Hello there! Just in time for Christmas — well, the eve of Christmas Eve — I’d like to gift your ears with some carols performed by a MacBethan trio of weyward musicians…

 

Superlynx – New Moon (Dark Essence Records, 15 March 2019)

 

Superlynx – Electric Temple (Dark Essence Records, 16 April 2021)

 

Superlynx – Solstice (Dark Essence Records, 08 December 2021)

 

These two recent LPs (and one hot-off-the-presses EP) by resident Oslovians Superlynx all give off a similar mood: that of darkness and occultism, sinisterness and exoticism. The type of music you’d hear in some dank, misty catacomb where some sort of unspeakable sorcerous rituals had been performed. Oh yeah, if you hadn’t caught on, that reference to Christmas (or Christmas Eve-Eve) in the introduction was just me being facetious. Or just pointing out what time of year it currently happens to be. There’s no real connection there.

2019’s New Moon and this past April’s Electric Temple each feature ten tracks and each run approximately three-quarters of an hour long. While each brings out heavy guitars contriving up some doomy riffs, most of the sounds here are ethereal and ghostly. Especially the vocals; the earlier record has employed some sort of reverb or delay that’s particularly reminiscent of Mephisto Walz, although both albums are in the same general ballpark.

The last few songs on Electric Temple give a different band member a turn as lead singer, at least for a bit, as some of the parts here sound a little more Nick Cave than Siouxsie Sioux. Elsewhere, for somewhat of a change of pace, New Moon‘s “Scarecrow” dives into a faster sort of punky beat, dare we say almost “occult-crust”? And on the latter release, “Moonbather” and “Laws of Nature” bring in a hint of a gothy twang, along the lines of someone like Echo and the Bunnymen. But all in all, fans of everything dark and occult will find much to enjoy on either of these records.

Which brings us to the newest release, Solstice. About half as long as the other two, this EP includes a pair of tunes that came from the Electric Temple recording sessions (and very easily could have been included there if not for time constraints), plus a quartet of other people’s songs, twisted and magicked into the familiar Superlynx style. While “Spread Your Love” has had its tempo downturned a bit from the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club original, Saint Vitus‘ doom classic “Born Too Late” and the already pensive and dismal closing track^* from Nevermind “Something in the Way” hardly needed much adjustment at all. And finally, rounding out the digital compilation, they dig deep into the archives for “Nature Boy,” originally sung by Nat King Cole, although this new version might be more comparable to the somewhat more melancholy rendition done by David Bowie.

 

Find New Moon in digital/physical formats here, Electric Temple in digital/physical formats here, or the new Solstice EP (digital only) right here.
 

 

 

* * * * * * *

 

http://superlynxband.com
http://superlynx.bandcamp.com
http://darkessencerecords.no
http://twitter.com/darkessencerec

 

* – Technically it WAS the closing track, according to the original official track listing, excluding the hidden bonus track. Don’t @ me.