Written by: Mike Dimitriou
Santa Cruz ‘ Vandal Moon just put out their brand new Wild Insane 8-track LP, (4/20), via Starfield Music.
Comprised of Blake Voss (vocals, guitars, synthesizers and principal songwriter) and Jeremy Einsiedler (drum machines and synthesizers), the band is inspired by the darker acts of the post-punk & darkwave scene of the early 80’s, blending their musical art with an obvious synthpop angle, which makes it all sound more intense and colorful. You won’t hear any darkwave dramas or any post-punk, Division-like transcriptions here–it’s simply a very modern approach, as the band mounts on their songs the most glorious elements from these genres that they love and draw inspiration from.
From uptempo post-punk all the way to darkwave’s melodic romanticism, Vandal Moon drives it carefully to their synthpop/synthwave likes and they’ve produced an outstanding album of retro magnificence while standing very confident on the gates of new-romanticism. There are big synths, guitars, and drum machines which nail the mechanical “frost” to the dancefloor, excellent vocals with passion and attitude, and a solid, polished sound all over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSxWb_9u3g
Wild Insane was produced and mixed by Shawn Ward (FM Attack) and mastered by Peter Maher (Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, U2, Patti Smith, The Killers, Noel Gallagher) and it features contributions from new romantic legend Logan Sky (Visage, Boy George), emerging synth-pop duo Vverevvolf and vocalist Nicollette Vaughn (a.k.a. Nico), with guidance by electronic artist/producer Emika. So, Vandal Moon + guests put their effort with pride in all these 8 tracks and shaped one of the most effective albums in the wider alternative music scene.
“Computer Love” is one of the album’s leading tracks and the band declares the number “…is dedicated to all the traumatized citizens of the 21st century”.
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