Dark Clan, Caustic, am. Psych, Null Device descend on Club Anything

Saturday, June 26th marks the Milwaukee stop of the “Fading Belief” tour of the Midwest and East Coast by the Dark Clan and Null Device, who will be appearing with am. psych and Caustic at Club Anything, 807 S. 5th Street. Doors open at 8 p.m.

The locally-based Dark Clan, one of several musical projects with which singer and producer Dan Clark is involved (including but not limited to industrial act Stromkern and metal band Siv), is notable equally for their humor and exquisite grasp of the industrial sound. “Real Vampires Don’t Sparkle” is a song inspired by Clark’s glimpsing a t-shirt with the same phrase. Knowing abso-freaking-lutely nothing about Twilight and vampires’ sparkliness or lack thereof, he sat down and penned the lyrics. Unless you’re a 12-year old girl, the song’s ending lines “They are not pretty boys, they are not rated G; while they have many powers, real vampires don’t sparkle” should bring a smile to your face. “Goths on a Boat” is funny, to be sure, but even funnier when you realize that there actually is such a thing as an annual gothic cruise (see Carnival Cruiselines’ website) which includes performances by gothic, ebm, and industrial bands (performers have included Imperative Reaction, Cruciform Injection, and Combichrist). This show releases the band’s new double album “Fade/Dance Magic Dance”.

Madison’s Caustic, a project of Matt Fanale, well-known for his founding of and promotions work for Reverence, Madison’s showcase of electronic music including EBM, goth, industrial, and synthpop, has declared it one of his goals as a musician to “piss off the emo kids” in a “Rockstar Journalism” interview. This performance will feature (along with Matt, of course) Eric from Null Device and both Kat and Brian of the Gothsicles, a band most notable for songs such as “I Can Tell You Shop at Hot(t) Topic”, “Konami Code” (which, if you listen to the chorus which is repeated…oh, like a million times…you’ll know how to get 30 guys on the video game Contra), and (doing their part to promote roadway safety) “Turn Signals Are Still Cool”. Think clever, humorous lyrics set to industrial/powernoise music and you’ve got Caustic.

Milwaukee-based coldwave (qualifier: “coldwave revival, offset by synth-rich ebm influences, electro-industrial goth”, description provided by singer John Verbos) band am. Psych is also using this show to introduce to their new album, Side Effects. Released on WTII Records (the label of former Wax Trax! – the home of such industrial giants as Ministry, KMFDM, and the Thrill Kill Kult- employee Bart Pfanensteil), the band will be going drummer-less (as they’d recently had a rotating roster of people performing on the instrument) for this show, “like a proper, old-school, low-income electro-industrial act,” according to Verbos. They describe their music as “a stylized blend of crunchy, harsh, and hateful angst with smooth, digital synths” and have opened shows for bands such as Chemlab, U.S.S.A. (featuring Paul Barker of Ministry and the Revolting Cocks and Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard), Chicago-based industrial favorites Project .44, and local ‘hell-rockers’ Lockjaw, as well as appearing in support of Skinny Puppy at the Rave.

Null Device, from Madison, has been described as a cross between down-tempo electronic and world music. Performing music from their 4th full-length album Suspending Belief, original members Eric and Eric (Oehler, on multiple instruments and Goedken, lyricist, who also happens to be a biochemist and “has been known to clone DNA in his fridge”, according to the band’s website) along with the three musicians they picked up along the way mix exotic world music with their own contemporary sound. Their cross-cultural sound includes Arabic and Greek vocals contributed on two tracks by Raya Wolfsun.

Caustic, am. psych, and Null Device appear courtesy of their labels, Crunch Pod, WT II, and Nilaihah Records, respectively. Dan Clark appears courtesy of his beard.