TRACK REVIEW: William Denton Wilde – Friends Are Fickle/Dark Lonely Highway

Like the metaphorical cockroach that refuses to die, goth music never really goes away no matter how much we might try to deprive it of oxygen. So, the dark synthwave of William Denton Wilde’s double A-side may grate, as much as it might delight those of a blacker disposition.

Dark Lonely Highway is the kind of motorik, bass-heavy modular version of the genre that was only ever really welcome for a brief few weeks back in the second half of 1987. However, Friends Are Fickle redeems this split with more of an atmospheric drone that would perhaps serve better as an instrumental if it were not for the oddly profound lyrics that will lay musical eggs in your ear like a gothic croton bug.