Crimewave – Queen City Sounds and Art

Waves_On_Waves’ Tragically Romantic Single “Bloody Valentine” is a Melodic Earworm of Darkwave Post-Punk

Waves_On_Waves, photo courtesy the artist

Listening purely musically to “Bloody Valentine” Waves_On_Waves (with Crimewave and Waves On Waves After Dark) one hears the chimy, lingering guitar work and pulsing synth and rhythms of an updated synth pop song. Mark Christopher Sevier’s expressive vocals match the unconventional melodic progression of the song all while he creates the image of the kind of tragic romance he may have witnessed, experienced and was involved in while part of the Goth scenes of Los Angeles and New York of recent years or at least the myth of it and the ways people find solace in and relief from their psychic anguish whether in relationships, creative transmutation of personal turmoil or self-destructive acts that distract at least for a little while and maybe carry you through the times when things seem to press so hard against your emotional state. Whatever the inspiration, the songwriters and producers for the track have crafted an earworm of a darkwave flavored post-punk track with an elegant flair and sensitivity with the subject matter. Watch the video for “Bloody Valentine” on YouTube and follow Waves_On_Waves at the links below.

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Waves_On_Waves Struggles With the Loss of an Identity of Melancholic Detachment on Synthwave Single “Messed up and Fell in Love”

Waves_On_Waves delivers another song of regret and inverted tragedy on “Messed up and Fell in Love.” With collaborators Crimewave and Death By Algorithm the producer and songwriter establish a driving beat with percussive bass synth and ghostly guitar to frame vocals that might be described as passionate but desolated. The beat bounces lending the synthwave song the aspect of a dance track perfect for a DJ night catering to fans of synthwave or darkwave. In moments the song is reminiscent of something one might hear on a Big Black Delta record with the dense but dynamic rhythm and understated melodrama. The lyrics seem to be from the perspective of someone who has come to romanticize their own misery, wearing his sense of melancholic detachment like an imagined barrier to getting hurt. But he meets someone who pulls him out of that adopted identity for a moment and thus the chorus and title, “Messed up and fell in love.” When you cultivate an aspect of your personality so meticulously and seemingly thoroughly it can feel like a mistake to allow yourself feel strongly and to feel a connection with someone against what you think of as your will. But in the song we hear a sense of resignation and even acceptance. The line “I’m defined by loss” becomes prophetic in the end because our narrator loses the veneer of sanguine cool at least to himself as well as the losses that have been the touchstones of his life and yet it seems this loss is one much more desirable. Listen to “Messed up and Fell in Love” by Waves_On_Waves on Spotify and follow the project at the links below. Look for the forthcoming collaborative album Coffin Kids due out in 2024.

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Waves_On_Waves on Facebook

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Waves_On_Waves on YouTube

Waves_On_Waves Taps ORAX and Crimewave For Darkwave Breakup Track “Stab Me In The Back”

Waves_On_Waves tapped 23 different producers for the album Synthony of Destruction (which released on October 21, 2022) so that each track has a distinctly different quality and character. ORAX and Crimewave worked on “Stab Me In The Back” and brought to it a sound that splices together aspects of 1980s synth disco, 1990s industrial dance music and modern darkwave. The result is glittery guitar work interweaving with layers of synth both atmospheric and orchestrated tonal arpeggios creating a dramatic backdrop haze for a song about a bad breakup either romantic or other partnership and the way a person who knows too much about you can betray you in specific ways and cause you social and psychological harm. In the song the vocals call for a clean break and not hold on in a co-dependent dynamic of manipulation with one person thriving off the negative attention that doesn’t serve them so well in the long term either even if it might seem thrilling and rewarding in the moment when just letting go would be a better use of time and energy. Fans of late 90s and early 2000s industrial rock will find something to like here though its flavor is more post-punk and vulnerable rather than aggressive in its approach to the subject matter. Listen to “Stab Me In The Back” on YouTube and follow Waves_On_Waves and ORAX and Crimewave at the links below.