It’s World Goth Day, and because goth is one of the greatest musical subgenres of the late 20th century, the Jezebel staff is here to honor goth with a playlist of some goth songs that we like.
Infamous Menagerie, “Immediate Impound Zone”
This early ‘90s jam from long-running Seattle band Infamous Menagerie sounds like it was made by smashing crystal vases in a dusty basement and kicking the drum machine with a scudded winklepicker. It was a bit of an anomaly on the 1991 Kill Rock Stars compilation, which also included Nirvana, Bikini Kill, and Bratmobile, but for decades I’ve woken up in the night and thought about this spidery little pop song. IT’S ALL… INSINUATION!!!!—Julianne Escobedo ShepherdAzar Swan, “Bugatti”
New York City band Azar Swan has released loads of excellent material in recent years, including last year’s political exegesis Savage Exile, which draws in part on singer Zohra Atash’s response to the Trump Administration as the child of Afghan refugees. But I still treasure this 2012 cover of Ace Hood’s trap banger “Bugatti,” in part because it’s how I first really heard the band, and also because they really push the goth form to its most interesting outer reaches. Goth trap? Seems kinda like they predicted the current moment… —JESJosef K, “Sorry for Laughing”
Purists might argue with the notion that early-’80s Glaswegian post-punk is even close to goth, but if they can claim Joy Division, I can claim Josef K, which is named after a fucking Kafka character, good god. “Sorry for Laughing” is a perfectly dark little pop song, and singer Paul Haig sounds and looks like The Corinthian from Sandman. He’s gonna take off his glasses and have teeth for eyes. —JESM Lamar, “Negro Antichrist”
Profoundly heavy musician and performer M Lamar’s growls, snarls, dirges, and warnings act as political protest and interrogations as well as abstract commentary; “Negro Antichrist” indicts the American history of lynching while fucking with structure and time signatures in a mesmerizingly jarring fashion.—JESChristian Death, “Figurative Theater”
Ask any music fan to name a canonical goth band, and they’ll give you the British greats: Bauhaus, the Cure, the Sisters of Mercy. But real goths know how to goth as they suffer in sunshine—and no one did it better than the brooding Christian Death from Los Angeles. Their 1982 track “Figurative Theater” makes it known—distorted guitars, vocals that manage to sound both incredibly horny and devotedly despondent, and a bass line I hope they play at my funeral. It’s almost as if you can hear them sweating in leather. —Maria ShermanRule of Thirds, “Mouthful”
There are a lot of great contemporary goth bands, contrary to those who view the four-letter genre as an ’80s phenomenon co-opted by the Hot Topic crowd in the ’00s. There are also a lot of great contemporary goth bands that aren’t, just, like, a bunch of morose motherfuckin’ dudes. Enter Adelaide, Australia’s Rule of Thirds. Everything the band records feels like a dirge you can dance too, made memorable by Freya Zaknich’s reverbed vocals placed high in the mix. “Mouthful” is probably the best example of this, and it’s my favorite, so check it out already!—MS
Sisters of Mercy, Neverland
I was never goth, but punks are, I believe, goth adjacent so I would often find my teen self listening to some shit and liking it without realizing it was kind of goth. I would see older dudes wearing Sisters of Mercy t-shirts at shows so I bought Floodland. “Neverland” in particular is a perfect soundtrack to lying on your back, extremely stoned, and thinking about how 11th grade sucks. —Katie McDonoughMisfits, “Hybrid Moments”
Horror punk is not good. AFI is not good. Misfits are good, though. —KM-
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