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The Newcastle-based post-punk outfit tell us about their top five post-punk albums on the back of the release of their new single, Tears
Newcastle-based darkwave/post-punk trio Vampire Valentine, Tears. The track unfurls like a dark omen, its bubbling bass and Cure‑tinged guitar lines weaving through a haze of fuzzed‑out synths. Together they cast a brooding landscape for the dark and despairing lo-fi vocals. The decaying‑disco false fade around the two‑minute mark only deepens the track’s ominous pull.
Here, the band tell us about their top five post-punk albums…
We are Vampire Valentine, a post-punk/goth band mainly from the north of England, but our synth guy and main producer, Ricky (Forerunner x) is from Illinois, US. Kieron’s from Consett, and I’m from North Shields, so there’s some distance between us, one considerably further from the others, but we operate like clockwork and input to the band as much as each other does. It’s a real treat to make music with a group of mates, and the creativity flows so much faster. I think it’s a big reason for our quick workflow as a band.
Post-punk is a fundamental genre for the underground scenes of any city, and from every band that’s come out of it, more amazing music is released. Each of us has picked 1 album from the genre and decided on 2 that all of us have a connection to. Right now the scene is expanding from every dark corner it can crawl in, and we just wanted to highlight a few that have impacted us and our musical output, sound & aesthetic going into the new era of Vampire Valentine from the new and old.
Superior State – Rendez Vous (Mike solo pick)
Rendez Vous was one of the first modern post-punk bands I discovered, and I was immediately drawn in by their unique take on the genre. Their 2018 album “Superior State” is a release that stands out from others in the modern world of post-punk. It hit me with a massive wave of inspiration, and I can say that the urge to create Vampire Valentine wouldn’t have been as strong without me discovering this band. Tracks like “Lakes” and “Middle Class” had a very profound impact on the sound of the tracks for the band that I produce with Ricky. I think the modern post-punk sound will start to show more in our newer releases than in our debut, “Dry Remains.”
Twin Tribes – Pendulum (Ricky solo pick)
I chose this album because it has a very dark and melancholic vibe which I love, but it also is very atmospheric and ethereal too. I also really like that this album is loaded with analog synth sounds, which I’ve always been a big fan of, and it also has very clean and modern-sounding production.
Burning from the Inside – Bauhaus (Kieron pick)
Burning from the Inside by Bauhaus is an album that really got me into the genre of post-punk along with its many subgenres. The record was one of the main influences for me and basically got me into bass playing, and yet again, like Unknown Pleasures, it hits me with a feeling of reminiscence. I love tracks like Antonin Artaud, how it’s powerful and unusual with the guitar at the start; it makes me think about the fun times I had in my youth. I hold the album in high regard in my favourites.
Floodland – Sisters of Mercy (Group pick 1)
I think everyone in the band has a soft spot for this album; for me, it was the overall sound; it’s like no other. It’s oozing in that dark and gritty aesthetic that was at its height in the 80s, and I’m infatuated with it. Ricky found a lot of other darkwave bands after listening to Floodland, like The Cure and Joy Division, and also some newer bands like Twin Tribes, Molchat Doma, and Boy Harsher, like myself. Kieron states that specific tracks like Dominion make him feel good and the use of brass and the overall atmosphere of it draws him in.
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (Group pick 2)
An album that’s probably in most post-punk fans’ top 5, and for good reason: it’s everything the genre is in one record. Absolutely timeless, it struck me with such a wide array of emotions at once when I first heard it; everyone in the band loves it and is a big inspiration to us.
Ricky says, “It’s an album that is just kind of memorable to me. It’s another one of the first post-punk albums I heard when I discovered the genre, and it’s just stuck with me. It has a very raw sound, in my opinion, that is pretty unique from most other bands in the genre.”
For Kieron it was an album that got him into the genre and made him want to play the bass and gives him an overall feeling of reminiscence.
