Hailing from afar
Borne aloft, born anew
Guided home by beacon light
The Bellwether Syndicate has returned from the underworld with a brand new single: “Beacons”, the second from their upcoming Vestige & Vigil album (due this April via Nexilis Records/Schubert Music Europe/Sett Records). The Chicago post-punk outfit is on fire, debuting at #4 in the DAC/German Alternative Charts.
Setting the course in their virtual zeppelin floating over the twinkling lights of the Second City, ‘Beacons’ exerts a nautical feel in both tone and verse for this ode to gratitude. The ‘set adrift’ narrative is supported by the band’s expansive signature guitars and distress-signal bass and synth. Finally, the full-steam-ahead chorus, with chiming, glorious guitars, chase the pulsing beat and William Faith’s booming croons right back to the mainland.
The DIY video clip, directed by William Faith and his purple-haired partner in crime Sarah Rose Faith, shows the band in limbo, serenading various cityscapes from the ether. Philly Peroxide (keyboards, percussion) and Stevyn Grey(drums) andCorey Gorey (guitars) are there too, on this merry goth crew, heading east of the sun, west of the moon, to the frigid shores of Lake Michigan.
“Beacons’ is simply a love song to our family: our people — our fans,” says William Faith. “We’d be truly lost at sea without them, and every time we get ready to play a live gig, they really are the beacons that guide us home, to that moment where we’re together in a safe harbor and everything is possible. That moment is everything to us, and it’s what we live for.”
Earlier, the band released the lead track ‘Dystopian Mirror’, which reached #11 in the German Alternative Charts (DAC). This glam-noir single wields a relentless assault of hard-edged guitars, buzzsaw synths and tribal beats set the stage for a guided tour through the realm of the unwell, spat out with sardonic conviction by the voices in your head.
Six years in the making, the ‘Vestige & Vigil’ LP was produced by William Faith, whose credits include Jarboe, Clan of Xymox, Bootblacks and Autumn, and Chad Blinman (Face To Face, Faith and The Muse, Jarboe). Recorded by William Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago, it was mixed by Blinman at The Eye Socket. This album comes 9 years after debuting with ‘The Night Watch’ EP and four years since their latest single, ‘Republik’.
William Faith is a former member of seminal goth acts Christian Death, Mephisto Waltz and Shadow Project; and also co-founder of Faith & The Muse. In 2010, he moved from his native Los Angeles to Chicago to form The Bellwether Syndicate with his wife, Sarah Rose Faith, a.k.a. Scary Lady Sarah. An underground legend in her own right, Sarah has been one of the scene’s most eminent DJs and club promoters for decades. She hosts Nocturna, the longest-running goth event in North America, which takes place at Metro in Chicago. Apart from forming the nucleus of The Bellwether Syndicate, the two often DJ together as The Pirate Twins.
Beacon is now available on all digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify, and Bandcamp.
Listen below:
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