A few weeks ago, my love of Emma Ruth Rundle’s masterpiece On Dark Horses and her post metal outfit Red Sparowes finally bade me to listen  to her psych-metal/dark-indie project Marriages (review coming in a few days).

And as I was digging in, I discovered that the drummer of Marriages has his own project—the moody, atmospheric new wave/dark wave/cold wave outfit Drab Majesty. And at my first listen to the project’s sophomore record Demonstration, it grabbed me in its painted-nailed, ruffle-shirted, androgynous arms and wrapped me up in a hold that was half hug, half Anaconda Vise.

I am a huge new wave fan.  My collection is filled with several brooding, bass-driven, synth-laden gems, from classics like New Order and Human League to modern revivalists like Wild Nothing and Replicant. But one of the things that’s always amused me about new wave is that, unlike most other genres, new wave tends to reward the artists that play it as close to the Platonic ideal as possible. A little bit of experimentation is fine (I guess!), but the further you stray from commanding bass lines, grooving drums, atmospheric synths, angular guitars, and disaffected vocals, the less rewarding it’s going to be.

Admittedly, it’s a fine line between purely following new wave’s Muse and dryly  colouring by numbers* without any sort of inspiration. However, Drab Majesty lands firmly on the right side of the line, and it’s precisely because of how closely they adhere to the principles of new wave.

Minus the atmospheric transition tracks, every song here would feel right at home nestled in some moody cult film from the 80s or 90s. I could swear that John Cusack put “Dot In the Sky” on a mix tape in High Fidelity. Wasn’t “39 By Design” on the Ghost World soundtrack? And who could forget the scene in Breakfast Club set to “Cold Souls“?

I mean…obviously, none of that is true. But you’d be forgiven for the confusion. “Deb Demeure” (Andrew Clinco’s genderless alter ego) plays these songs with so much reverence and sincerity that they feel just as authentic and timeless as the albums they’re paying homage to. It’s already gotten dozens of plays from me in the week or so since I first heard it, so now that it’s made its way to my collection, I expect it to visit my turntable often.

*no disrespect to Culture Club—just making a pun.