There is a retro Goth Rock wave that seems to be sweeping the crowded musical landscape of the roaring 20s… 2020s that is. As we the people continue to have trust issues with the powers who rule over us, a stolid and time-tested form of music is seeing a real renaissance. Enter Pøltergeist, a young and rising group out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. New to the scene, they release their debut full-length album Nachtmusik via Bad Omen Records on October 25, 2024. Considering this, fans of bands like Joy Division, The Cure, Unto Others, and perhaps a dash of Tribulation, will find in this album a refuge amid the bleakness and the sterility of modern Pop choices being regurgitated into being.
Complete with eleven songs, “Burning Sword” starts off the album in a smooth Post-Punk direction, with its driving upbeat rhythms and depressive lyrical content. Up-tempo, catchy, driving anthems set to sad and lonely themes is an art that several younger bands seem to be reclaiming; the nod to goth and nihilism while keeping the music accessible and engaging. Then there is “Ethereal Nightmare,” which is like The Cure and Unto Others crashed into one another in an autumn cemetery. With Heavy Metal and Post-Punk joined together, the bass-heavy bottom end courtesy of Ben Wytham leading the melodic charge.
The Cure vibes continue on “Cold In September” as this youthful troupe artfully creates their own wrinkle in the universe of Post-Punk and Goth Rock. Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division flow nicely in “Yesterday Fades” as Kalen Baker, singer and main composer along with Guitarist Jacob Ponton, uses a clean if understated vocal approach. In enough words, this music will appeal to anyone from 1980s Pop enthusiasts to metalheads of all stripes.
The back half of Nachtmusik features an eponymous instrumental of the same name before the album linchpin “Children of the Dark” soothes into being. Fusing NWOBHM song structures with punk shout-along sections, this one goes down smoothly just like the rest of the album. The quality of each track remains constant. In fact, Pøltergeist makes it seem easy; keeping tension balanced with delivery as on the hard-charging “Will We Ever Live Again.” Then it all comes to an end with “Walking Alone,” which could easily be on the radio alongside everything from Tears For Fears to Duran Duran and Joy Division.
In an ultramodern world struggling to find and maintain an identity, it is no surprise that younger bands are looking to the past to find inspiration. The anodyne, monoculture world is painted brighter by the sweet bleakness of Pøltergeist. For this reason, Cryptic Rock gives their debut album Nachtmusik 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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