On June 29, Washington’s Social Station published their new Try (Cross My Heart) EP, delivering it with much care and love, in the midst of midsummer’s romanticism. I just couldn’t start this article without mentioning these facts. This is post-punk mounted on the wings of darkwave, carefully sired new wave romanticism with an almost erotic weave by modern electronics. Let me give you the scoop on this band. Social Station is Paul Todd and Jacob Sebastian, a duo passionate on analog synths, hypnotic guitars, and undeniable melancholic vocals. Together they mix all these elements emerging from the likes of old firm icons The Cure, Siouxsie, The Mission, Joy Division. The lead track is a celebrated dedication to all these influences, and believe me when I say there is no copycatting here. This is brand new romantic greyness with style and gorgeous inspiration via this band! A whirlwind riff which stays for days in your ears with that beloved darkwave “curse” through memorable vocals. For 4 minutes, the doors to the outside world close and you just stick to the imposing sonic effect created by Social Station’s performance, arrangement, and studio mix. Here they offer a twilight and a shining silver bottle of quite modern melancholy with brilliant flair! This marvelous EP also features a solid collection of four remixes by fellow D.C. and Baltimore artists, including Br’er, which we know from Blight Records, The Holy Circle, Red This Ever, and Tim Phillips, and here is where you’ll find that almost erotic weave I wrote before. Tim Phillips (Hollwoboy 7″ Mix) takes the song onto futuristic EBM paths, which are dusty and crunchy, uplifting the synth’s melody to a new level of harmonic processing – you will dance to it, guaranteed! Red This Ever remixed the gem in rather Batcave-ish melancholia, highlighting those elements which obviously tugged at his own heart – this is also brilliant work! Br’er worked on a totally different canvas. I’m talking about industrial minimalism vis-a-vis the song’s steady pace as if the remixer heard the pumping vein of the track a bit inverse and caught a silent groove…what can I say? He definitely managed to create a pretty impressive remix! Lastly, The Holy Circle Bleak remix is the perfect closing for this EP. Here we find darkwave ambiance loaded with ample wet signals, looong decays, and carefully hidden surprises, giving the song another brilliant aspect!
In this EP we have Social Station with their friends, who also definitively sound like fans of Social Station – fantastic overall. Go ahead and discover this great little darkwave delight for yourself.
Catch them live…
…and Keep Up With Social Station
Written by Mike D.
