Teen Gothic

There's a gulf between Sisters of Mercy and something like Twin Tribes or Forever Grey, but we all intuit them as 'goth' and i'm just wondering how this developed, historically.

EDIT: Misspoke here, did not mean to imply that synth or darkwave is a modern thing, but more that it's far more prevalent now as a dominant goth sound and was curios as to how we still consider this music to be goth (not that i disagree with that at all).

So many bands are reviving themselves after breaking up. Most of them don't even bother to write new material and just try to survive a live tour of fan favorites. It can feel like a bit of a last gasp at times. Then along comes the best goth band to come out of the 90's dropping new material. Corpus Delicti sound i n c r e d i b l e in 2024.

I felt they were always ahead of things back in the 90's compared to their peers. Great live shows as well floating around youtube.

They're a great example of how eschewing trends and finding your own sound, is why you can come back sounding the same decades later and not sound dated in the least. I'm here for it.

I recently stumbled upon this band called Life On Venus which is labelled as Dream Pop and Shoegaze. While we know that some dream pop and shoegaze can sound similar to goth, this particular band sounds a little bit too goth for dream pop standards. It literally sounds more goth than a lot of bands labelled as darkwave and ethereal wave that are posted here. I would say it's on the same level as Drab Majesty and probably more goth than mid-era Cocteau Twins which is generally accepted here without questions. Here are a few songs, what do you think?

• Camera Obscura (this one has noisy shoegaze parts, but otherwise it sounds very goth-like)
• For the Kill (this one is on the same level as Drab Majesty and almost approaches Twin Tribes)
• What Lies Beneath (this also has a noisy shoegaze section but is otherwise very similar to Drab Majesty and Twin Tribes, even the vocals are a little bit similar to Drab Majesty and would not be out of place on a goth album)
• Summer (this one has a little bit more prominent bass which would not be out of place on a goth album)

If you don't think it's goth, then what makes it different from goth music in your opinion and where is the exact border between dream pop/post-punk and goth? So far the only things I can note are the noisy sections that are pretty different from what can be generally found in goth music, the vocals are a little bit different. Otherwise it easily passes as ethereal wave IMO.

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I would first like to say that yes I do know that post brexit wave is not goth in the slightest with most bands adopting a more art rock and no wave sound and others staying well away from goth adjacent sounds. Fontaines DC dropped Skinty Fia in 2022, an album which seems to lean into dark post punk sounds and aesthetics that feel borderline gothic or at times full on gothic post punk. I've also started getting into up and coming underground acts like heartworms and nightbus. Heartworms probably could be best described as post brexit wave adjacent post punk with a gothic twist and nightbust are what would happen if the xx went gothic. What do you guys think of these bands and artists? Anything similar right now within the goth scene that you would recommend or other British bands with similar sounds you listen to?

This is the third time this has happened so I know it's not a coincidence.

I'm a babybat and only started becoming more visibly alternative in the past few years – I have black hair, snakebites, a septum piercing and very visibly tattooed arms and legs. Today I was walking through the shopping centre, just in shorts and a t-shirt, no alternative makeup on, and two adult-sized (but they certainly behaved like children) men saw me and made fake puking noises.

I try not to let it get to me because at the end of the day I'm very happy with my style, I finally feel like the outward me matches the way I always saw myself in my head, but I'm a sensitive bean and it's hard not to feel self-conscious and sad after something like this, especially since it's happened a few times in public now.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia for reference – I'd heard of boys barking at goth girls before but the puking thing seems to not be so common, at least when I've tried to search for similar experiences online.

Hey, everyone! So me and my two good pal’s band called Hex Formes just released our cover of the classic Christian Death song “Romeo’s Distress”.

We would absolutely be thrilled if some of you guys could check it out and perhaps let us know if you liked it or if you thought it sounded good!

Thanks so much in advance! The cover can be found in the link below.