Top of the Shock: PAT 626’s Top 5 Tracks for October, 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.
Last month I mentioned how happily I drowned in new tunes, but little did I know the true flood had yet begun. October offered up a banquet of dark music, and November has already been so strong that I haven’t had time until now to finish wrapping up my list of favorites for the previous month. Don’t worry; I’m pretty sure you’ll find these tracks worth the wait.
5. Unheard Sirens Inc. - Fetish for Freedom
I have to show some home-state love to the treasure that is Unheard Sirens Inc. Remy and Juliet learned a great deal from their Yazoo tribute earlier this year, now firing a sexy blend of synthwave and 80s directly onto dancefloors and impressionable minds. There’s a light-hearted seriousness unique to yesteryear present here: double and triple entendres get twisted into a celebration of political, gender, and sexual freedom. Resist the urge to roll your eyes at the word “fetish” long enough to recognize that the lyrics imply how certain freedoms are unspoken of in “polite society” and you’ll suddenly realize just how poignant this message is.
4. Vision Video - Haunted Hours
There’s such a thing as “love at first chord,” and this song had my heart before the drums even kicked in. The lush guitar comforts even as the pleading lyrics remind us of moments we might rather forget. A lot of post-punk bands get stuck imitating The Cure: all of the sounds with none of the substance. But this is no generic pop song. Instead it leads us through a labyrinth of changes until, in the end, we are lost - never to return home the same person we were.
3. Silver Walks - Eyes of Caligula
Keep an eye on Dan McCullough - at least one eye and definitely both ears. This song presents a master class in dance floor industrial. Each shout, noisy breakdown, and beep is expertly placed, conveying frustration well before the lyrics join in. Every time I hear it, I remember why I love this band so much.
2. Distance H (feat. Marita Volodina) - Waters of Woe
You know what this year needed? A 6 minute goth anthem, soaked with rich guitar tone, ethereal harmonies, and punchy drum breakdowns. Sometimes you just wanna be the stereotype and wander around a foggy graveyard at night, and Distance H happily provides the soundtrack for the experience.
1. Telefís (feat. Jah Wobble) - Circling Over Shannon
No use being coy here; this choice shouldn’t surprise anyone given my recent article praising the unequivocally tremendous duo of Jacknife Lee and the late Cathal Coughlan. Since the singles from a Dó tend to lean more towards standard alterna-pop, I grabbed one of the darker tracks for Subculture Shock so as to get everyone’s attention. “Circling Over Shannon” holds that attention with a refrain both easy to repeat and terrifying to actually process. The delivery is uncompromising in its uneasiness, which fits well surrounding lyrics written of a time decades past that is depressingly relevant to our modern age.
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.
