mean, what is it supposed to sound like? gothic rock has always appeared to me as a genre that’s more defined by lyrical content and emotion than actual music, since it sounds, most of the time, like darker post-punk. i’m not very much into goth, so forgive my total lack of understanding. if someone can explain this to me, send over a comment. 🙂
in the case of “Dead Souls”, the lyrics and vocals are chilling and macabre. i’ve listened to closer, which has joy division’s more new wave-adjacent work, and i think the instrumentation here does better complement ian curtis’ (rest in peace) monotone but dramatic voice. the more i listen to joy division, the more he uncannily sounds like interpol’s paul banks. the song overall feels very the velvet underground & nico-esque. and the bass line is friggin’ awesome.
i liked this song so much a month ago i got inspired to read the novel this song was named after, and was promptly disappointed to find out it wasn’t about dead ghosts calling to the protagonist. overall, a pretty awesome song. give it a listen if you haven’t already!
q-street 