Buzz Kull – Band of the Month (November)

Buzz Kull is the dark synth solo project of Australian musician Marc Dwyer.

Dwyer has always been drawn towards a darker direction within music and found comfort in taking the same path with his own. His music transcends the traditional archetype of darkwave by pushing aggressive pop sensibilities and focusing on different emotional states and boundaries.

Buzz Kull’s debut album Chroma was released in 2017, the seminal record was a mass of jagged synth lines and pounding drum machines, a testament to Marc Dwyer’s personal sonic exploration over time.

Sophomore album New Kind Of Cross, released in 2018, traversed much darker waters than Dwyer’s previous effort, dealing explicitly with themes of isolation, introversion and anger. The music on that record was heavy and unforgiving, blending EBM, darkwave and goth sounds with ease and cynical precision.

His upcoming third full-length Fascination, is not just about music subgenres we all know and love, it’s about a feeling that comes alive only with the dark and drives you through the small hours just to leave you drained and filled at once.

Fascination makes a strong play for attention on the last dancefloors of 2022 by combining just the right amount of melody to rubbery but high-def beats. The resulting combination often ends up being far closer to the longer-established tradition of the past few decades of European electro than, say, Fleisch’s approach to EBM or even the last few years of general darkwave; clubgoers of a certain vintage will likely have And One flashbacks while listening to the chiming leads of “Dancing With Machines”.

Dwyer is doing a sharp job of marshaling sounds from a wide range of influences around some of the moment beats, but when it all comes together as on lead track “Rise From Your Grave”, the provenance of the elements is secondary to the rush they deliver.

The creature of the night is on the loose, the sticky dancefloor its natural habitat, its lust for the upside-down world of the club can’t be cured.

Fascination is out worldwide on November 25 Through Avant! Records.

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