Being an OG (old goth or original goth) from the 1980's I love me a bit of goth. Stars and the Underground are a nice bit of goth who have just released a 7" single.
It’s a seldom admitted bit of folklore that many goths have a great sense of humour, it seems the members of Stars and the Underground have a lighter side of the dark side. I come to this conclusion from the title of their single; Nosferatu Upon Tyne.
Referencing a northern English city shows homage to the Sisters of Mercy who hail from Leeds, but to put it into a pun on the city, in my opinion shows a modicum of humour.
The ‘a’ side has a classic late 80's goth sound, from the PCM (pitch code modulation) synth string melody which begins, before ‘chorus’ effected guitar chords continue.
Singer-guitarist John Mason’s voice reminds me of a cross between Andrew Eldritch and Carl McCoy.
Then there’s the other ‘a’ side, the Robots In Love remix (complete reworking) by Dunedin-based Darkwave genius Elenor Rayner. She takes the song by the throat, shakes it around, and puts the pieces back together in her own distinctive, and brilliant, style.
Stars and the Underground is the solo project of Auckland based singer songwriter John Mason the music inhabits the Post punk and Shoegaze Dark Electronic genres.