Teen Gothic

My friends always describe the music i play as weird so I need some recommendations to slowly expose them to goth. I’ll make bauhaus fans of them yet!

For context, I am Gen Z

When I talk to my dad (who would be considered somewhere between a boomer and Gen X) about bands like The Sisters of Mercy, who would indisputably be called goth today (even if they don't identify themselves as such, haha), he argues that they aren't. I know goth in the 70s was originally called post-punk or new wave, which is what he calls it, but if that's the case, then what would someone his age think of as goth? I'm interested in how the meaning of the word has changed, and also would love to learn the history of the genre, including the things that once might have been called "goth", but now might not be labelled as such. I'm especially interested in perspectives from older goths, as, like I mentioned, I'm pretty young and only got into the scene around 6-8 months ago.

Thanks!! 🖤

In my case that was Molchat Doma and Sisters of Mercy. They're not so gothic tho, yet they could lead me to the classics such as Siouxsie

Post your links to new releases from 2000 or later, let's give some focus to new music. In the list below, you'll find some new releases from the past few weeks!

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Here's some great new post-punk/goth releases:

• Hurtsfall – "December Snow" [Post-Punk/Goth] [Single] (England, UK) [Released December 8, 2023]
• Petrified Entity – "The Beyond" [Darkwave] [Album] (VA, USA) [Released December 15, 2023] (Name Your Price)
• Horror Vacui – "S/T" [Post-Punk/Deathrock] [EP] (Italy) [Released December 15, 2023) (Still on Pre-Order)
• Ingreso Cadáver – "Asperger" [Post-Punk/Coldwave] [EP] (Spain) [Released December 16, 2023] (Name Your Price)
• Dark Side Cowboys – "Light" [Goth Rock] [Double Single] (Sweden) [Releases December 22, 2023]

Want more? Check out our other spreadsheets:

• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• and soon, 2024

Don't forget about our ever-growing list of post-punk, goth rock, darkwave, deathrock, etc. releasing labels!

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If you want to post music you'd most likely hear in a goth club, please subscribe to r/gothclub.

I tend to look for songs with either powerful vocals or powerful instrumentals. An immediate turn off for me is when the vocals are completely overshadowed by the instrumentals.

I know a lot of the music I will place here to show what I mean will likely not be goth, since I'm still learning about the Goth scene. But all suggestions are good suggestions imo. Also if any of them are Goth inform me. I want to make a goth playlist on my Spotify and knowing is half the battle. Plus I want to be able to learn to have a better ear to tell what genres are what.

Ice Queen – Within Temptation

Jazmine Bean – Piggie

Jack Off Jill – Vivica

Neoni (Ft. Savage Ga$ p) – Knives

Darling Violetta – A Smaller God

Pierce the Veil – Disasterology

Paramore – Ignorance

My Chemical Romance – I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

Chase Petra – Monet Issues

Tony22 – Earth Boy

Halsey – Control

AViVA – The Saint and The Sinner

I’m writing a script, and I wanted to include a scene where a surgeon listens to music while performing an operation. I wanted to not have them listen to opera or classical music, which I feel is a really common thing in movies and television. Any good recommendations?

Hi all. I’m 18 with a 9 y/o sister, soon to be 10, and she’s very interested in what music I listen to and goth fashion. I’ve shown her videos of “40 Years of Goth Style” and things like that because she wanted to know about “different kinds of goth outfits”, and she said she liked a lot of the songs that were playing, so I showed her some of my favorite music too.

Our mom isn’t really the profanity police in music, it’s more about the context of the profanity than the word itself. For example, she let my 9 and 5 y/o sister listen to a few Melanie Martinez songs that had some swear words because she appreciated the message of the songs. Her whole philosophy is that music is how you express yourself and is an art form, so a couple bad words doesn’t necessarily overshadow that, given the subject matter of the song isn’t too age-inappropriate. They already know not to repeat those words anyway lol

A few songs I’ve already showed my sister that she liked include:

-Keep Your Eyes Peeled- ULTRA SUNN -Cities in Dust- Siouxsie and the Banshees -Various Molchat Doma songs -The Perfect Girl- both the Mareux cover and the original by the Cure -Love Will Tear Us Apart- Joy Division -Bela Lugosi’s Dead- Bauhaus -Gallowdance- Lebanon Hanover -Personal Jesus, Never Let Me Down Again- Depeche Mode -True Faith, Blue Monday- New Order -Sacrifice- London After Midnight -Goo Goo Muck- The Cramps

Some of the songs fit the parameters of goth more than others but I was trying to show her a range of music that captures different elements of goth while still being appropriate for her haha

Any more recommendations for her? She always looks forward to hearing new songs!

I'll start this this off as this is a bit of a rant, I was just scrolling through instagram reels and that tiktok artist TX2 came up where he's fetishizing goth women. Naturally like the other people in the comments I also comment about not wanting to be fetishized for being goth and liking goth music. You wouldn't fetishize a woman for liking pop music.

Naturally this did upset people who fetishize goth women and during the argument I kept saying "I just don't wanna be fetishized for liking a genre of music." One of the men who was very defensive told me "You know it has nothing to do with the music." Along with "There is a fashion aspect to goth culture." Now I'm a firm believer that you don't have to dress gothic to be goth. This can be due to environment reasons, stimulation reasons, truly whatever reasons people have for just nothing being able to or wanting to dress gothic. I think as long as you listen to the music and respect the community and it's history then you yourself are goth. I think the fashion aspect is the least important to being goth. It's one of the fun parts for me as I feel good whenever I dress up even though I'm one of the people who gets over stimulated quickly I do love the look, but I only dress that way like 10% of the time.

It feels very frustrating when a non goth person who simply finds goths attractive and fetishizes them tries to tell me what is and isn't goth and then say that I'm disrespecting goths by….not wanting them to be fetishized and recognized as people who deserve to be respected?? I just wanted to kinda get that off my chest about how sometimes it just feels frustrating being goth in a world that treats goth women as an accessory. But I personally feel those same people would 100% call trad goths unattractive cause I've seen that happen online before where it's I want a goth girl but not to goth. Sorry if this rant was long and pointless just frustrating from the lack of people that actually care or know about the goth culture but try to speak on it.

hello! i’m looking for new music similar to the contents of the playlist attached – i’m not really sure what to call this genre (so if anyone can tell me what genre is it specifically, that would be helpful so i can find more music on my own. i’ve researched genres like ethereal wave and neoclassical dark wave since these seem to be slightly similar to this type of music but not exactly what i’m looking for. i found that a lot of ethereal wave music such as Autumns Gray Solace or Love spirals Downward were not energetic enough or, in the kindest way possible, too monotonous. i also found most songs from bands like the frozen autumn to be too electronic.)

the best way i can describe what i’m looking for is an intersection of goth and shoegaze music – so ideally something atmospheric with a lot of guitars, distortion, ethereal (ideally female) vocals, but still gothic mood, lyrics and general sound.

this is probably best represented by:

autumn – the hating tree

mephisto waltz – alle in asche

strange boutique- hills like white elephants

the eden house – to believe in something

thank you in advance to anyone who has any recommendations 🙂

I promise I'm not trying to be a music nerd here 🙂

I've recently gotten very into Lalalar, Brek, and a few other Turkish darkwave groups and Im absolutely enchanted. It's been a breath of new life into my soul.

If I had to pick one aspect which intrigued me it's the use of quartertones. Think of the melodic range you hear from a call to prayer from a parapet in Constantinople, only the muezzin is getting down with a Roland 707.

I'm not specifically looking for darkwave. Really just music from any sub-genres that have a melodic taste of "exotic to western ears"?

This would also include goth music in pentatonic? Like.. East Asian goth?

Really, goth music in general which incorporates non-Western melody would be amazing?

Also…since I'm asking… if anyone knows of a Lakota goth band (of any flavor.. its for a Lakota friend) I'd LOVE to know. Thanks!!!