Teen Gothic

Hi All,

I just finished Andrew Reed's Assimilate, and loved it, found it well-researched, enjoyable to read, etc. He only briefly touched on the Gothic and Darkwave both from a literary analysis and the cross-pollination of Goth and Industrial subcultures, but he whetted my taste (particularly because he mentioned "pseudo-medieval music" without talking about Dead Can Dance) for a more critical examination of the Gothic, both in its roots in the literary genre, the analysis of the music and its production, and an analysis of the subculture. I was curious if anyone had written a work of similar breadth as Reed's on the topic? Thus far I've found a number of historical texts (Art of Darkness, Goth: A History, Season of the Witch), but I'm not sure, beyond their own description, which is more extensive or would suit my designs better.

Recommendations of scholarly and non-scholarly articles, journals, and even fanzines alike are also welcome. I've found a few on Jstor right now, but I'm sure some of y'all know some good articles.

i’m currently obsessed with sad lovers & giants and would love to find similar post punk/goth bands that use brass instruments like sax and horns. i’ll take suggestions from any sub-genre. thanks in advance!

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!

Here's some great new releases:

• Left For Pleasure – "Claymore" [Coldwave] [Album] (Germany) [Released October 17, 2025]
• H.Ä.L.T. – "II" [Goth Rock/Deathrock] [Album] (Canada) [Released October 17, 2025]
• Social Youth Cult – "Close to Nothing" [Goth Rock] [Single] (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) [Released October 18, 2025]
• Nite – "NITE" [Post-Punk/Darkwave/Synth-Pop] [Album] (TX, USA) [Released October 21, 2025]
• Desencarnats – "Saudade" [Deathrock/After Punk] [EP] [Colombia] [Releases October 31, 2025]

Want more? Check out our other spreadsheets:

• 2021
• 2022
• 2023
• 2024
• 2025

Don't forget about our ever-growing list of post-punk, goth rock, darkwave, deathrock, etc. releasing labels and our sidebar for a calendar of upcoming releases!

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

I‘m bilingual (English-Spanish) and one of the best ways I learn is through music. Ive been recommended some Spanish music by friends/teachers in the past, but its all Shakira, Bad Bunny, Karol G, etc.

They’re all very talented artists, but I’m not really into the genres they play- basically pop. And I’ve been wondering if theres anything more my style (Goth, Grunge, Rock) in Spanish, or from Hispanic artists.

pls do mention bands, decades, etc. if u want :))

I've been looking for something like Lebanon Hanover – Kiss Me Until My Lips Fall Off, Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble Of Shadows – In der Palästra, Molly Nilsson – I Hope You Die or The Perfect Girl.

I believe that without using music theory and music production terminology, the whole "what is goth music" discussion goes nowhere. For me, 'goth music' is characterized by the following:

• repeated rhythms, often in simple time
• use of effects such as chorus, distortion, delay etc on electric guitars (and occasionally bass guitars) to create 'ambient' textures
• high use of reverb on all instruments
• less overdrive/distortion compared to industrial, punk and metal, more subdued electric guitar timbre
• use of noise and extraneous sounds alongside "musical" pitch (especially goth rock that leans more towards post-punk)
• use of synthesizers/keyboards to colour textures with ambience
• use of power chords (as in all rock genres)
• use of minor keys
• less emphasis on instrumental technical prowess and more on creating affect through texture and ambience
• clean vocals, often in a low tessitura

These are core attributes and by all means not exhaustive. All of these attributes create the "dark sound" that goth rock is known for. 'Ambience' is a very important word here when it comes to describing the sound of goth rock that I believe a lot of people tend to overlook. The 'ambient' and 'textual' characteristic of goth rock is shared by shoegaze and dream pop, with shoegaze emphasizing more use of distortion and less reverb and dream pop emphasizing more chorus and reverb and less distortion. The de-emphasis on showcasing instrumental technical prowess is an attribute shared with shoegaze, dream pop, EBM, industrial punk, post punk and post-rock but not with metal and progressive rock.

I have been collecting every Spaghetti Western influenced Goth-Rock, Post-Punk, New Wave, etc song I can track down for the past few decades. And I feel like I've found everything out there. But would love to get some suggestions regardless. For those unfamiliar Spaghetti Western music generally sounds very influenced by the works of Ennio Morricone and his peers in the 60's and 70's ItalianWestern film genre.

These are the bands I have already found over the years (some may not be "goth", but dark nonetheless): 16 Horsepower / Acid Horse / Adam Ant / And Also The Trees / Ausgang / The Black Angels / Blues Saraceno / Bohemian / The Bolshoi / Bow Wow Wow / The Call / Carlos Peron / Chandeen / Concrete Blonde / The Cramps / The Cult (SDC & Death Cult too) / The Cure / The Damned / Darkness Falls / Dark Side Cowboys / Del Judas / Del Rei / Department S / Der Fluch / Echo & The Bunnymen / Federale / Fields of The Nephilim / Flesh For Lulu / Gabinete Caligari / Ghoultown / The Gun Club / The Handsome Family / Helldorado / Hola Ghost / Hooverphonic / Inca Babies / James Ray & The Blackhearted Riders / The Jazz Butcher / Kid Congo Powers / Kreeps / Lords of The New Church / Martini Ranch / The Meteors / Jay Munly / Myssouri / The Neon Judgement / New Model Army / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds / Nick Nolan / Orax / Other Lives / The Outcasts / The Phantom Chords / Poison Point / Rammstein / Red Lorry Yellow lorry / Reeperbahn / Ritual Howls / Siouxsie & The Banshees / Skeletal Family / Snog / Spear of Destiny / Spiritual Front / Tall Boys / Tarantella / Theatre of Hate / Thin White Rope / Tiger Army / Wall of Voodoo

I know that's a lot already, but I have a feeling there's more out there. Thanks for any suggestions!