It seems that the North island of New Zealand around Auckland and Dunedin is the heart of the Antipodean gothic, ‘a decadent and romantic fascination with the darker side of life’, that is also reflected in music.
Some dark edges has also the intriguing music of Dead Little Penn, the moniker that merges the talents of guitar-slinging vocalist and songwriter Hayley Smith, and drummer/synth player Simon Buxton, who have just released their second, more than convincing, single of 2018 title “U 4 Me”.
Written few years ago during the most challenging and low period of Hayley’s life while facing a divorce and left behind, just now she felt it was the right moment to deal with it, is a bright example of their genre-defying electronic sound that beautifully blends elements of dreampop, shoegaze, post punk and trip-hop.
Hypnotic layered waves of fuzzed-out menacing drones, create by interacting bass and synths, build tension and impending doom that drop into relentless, dissonant synthetic pulses apparently at odds with the stunning Hayley’s blissful vocals instead disturbed and desperate conveying a sense of utter helplessness, excruciating pain and failure.
A song deeply personal and intimate yet simultaneously sublime and profound, amplified by music and vocals of piercing and touching beauty.
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