Horror Vacui – S/T (Post-Goth Punk Goth)

 

Yes, Goth stuff. I’ve been making more of an effort to find such things for review, because I just don’t get enough. When’s the word going to get out there already that this site covers all things dark? Maybe Goth labels are simply not as proactive with publicity? That would fit the aesthetic more, so we’ll go with that. Well, I’m in a Goth mood, and to make it more Goth how about a depressed 7″ from a band that declares itself “punker than dark, darker than punk?” It’s Horror Vacui!

   

They’ve been around for a little over a decade, and they’re more punk than they think, and less dark. Reason being that Horror Vacui plays like they were already a decade old in the early 1980s so prepare yourself for a 7″ time machine. As soon as the flanged and echoed to hell bass pulses as the heart of the band the entire listen is immediately before you, simultaneously it’s a blessing and a curse. It fully wraps the listener in a snuggly Goth, post-punk blanket against the cold world, but over time stifles the real being within that demands freshness. This isn’t to say the band fails, on the contrary they’re exceptionally good at what they do down to the tenderly painful vocals, but other than a cleaner production that lets the gossamer riffs shimmer like a fading sun in dusky bass, it’s familiar in far too many ways. The main track is the winner, for sure, and this is in preparation for a new full-length in 2024, so if there’s growth beyond some minor details present in this 7″ we’ll have to wait to see.

 

Horror Vacui Official Facebook

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Horror Vacui – S/T 7″
Agipunk Records
Cover Art: Liz Van Der Nüll
4.1 / 5