Establishing the mood with natural bird sounds, similar to what one might experience at daybreak, along a brooding guitar soundscape with spiritually adjacent toms, Golem Dance Cult open Pretty At Dawn with situational prose as they repeat the mantra, “She’s so pretty at dawn, she’s so pretty at dawn…”
The opus sets a scene with a dark-wave motif, fused with a high spiritual quotient, that feels highly unique. We are captivated by the lyrical journey that we are being taken on, amplified by a luscious cello arrangement and textured drums.
Overall, Pretty At Dawn feels like what one might experience if The Cure was on magic mushrooms, which certainly explains the title of the wider album from Golem Dance Cult: Shamanic Faultlines. We strive to find music that is unique, and Pretty At Dawn manifests with this genre expansive energy, but also a cerebral and spiritual vibe that is rare to find in dark wave constructs.
The track is unconventional and switches up for the instrumental finale with almost chant like vocal ad libs and a cinematic allure with the final prose, “When darkness is enclosed by light…” – again a phenomenal juxtaposition that is psychedelic in its very nature.
We learn that the song features Inga Liljestrom on vocals and Jean-Philippe Feiss on cello. It was recorded at Black Obsidian Woodshed Studio and mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering in Melbourne. The 2D red-tone animated video was created by Milan Bruneau (titanium_banane) and edited by Klaus Karloff. It is designed to explore the hidden sides of relationships and the truths beneath the surface.
Golem Dance Cult began as a project by longtime friends Charles Why and Laur. Their sound is heavy yet danceable, mixing guitar-driven energy with electronic nuance. The creators confess to focussing on mood and intention, rather than perfection. Their style cohesively blends ritual, rave, and dark rock influences, often compared to Killing Joke, Beck, and Bauhaus, but as we previously stated, it is abundantly clear that they are manifesting a sonic universe unto their own.
We have added Pretty At Dawn to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the entirety of Shamanic Faultlines, and anticipate future releases from Golem Dance Cult!