A Sweeping Curve of Sound

The line between “dark” post-punk and full-out goth is a precariously thin one. Often, certain indie reviewers will use “post-punk” as a descriptor if they like something, and “goth” if they don’t. In fact, the term “goth” has become so wrapped up in fashion and lifestyle choices that a lot of people are hazy on what goth music is in the first place. I preface this to explain that when I call the band Magick Daggers “goth”, I’m not doing so as insult, or to back-handedly compare them to Marilyn Manson, I’m doing so because I recognize a certain blending of post-punk energy with theatrical excess that defined bands like Bauhaus, Sex Gang Children, and Skeletal Family.

Magick Daggers

Magick Daggers is a relatively new band, they played their first show in August of 2006, and the Portland-based trio has just released its first EP on Manimal Vinyl at the beginning of October (with a full-length due in the Spring). Their sound is full of echoes, creepy organs, and vocals that alternate between decadent cabaret purrs and horror-film shrieks. Death-disco meets 1920s Germany. Raw and appealing, they embody a fiercer sort of dark cabaret than what is usually offered up. Magick Daggers is a band to watch closely in 2008, even if they do get tagged with the “goth” label.

Download: Magick Daggers - “Emerald Ships”
(from the “Black Diamond EP”)

Links: Magick Daggers on MySpace, Magick Daggers on Manimal Vinyl