The return of Justin Sweatt’s nom de plume Xander Harris is always something to celebrate. I’ve been following the musical world of Xander Harris for some time. At least six years, ever since hearing the amazing Termination Dust and realizing I’d been missing out on something special. The following year Villains of Romance dropped and I was officially a fan boy; techno drops, deep heavy synth cuts, and ominous electro grooves permeated from that record. “Mall Walk” is still one of my favorite heavy synth deep cuts with one hell of a video put together by Hauntlove. It really put into perspective how haunting and desolate a Friday night at the food court could be.
Point is, Xander Harris the music project will far outlive the Buffy character it derived from.
On December 1st Justin Sweatt dropped a new EP/mini-LP under the Xander Harris banner called Malediction. It’s an engaging and sinister slice of dark synth and hard electro that slinks and swerves between Gothic moods and disco grooves. It opens portals to new sonic dimensions, and offers electro incantations for future musical exorcisms to come.
Malediction is a 6-song soundscape of electro excursions and synth orchestrations that span the cinematic, the sexual, and the darkness. It has the sleek visceral rhythm of Giorgio Moroder on Amyl Nitrates with Patrick Cowley, losing their minds at Electric Lady Studios. Tracks like “Lights of Other Days” and “Leather Dub” lean heavy into the seedy disco sounds of late 70s NYC, while capturing black light-hued Krautrock and no-wave/experimental kings Suicide. Harris always mixes beauty and darkness in his work, and these two tracks have em in spades. “Mouths Like Shadows” begs for movement and sweat, bringing to mind the leather world of Friedkin’s Cruising.
Elsewhere “The Problem With Hope” blurs the line between dance floor excursions and German giants like Kraftwerk and Cluster, while locking into early OMD as well. “I Didn’t Ask” is a right bit of electro nastiness with its sleek rhythm and melodic dread that hangs over the proceedings. “Gloom in the Deepening Shade” ends this journey with dramatic gravitas, bringing to mind Violator-era Depeche Mode and classic 4AD vibes.
Malediction is a welcome return of Sweatt’s musical alter ego Xander Harris. It has everything we’ve come to expect from the Texas-based musician/producer, with subtle new avenues explored and music portals built. A late 2023 highlight.
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