Kavinsky’s new single in anticipation for his first album in almost a decade.
I’ve been listening to Big Red Machine lately.
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I’ve been telling people about “comfort music” for years now as well. Especially when someone is feeling down and needs a comforting mental space.
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Actors have a cinematic sound, if that makes sense.
They are often compared to Interpol, The Cure, Bauhaus, and Joy Division, but they most resemble the early 1980s post-punk band, The Sound. They even cover The Sound’s “Mining for Heart.”
Actors are also older, likely all in their 30-40s. They will never be the “next big thing”, but their small fan base is quite rabid. Sort of like a post-punk/goth equivalent of The Connells. Most of their fans are older people like me.
They are not on the radar of Pitchfork, which is a plus in my opinion. Lol.
I discovered them back in 2018 after I got home from seeing the Skinny Puppy side band, ohGr, in concert. I was looking up ohGr stuff online and stumbled across a list of Best Industrial Albums of 2018. Actors - It Will Come to You was #1 on that list. I listened, and thought to myself, “This does not sound like industrial music at all, but…I love it.”
Actors are on the Artoffact record label, a goth-synth-industrial-centric label that also houses Front Line Assembly. In recent years, I have ventured pretty far down the Artoffact rabbit hole, getting into Wingtips, Bootblacks, and other such bands.
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Chris Bathgate - Loveless Son. The album will be on my end of year list…I hadn’t paid much attention to his last couple albums but this one is much more cohesive.
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Gonna check them out as well. I like that Leathers tune you posted.
The first video below is a good launching point to discover Actors…their KEXP performance from three years ago.
The bassist, Jahmeel Russell, has since amicably left to pursue his own band, so Actors replaced him with a female bassist, Kendall Wooding. With two women and two men in the band now, the dynamics are mostly the same, although the new album shifts into more pure goth, as opposed to the post-punk/goth of the debut, to great result.
Here are a couple of tracks from the new album…
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Oh nicens, right up my street, that! I like the singer’s Bryan Ferry vibe.
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I mean, the whole early '80s vibe, baritone vocals, straight-forward interesting bass lines, a Cure-y vibe, Kraftwerk keyboards… It’s like music I could be making myself. Lovin it, for real.
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Seriously, if you feel so inclined, please check the “Post your music” thread from a couple of days ago. I don’t write exactly like that, squarely into the early '80s, but the seeds are pretty much the same. I honestly have no idea what people could like or not, but maybe you likely want to listen to my cover of “Blue monday”, then idk, “Forget the party” and “I stopped”.
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Solid! Thanks for sharing those tracks.
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I’ve been eagerly anticipating Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, the new album from Big Thief that came out on Friday. I’m only one listen in but I’m loving it. This is one of the more country tinged tracks from the record.
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Had a listen to this today, based on the video you shared, and liked it a lot. It’s been added to my vinyl wish list!
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Been absolutely obsessed with Shamir’s new album Heterosexuality. It’s ambitious, bleak, and harsh in a lot of places but I keep coming back to it. Even when I find the topics hard to listen to, I think it’s definitely an album that reflects where we are in 2022.
I saw these guys live a good 15 years ago, where I went to school. There was a loft at the venue where they had a couch and an old Atari set up. I was disappointed at the fact more people didn’t show up. I talked to the guys how they were influenced by R.E.M., Radiohead, The Beatles, and DJ Shadow.
This is great. Thx. This is why it’s so nice to have Murmurs back.
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Dig it. (getting to 10 characters)
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With you on this. I mentioned previously, I’ve always liked this band and saw them open for The National. But past records were a little too… poppy for my ears? Did not resonate. But absolutely love this one. I actually really liked last year’s Buck Meek record, and I hear some crossover in there. I think this is an instant classic and opus for this band.
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