It has been a long wait for Bellhead fans, their last new material was 2023’s Good Intentions. But as they say, all good things come to those who wait; patience is a virtue, and all of that malarky. And here it is, the wait is over: five new songs and two bonus remixes for your delight.
And those who know them best will be asking a few pertinent questions, ensuring that they are the same band they always were. Are there going to be songs about Death? Yes, of course. What about tales of Revenge? ndeed. Does Drowning get a look in? You know it does. Heartbreak? They have you covered! Femme Fatales, Murder, and Sorrow? Yes, yes, and hell, yes! Fear not; *Bellhead is still in the business of weaving together dark narratives and tortured torch songs, shaded stories, and otherworldly tales.
And musically too, everything you love is still in place, music made from twin bass sonic salvos exploring the shaded fringes of rock and roll, gothic retreats and darkwave dance rituals, kicking off with the title track, a song whose dynamic shifts between creative lulls and punchy returns, featuring whispered vocals and almost industrial intensity. “Heart Shaped Hole” runs like a gothic train to hell, mechanical, relentless, and anthemic, and “Shutters + Stutters” echoes the formative sounds of the early gothic scene, adventurous and apocalyptic in equal measure.
As does “No Dead Horses,” the sound of that early experimental “punk gothique” sound and first sonic stirrings of what became the darkwave scene, pooling and percolating together, and “Double Jeopardy” is a brilliant blend of dark vocals being traded and futuristic sounds taking a turn to the dark side.
Remixes of “Bad Taste” and “Heart Shaped Hole” remind us that songs are never-ending stories to which additional chapters can be added, and when done by a different creative hand, taken on a whole new lease of life…or perhaps undeath.
Yes, the wait was worth it – a magnificent return, not only a reminder of why the band has always been popular with the denizens of the night and the alternative dancefloor divas, but also why, and indeed how, the gothic/darkwave sound has endured this long.
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