UPDATE
Dead Lights released a new video today for “Run,” one of my favorite tracks from their latest EP. The video features a live performance from the duo, so it offers our first look at how their incredible aesthetic translates to a stage show.
The international project began during the pandemic, so the two members of Dead Lights worked on their music remotely and hadn’t met in person. In April, they finally performed together for the first time, appearing on stage in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Dead Lights performed five songs live. You can watch the entire mini-concert at their website starting on June 19.
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There is a ton of buzz surrounding new band Dead Lights. If you haven’t caught on to them, now’s your chance. Dead Lights has a new EP out today called Doom Doom Trash that captures their sleazy, pulse-pounding sound.
Doom Doom Trash contains five tracks of dark club beats that combine elements of industrial, EBM, and technopop. The EP was preceded by first single “Doom Doom Trash,” which they say is “a celebration of glamorous and seedy nightlife that has been sorely missed these last years.”
I’m still digesting the EP, but it’s a dynamic blend of ripping electronic sounds and abrasive lyrics delivered with devilish charm. Choice lines include “Follow me into delirium” and “When it’s time to let go, release the beast in me!”
Dead Lights is a duo comprised of enigmatic musicians Saul and Richard. They formed the project in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and produced two well-received EPs, Death Pop and Hex. In the summer of 2021, they released their debut album, the self-titled Dead Lights, which includes the singles “Plastic Girl” and “The Raven.” Reportedly, the two have never met in person, but you’d hardly know it from their well-crafted photos and videos.
One of the best things about Dead Lights is their androgynous, visceral approach to image and songcraft. They’ve revived the smeared makeup, punk-goth aesthetic that once proliferated in dark underground culture. As for their sound, they describe it as “like Nitzer Ebb jamming with The Prodigy at a graveyard fetish party.”
You can find Doom Doom Trash on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Amazon.