I first heard Miles Brown in his band The Night Terrors. The Australian electronic auteur is a monster of a musican, making hauntingly Gothic music from early 80s electro rhythms, synths, and a virtuosic mastering of the theremin. Albums like Back To Zero, Spiral Vortex, and Pavor Nocturnus solidified The Night Terrors’ place in space/prog/Goth music history.
At the end of 2015 Miles released his first solo album Séance Fiction with Death Waltz Originals. A step into more of an early 80s pop/electronic sound, Séance Fiction showed Miles pushing his sound and aesthetic even further by adding vocals and an almost Depeche Mode vibe to his already well established oeuvre.
If there’s a time the world needs Miles Brown to come and take us from the sh*t show it’s become, the time is now. Thankfully Miles is heeding the call and on tomorrow, June 17th, Miles Brown is releasing his follow-up to Séance Fiction called The Gateway. Once again partnering up with Death Waltz Originals, Miles is taking his theremin and electro arrangements to the outer realms of reality and calling on us to heed the siren-like warnings of his theremin. If lead single “Shudder Speed” is any indication we are in for a treat.
Miles’ theremin playing is front and center, like an opera singer floating in an endless river of stars thru the Milky Way as the retro electro rhythm carries us along. Brown does this amazing thing of making his music feel timeless. A vintage vibe mixes with almost neo-classical vibes. His Night Terrors’ record Pavor Nocturnus was like that, recording with the southern hemisphere’s largest grand pipe organ at the Melbourne Town Hall. It felt as much a classical piece for organ and theremin as it did an all out Gothic rock album. With “Shudder Speed” you get the electo-pop leanings, but the theremin adds a sense of purpose and ghostly melody. It’s an exquisite slice of pop and ethereal grandeur.
Listen to “Shudder Speed” below. The Gateway is out tomorrow, June 17th. Order it from Mondotees.
Complex Distractions 