As you have come to expect with Friday Night Five, this week’s episode features an array of emerging artists that cover a range of styles. From techno-driven darkwave duos to shoegaze with giant washes of sound to totally chill and delicate dreampop. Another interesting twist is two of our bands featured tonight offer up reinterpreted covers of classic tracks.
Ghost Noise is a trio based out of Los Angeles that plays an ethereal, minimalist and shimmering electronic goth that is both gloomy and catchy at the same time. Dramatic male and female vocals are paired over delicate guitar melodies and synth washes. Tracks featured include: “Farther and Fainter,” “Darker the Night, Deeper the Sea,” and “Throne of the Third Heaven.”
Ask for Joy is a noisy, brash and in your face shoegaze that uses huge walls of shimmering, fuzzy guitar paired with loads of reverb and pop vocal harmonies. Brazenly, Aaron Rossetto, provacateur of Ask for Joy, implores the question, “Is this shoegaze enough for you mothers?” on his Sleep Fighter single. Tracks featured include: “Pinprick Eyes,” “Sleep Fighter,” and a re-imagining of the Fleetwood Mac song “Everywhere.”
We Draw A is a duo from Wroclaw Poland that plays, what they describe as “romantic techno.” Totally chill and expansive, We Draw A brings you into their luscious world of polished synths, delicate harmonies and rhythmic drum beats. Tracks featured include “Bound to Love,” “Waking Hour,” and their stunning new single “Tomorrow” available on their upcoming release “Ghosts.”
Killwave is a synthpunk duo from Chicago that plays an irreverent blend of darkwave, industrial, techno and experimental music. With gritty, emotionless growling vocals layered over loopy synths, shreddy industrial guitars and jerky, frantic rhythms, they create techno anthems for the disaffected. Tracks include “The Calling,” “Down Through Tokyo,” and the Laibach-esque “Where’s God.”
Plasticon is a trans-Atlantic duo comprised of Don Tyler, a Los Angeles mastering engineer, composer and musical mystic, and Jeremy Gluck, a London-based visionary, vocalist and lyricist. Their unique style of synthwave combines elements of glitchy rhythms, big, fat, juicy synths and detached vocals. The result is diverse, dancey and delicious. Tracks featured include the life-affirming “Binary Mantra,” and their re-envisioning of the Suicide song “Dream Baby Dream.”
That’s it for this week’s edition of the Friday Night Five. Be sure to tune in to Strawberry Tongue Radio at 19:00, 21:00 and 23:00 EDT to hear selected tracks from each of these bands and be sure to visit their websites for more information about their latest work and to purchase their tracks. Also, be sure to listen to Strawberry Tongue Radio to hear our unique playlist featuring current and classic artists playing post punk, new wave, indie, electronic and experimental music.