Sounds From Autumn 2024
A sonic moodboard for the season that was.
What a strange time, Autumn 2024. While many of us are grappling with painful reminders of the illusion of choice in American (and world) politics, the collective vibe and the media rhetoric feels all too familiar. We’ve been here before and–if history is anything to go from–as long as things remain as they are, we are bound to revisit this place in the future. With the United States Presidential Election taking up all of the air in the media this season, it's reminiscent of the suspicions and scandals of the recent past, specifically the Reagan/Thatcher era, Cold War paranoia, and sentiments about the Vietnam War.
This playlist is 21 songs and about 90 minutes of music from artists old and new hailing from the underground. Truthfully, this playlist was made before November but given the sociopolitical climate these days, it warranted a few revisions. Maybe a purely punk playlist will be coming to directly speak to the frustrations of late (drop us a line and let us know if you’d like us to make that happen) but for now, you’ll find a few tracks scattered throughout this playlist from the greats like Crass and Killing Joke among others who found a way to channel their discontent into a battle hymn. Emerging artists and a few autumn-relevant classic tracks are to be found here as well. Read on for insights into some of the songs that were selected for this season’s playlist.
As always,
To be played at maximum volume.
The March Violets - Hammer the Last Nail
There’s plenty of ‘goth’ lore around The March Violets’ beginnings in Leeds in the early 80s and that ground has been well covered. What’s impressive to me is seeing the music remain center stage and having this quality of a record come out over 40 years after their first release on Andrew Eldritch’s Merciful Release label, the 7-inch Religious As Hell (1982). The strength and clarity of Rosie Garland’s voice is remarkable and this track proves the alternative genres don’t just belong to the young ones making music.
Front and back album art of The March Violets, Religious As Hell 7-inch (1982).
Alan Vega - Shooting For You
Initially a track that was written by Ric Ocasek in 1983 to be considered for The Cars’ 1984 album Heartbeat City, the track was not used and the song was later given to Alan Vega and produced by Ocasek (of course) giving us the second track on the contract-fulling second release Just A Million Dreams (1985). There’s something magical about a song that finds its home with an artist that didn’t write it, and the history between Ocasek and Vega is the stuff of punk music legends. Alan Vega needs no introduction, but suffice it to say that his Elektra days showcased ‘the softer side’ of his sound: much more commercially friendly, but still too ‘out there’ to be a major radio hit. And so, the album and the featured track here remains pieces of a rich history of music collaborations and the fact that, despite all the backstory, this is an undeniably fun and danceable song.
tassel - (V.) Crawling
This trio from Phoenix, Arizona USA has a lot going for them: a great overall aesthetic, increasing buzz thanks to their touring efforts since 2023, and for simply putting out a solid album. Sitting somewhere between EBM, industrial, and techno, tassel fuses all of this with a very punk attitude and their latest release A Sacrifice: Unto Idols sets the bar a little higher for the many other bands that fall into Tassel’s musical ‘side of the fence.’
T.S.O.L. - Weathered Statues
With searing lyrics delivered by T.S.O.L. vocalist Jack Grisham, “Weathered Statues” is found on the Z-side of the 1982 EP of the same name. This is a song that does not shy away from the harsh realities many veterans have faced upon returning from the theatre of war and finding that things at home are far from what they thought it would be and the meaning of their service and sacrifice has become an existential dilemma, begging the question, “What was it all for?” Award-winning films like 1917 (2019) and The Deer Hunter (1978), among many others, explored the horrors of war, the psychological impact on the people involved, and the ultimate senselessness of it all. Clearly, the themes of this song maintain relevance today and serve as a warning for listeners to contemplate their awareness of current events as well as their belief in government and the purpose of military service.
T.S.O.L. cover of Weathered Statues single, 1982.
Screaming For Emily - Deity
If you recognize this band’s name but can’t quite place them, they appeared on the comp Killed by Deathrock: Vol. 1 (2014) via Sacred Bones and featuring artwork by Alexander Heir. Although the details are murky, this track is from their release Malice in 2005 but the album has some attributions to Emilysongs (BMI) in 1988–perhaps a record connoisseur will chime in to clarify. The sound is classic post-punk with moody synths that make this a memorable track.
X - Big Black X
X is still cooler than most bands and they’ve been at it since their first release Adult Books in 1978. They’ve been touring throughout 2024 to promote the album Smoke & Fiction which came out earlier this year and I think Exene said it best about the story behind the song, sharing the following in an interview she did in August for The Line of the Best Fit, saying, “Some people have said that this song is about nostalgia, but that’s not what it is to me…To me, this song is like a graphic novel of what our life in Los Angeles was like when we first started out. For people who were there, it’s really fun to hear those songs again, but [if] you weren’t then it’s still really cool because everyone always wants to know what it was like.”
The front and back cover artwork for X’s Adult Book/We’re Desperate (1978).
Angelyne - Dust
The queen of L.A. billboards appears here with one of her moodier songs originally form the EP Beauty & The Pink (2000) and more recently re-released on the Pink Kitten comp Eargasmmm (2019) which fits nicely into the vibe of the season: dark, hypnotic, and the lyrics, “Dust to dust / Who can you trust?” Since YouTube is worried our readers will be activated by watching an Angelyne video, you’ll have to watch the teaser clip for “Dust” there.
The artwork for Angelyne’s single “Dust.”
Teardux - The Line
The artist themselves said it best: Teardux is “synth-pop for lovers.” This band has a lot going for it: a slick sound that appeals to the electronic crowd and those who love anything that reminds them of dance music from the 1980s and 1990s as well as songwriting that feels meaty enough to listen to at home but still dance to in a club environment. There’s a late 90s/early 00s nod happening with the look and sound of Teardux and I’m all for it.
Cover artwork for Teardux’s 2024 single “The Line.”
Uncanny Chamber - Death Cards
The Lisbon-based darkwave duo Uncanny Chamber released Echoes of Absence in October 2024 with the lead single “Death Cards” which has great vocals from Mariana Pinheiro and somehow reminds me of both :wumpscut: and Faith and the Muse. I’m sharing the video here purely because I like the glitter eyeshadow Mariana wears.
Skelesys - Little Self
With his debut LP Fading Echoes released on 15 November, Skelesys’ third single released ahead of the LP was “Little Self” and the vibe of this track is refreshingly layered and catchy. It’s cool to see Skelesys having a proper full-length relese of his work and if you’re a vinyl collector, you can grab the album in a limited run of brick red vinyl including an A2 poster signed by the artist.
Artwork for Skelesys Fading Echoes (2024).
Desinteresse - De Helse Poort
This track is the B-side from the first 7-inch vinyl release in August by the Netherlands band Desinteresse (“Disinterest”). The track name translates to “The Gate of Hell/The Hell Gate” and with the guitar and bass tones on the track it's clear this band’s songwriting is evolving from their initial full length Voor Altijd (2023) but retaining their coldwave leanings.
Desinteresse artwork for Grijze Dromen (2024).
The Harrow - Vanishing Point
Anyone paying attention to dark alternative music in the mid 2010s will remember the standout album from Brooklyn band The Harrow entitled Silhouettes (2015). It was dark, atmospheric, and haunting with layers of shoegaze and dream pop. It's great to see them back at it with this track from EP Cinderglow released in November featuring a new vocalist and all the layers of atmosphere listener’s have come to expect from this band.
The Harrow’s latest release, Cinderglow (2024).
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Mittageisen
A 7-inch single dedicated to the artist John Heartfield, this early release from the band can also be heard on 1979’s The Scream. The German song title is attributed in English as “Metal Postcard” but the name itself is wordplay, incorporating the German root words “lunch/mid-day meal” and “iron,” directly relating to the Heartfield artwork used for the cover. There is much to say about the artwork selected for this song and the lyrics themselves which is best fit for a separate analysis, but thanks to the Internet Archive, we have the fantastic article my former Lethal Amounts Magazine colleague Judith D. wrote on the topic.
The front and back cover of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ single Mittageisen/Love In A Void (1979).
John Heartfield’s photo collage “Hurrah, die Butter ist alle! (Hurrah, There’s No Butter Left!)” was initially used on the front page of the German magazine Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung (Workers Illustrated Journal), published on 19 December 1935.
“This complex piece is one of the most famous anti-fascist images showing the effect of senseless war on civilians. This complex piece of John Heartfield art plays off the words of a speech Hermann Goering gave in Hamburg. The caption (Hurrah, die Butter is alle! Goering in seiner Hamburger Rede: “Erz hat stets ein Reich stark gemacht, Butter und Schmalz haben höchstens ein Volk fett gemacht.”) translates to (Hurrah, There’s No Butter Left! Goering in his Hamburg speech: “Ore [iron] has always made an empire strong, butter and lard have made a people fat at most.”). There is terrible sadness in Heartfield’s comical take on Göring words. This famous anti-fascist image is meticulously detailed, right down to the tiny swastika on the ax the baby uses as a teething ring.”
The Snake Corps - In Flux
Fans of Sad Lovers & Giants already know about this song with Garçe’s vocals on Feeding the Flame (1983). This version by Snake Corps is grittier and the vocals by Marc Lewis feel more pained, which suits the song even better. The track first appeared on the 7-inch single for Science Kills (1985) and later on the compilation More Than the Ocean (1990). “In Flux” remains a personal favorite from The Snake Corps. because it captures what they did best, taking the signature guitar sound of SL&G and applying it with a darker edge, thanks to the quality of Marc Lewis’ voice and the percussive grit supplied by Jon Greville’s drums, who you might know better through his work with Rudimentary Peni.
The Snake Corps Science Kills (1985).
Check out the playlist on Spotify and look out for the next one.
