Discovering Buzzkill Through the Noise
Some years ago, while at work, I'd listen to playlists during my ten hour shifts — specifically DarkWave and PostPunk — and mostly for the discoveries which is initially the whole point, and Buzzkill was one of those. Their sound mixes in well alongside Magic Wands and certainly, Forever Grey. There is something about them that felt like their sound was eerier than most.
I attribute this to the reaction I had over Crystal Castles back in the day. But to put that in a better context, the reputation of Crystal Castles is not good but at the time, before we knew that relationship, they were one of those artists who sounded like something I've never heard before. Still feels like no one has reached that peak.
In any case, that trajectory of discovery brings us to Buzzkill's debut LP, Wasteland — released, on Manic Depression Records. The same label, as it happens, that another one of my favorite discoveries from that same playlist, The Spoiled, is signed to.
"Unpacking Wasteland: Buzzkill’s Descent Into Modern Post‑Punk"
I was listening to a playlist to uncover new bands. It was a DarkWave playlist
Buzzkill sets the tone visually before a single note plays. The stark, ritualistic imagery pulls you right into this theme—an unsettling fusion of language and bodies bent in some darkly symbolic dance. I can’t just skim past it; it sets the stage for everything that follows.
This one plays more like a visual mantra than a narrative — nothing but silhouettes falling into a dark pit. That’s really all it shows for the entirety of the track, but the simplicity gives it weight. It made me sit with the idea of bodies piling up somewhere out of frame, a kind of perpetual descent that never resolves or, they never land?
I was also reminded of the Tower of Silence, maybe because the imagery brushes up against something Zoroastrian — that ritual relationship between death, sky, and the unseen forces, like carrion, that carry the rest away.
Zoe Dune
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Then comes “Deus Rex,” a track that cements the album’s identity. It’s less a song and more of a plunge into this post‑punk crusade—some twisted sermon set to bass and distortion. I mean with lyrics like these (English translation):
There's only one step left
Between God and me
There's only one step left
Before the king's return
Over the piled-up bodies
Beyond the walls
The right path will open
No one will stand
Between my purpose and me
Lucifer, look at me
Going on a crusade
There's only one step left
Between you and me
And the piled-up bodies
Beyond the walls
The right path will open
No one will stand
Between my purpose and me
Between you and me
"Nowhere" has a cyclic feel with a warped-sounding drone that goes against a watery bassline, inciting a slam dance. When the clashing gets added, that's when it's "go time!"
By the time you reach “Après la Pluie,” that’s where it all clicks. It’s the track that stands out, not because it reinvents the wheel, but because it perfects the mood. Those familiar basslines and electronic layers shape a lived‑in atmosphere. Buzzkill isn’t reinventing the genre, but by this point I'm convinced that they’ve found their signature sound. I feel that "Nowhere" is a prototype of this forth track.
The energy remains elevated when we get to "There Must Be a Place" and pretty standard fare especially when it follows “Après la Pluie". It's when we get to the title track "Wasteland" when things start to level out.
For my thoughts on the video, I couldn't help but compare it to the attacks on and from Iran. The star light in the sky could actually be the raining of rockets. Aside from that, the visuals made with the Unity engine, are striking and spooky. I love the atmosphere.
The last track "Isolation", I'm going to make a weird comparison where it reminds me of B52's "Rock Lobster" but obviously a lot darker. Then, I think about the sounds they've been using throughout for yet another comparison. This one is tonally closer to Soft Moon.
Impressive album but stay tuned for more updates on this, to go more into depth with this review.