Sonic Death
Space Goth
(Svet i Teni/HOME CULT)

You have to love a band that introduces themselves on their Bandcamp page as “two horrible motherfuckers with problems.” Sonic Death is a sludgy, psychedelic indie band from St. Petersburg, Russia who I totally dig for their raw-yet-earnest punk attitude. From the very first track on Space Goth, I knew this would be an album that I’d listen to incessantly and straight through, an experience that seems rare these days. “Enter! The Trip” has an opening that could have come out of the Lower East Side in the 70’s or 80’s with a little bit of a Sonic Youth influence. What struck me right away, though, is simply how good the album sounds; it’s noisy without being distorted, which can be a tricky engineering feat. The layers of guitar sludge still maintain a degree of transparency and sheen that keep things fresh. The drums are just fuzzy enough to sound authentic yet tight. “Lizzard V Pidzhake” has a poppy surf vibe with some masterful guitar licks. Another highlight of the album is “Super Sonic Love Machine” with its singsong verses and drums that lurch and roll beneath shrieking feedback and a muffled spoken-word section. The last track, “Space Goth Dream,” is cleaner and beautifully sparse. Since each song flows so easily into the next, it’s a particularly solid ending. Overall, I’m very impressed by this band and I encourage people to listen to this album as one solid piece, because it works so well like that. I also really enjoyed poking around their Bandcamp page and their Facebook page, where they talk a little bit more about the Russian punk scene and post a lot of gorgeous psychedelic-looking flyers and photos from their shows. On the Bandcamp page they also have all their earlier releases available for download (you can name your price, but please note that it’s in euros!). I’m hoping some day they’ll make it to the US for a few shows; I think the indie scene in Brooklyn would love them!