Top of the Shock: PAT 626’s Top 5 Tracks for November, 2022
Top of the Shock is PAT 626’s monthly roundup of songs which blew them away during the previous month’s episodes of Subculture Shock. These 5 tracks refused to be played without comment, and PAT wants to make sure that if you missed an episode or two, you didn’t miss these gems.
There’s something about the slow chilling of November that puts me in a melancholy mood. Most people call it Seasonal Affective Disorder, but for me it’s the time when my tastes in music grow more somber than usual. Perhaps that’s the explanation for this month’s top 5, but more likely these are just kickass songs.
5. Who Saw Her Die - Mouthful of Nothing
Strings are so often used solely for support these days, so it’s wonderful to hear a piercing strings melody in a traditional goth song. It perfectly punctuates the theme of red flags and wearing one’s toxicity as a badge of honor while the vocals drip with apathy masking disappointment - a feeling we listeners unfortunately know too well.
4. Vlimmer - Schädelhitze
Alexander Leonard Donat is probably one of the most original musicians in the scene right now, crafting a unique and immediately identifiable sound, thanks mostly to fantastic vocal oddities, regardless of what genre he chooses to transform. What’s amazing is how he creates such effortless hooks when it’s obvious he doesn’t give a damn whether or not his music appeals to popular audiences. “Schädelhitze” is everything I like about a dancefloor track: easy to move to but so off-the-beaten-path that it doesn’t get lost in a mix.
3. Frenchy and the Punk - If The World Doesn’t End First
I almost played this in October, because while the single New York Duo Frenchy and the Punk released that month was good, this definitely stands out on the album. Luckily I got to showcase it anyway, so now all of you get to experience the best in an unfortunately necessarily growing trend of dystopian love songs. Any band that can make such a bittersweet feeling into such a foot-tapping bop deserves the accolades I hope they get.
2. Batavia - Ann D Us
It’s funny; when Ed Cripps sent me the new single from one of Tigersquawk Records’s most impressive bands (and that’s saying something), he warned me that it might be too “by the book R&B” for my format. Little did he know I’ve been on a tear about this sort of thing on Subculture Talk lately. The bands we consider founders of goth and post-punk weren’t following any rules to create their sound; they bent, blended, and broke what they already knew to create music that just happened to inspire a whole subgenre. Now it’s up to the bands of today to do the same thing instead of just churning out copies lest some scenester with way too high an opinion of themself label their tracks “not goth enough.” This is the quintessential Batavia song, churning a variety of genres including post-punk, alternative, and yes R&B, into a heartwrenchingly dark anthem of loss. Other bands looking to be heard should take notes, not so they can ape this sound but so they’re less afraid to try their own experimentation.
1. Deathdance (feat. Mona Mur) - People Like You
Do yourself a favor and check out the catalog of GIVE/TAKE records, as there’s not a single release there not made up of brilliant artists perfecting their craft. “People Like You” exemplifies this trend by combining Augustus Watkins, KPT, and Mona Mur for one of the most dancefloor melting hits of 2022. I love a good scream-along chorus, but the creepy organ breakdown and beat which recalls every haunted factory I’ve ever seen propel this song to levels that only well-executed death pop can hit.
Did Pat miss an October track that changed your life? Leave a comment below telling them why it’s good and they’ll check it out. And don’t forget to catch Subculture Shock every Sunday at 10pm E / 7pm P on Twitch to find your new favorite for November.
