Synthwave a genre built on cliches and nostalgia wearing its Hawaiian shirt and raybans with pride as it shifts the gear down in a Testarossa Spider and heads for the sunset. By this stage much of the music loving world have decided whether it is something they are on board with, dip their toes into occasionally after digging the Drive soundtrack or scream “hipster” whilst going back to their new cassette collection of Dungeon synth demos. Well with Sunset Neon releasing his album “Starlight” on VHS tape in 2017 it felt like we had gone through the rabbit hole and John Hughes was wearing a top hat and beckoning us into a neon world.
Funnily enough 2017 was also the year that James Kent AKA Perturbator last released some music – the E.P. “New Model”. The tracks on offer there saw Perturbator swerving the more expected John Carpenter meets James Cameron 80’s stylings of his past releases (If you have not heard it go check out “Human’s are such easy prey“ from Dangerous Days you will be shouting “Fuck You Asshole” in a Teutonic accent at everyone you meet ). Instead, New Model takes a darker – less day glo approach to synthwave. Everything was lot grimier and dusty – the skin had been broken on the cyborg and the synthetic blood could be spied congealing on the greasy cogs and pneumatic sinew below.
Lustful Sacraments is a nostalgia trip yes, however this time the sonic time machine stops in a different place, in a different part of town. Imagine if Grand Theft Auto :Vice City had an add on map that consisted of an amalgamation of New York, London, Leeds and Berlin’s goth and industrial scenes between 1987 and 1993 . You with me? You pressing the accelerator down with your winkle picker? Well, what we are listening to as we speed away from the police is this album. In-fact we are probably on our way to watch the Lost Boys after we have killed some pedestrians.
So now we are in costume and character it’s time to pop the tape in the B & O and hit play. You may have been introduced to this new album by the single “Excess” – and what a banger it is. Like VNV Nation, Front 242 and KMFDM taking a ride on a Waltzer eating candy floss. This is great moody electro synth fun. This is the kind of music I used to polish the floors of the Electric Ballroom with my long black cape jacket back in the early 90’s. It’s not just for Goths though – I reckon that the guys in Tech –Noir, the club in Terminator, could do some of that 80’s big arm cardio boogie to this as well.
Away from “Excess” there is lots to explore on the album. As you would expect from Perturbator there are elements of film score running throughout the album with neo noir being the genre of choice. The opener “Reaching Xanadu” feels like it should have opening credits and a New Line Cinema logo emblazoned upon it before the stark Euro post punk of the title track ushers in images of trench coats and attaché cases on a bridge in Budapest. The guitar parts cut through the gloom to offer highlights that make the shadows even darker.
James Kent has brought some chums along for this release with Maniac 2121 offering vocals on both “Excess” and the dreamy Depeche Mode stylings of “Dethroned Under a Funeral Haze”. This track oozes a snakelike sensuality as it’s slightly warped and back masked chords coil and writhe through my ears.
Getting a full featured credit are True Body from Virginia who supply both synths and vocals for “Secret Devotion” a lesson in anglophile goth pop from the late 80’s. You can smell the dry ice and feel the wind machine in your hair (or beard for us baldies). Is that patchouli I can smell?
Slightly more leftfield – or maybe not remembering Kent’s metal past, recent Nuclear Blast signings and fellow Frenchmen Hangman’s Chair also get involved. This Doomgaze (genre police be damned) bunch join the fray for a dreamy trip entitled “God Says”. Ethereal synths meet fuzzy bass riffs and big splashy drums atop proggy vocals for a final float into a neon sky.
“Death of the Soul” has a night time more traditional synthwave feel to it. It is easy to imagine hurtling though 22nd century Tokyo in a driverless pod whilst Belial’s synthetic guest vocals are smothered by the swathes of sugary keys and frenetic beats.
“The Other Place” is Numanoid in nature sounding like a post-apocalyptic sonic-scape awash with scampering street trash struggling to survive under the gaze of fascist hyper tech overlords – so pretty much 2021 then. The stabs of synth give off a massive whiff of Vangelis which smells pretty good amongst all the delicious post punk gothy vibes, whilst “Messalina, Messalina” is glow sticks in the air cyber goth albeit at more of a VNV Nation beat so no need for a defibrillator.
Lustful Sacraments sees Perturbator continue down a dark path but still wearing glow in the dark fingerless gloves to show the way. If only I has summat to back-comb.
(8.5/10 Matt Mason)
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