We’re working through the genres in our Tracks of 2019 Series: Post Punk Darkwave Coldwave Shoegaze Post Rock Playlist on Spotify to bring you best each genre had to offer last year. Having featured the best 50 and 60 tracks from among our Post Rock and Post Punk inclusions on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, the turn has come to present the best 50 Darkwave and Coldwave tracks
The top track comes from Berlin outfit NNHMN (pronounced non-human)with the thumping ‘Häxan’, the tension filled and thrillingly restless single from their full length album Church of No Religion, released in September on Gdansk label Zoharum. At No. 2 and almost a rose between two thorns then is the instant allure of the simultaneously spacious and enveloping ‘La Atlantida’ from Barcelona duo Fatamorgana off their album Terra Alta. The other thorn being Belfast’s Philip Quinn aka Gross Net whose powerful and jarring ‘Social Nationalists’ from his latest record Gross Net is Gross Net laments the ascendancy of the political right and its policies that, aided by neo-liberalism and monopoly capitalism, deliberately foster uncertainty, insecurity, division and inequality and ensure people vote for obscenities like Brexit against their self-interest. At No. 4 is the deep and emotive ‘Gravity & Grace’ from French artist Matthieu Roche aka Fragrance off his excellent Now That I’m Real while New York City duo Tempers complete the Top 5 with the perfectly paced drama of ‘Capital Pains’ off their latest long player released in August on Dais, who have a number of tracks in this list.
The top 10 is completed by the restrained power of ‘Ask Yourself by Los Angeles artist Brady Keehn aka Panther Modern, the cavernous and eerie ‘No Trace’ by London based Australian artist Carla Dal Forno, the pulsating electricity emanating from ‘Ultra Doll’ by Washington D.C duo S Y Z Y G Y X (pronounced siz-ehjix), the shimmering insistence of ‘LA’ by Northhampton duo Boy Harsher and the towering and emotionally uncompromsing ‘Temporal Love from Bay Area singer-songwriter-artist Kennedy Ashlyn aka SRSQ. And if we could make more music joint tenth we’d include ‘Glycine’ by Munich’s Rue Oberkampf, ‘Cherry Girl’ by Monterrey’s Vestron Vulture, ‘La Poussière’ by Montreal’s Automelodi , ‘Driving’ by Chicago’s GRUN WASSER and ‘She Past Away’ by Istanbul vets Disko Anksiyete. Congrats to all and thankyou!
The 50 strong playlist is below which we hope together with the 60 best in Post Punk has covered a decent chunk of the best music these three genres had to offer in 2019. Shoegaze is not far away. Enjoy!