The music we grew up on stays with us. If there’s one interesting thing I noticed finding myself again in my 30s, it’s how much I never changed deep down. My true self only wore a mask of “normality”, knowing I presented as someone else more digestible and likable (whatever that means).
Making this post took me on a rainy stroll down memory lane. While I’ve listened to some songs off these albums recently, the whole albums made me feel like a teenager again.
My playlist is below as well as breakdowns of each album. Hopefully my nostalgia leaves you with a new artist or two for your library!
HIM – Dark Light
Yeah, yeah…not a “goth” band. But there shouldn’t be any surprise hearing a closeted mall goth kid from the mid-2000s found the classics and subculture because of them. (I first delved into Anne Rice at this time, so an album starting with “Vampire Heart”? In.)
As one expects, I loved the two biggest singles “Wings of a Butterfly” and “Killing Loneliness”. However, I also jammed “Behind the Crimson Door” a lot.
The Cure – Greatest Hits Compilation
Who would have guessed that The Cure was my next stop in my goth journey? (The answer: everyone.) I bought this compilation for the band’s hits to see if I liked them as one does since YouTube was an infant then. This one blasted through my earphones constantly; if my iPod had a voice, it probably would have screamed to pick anything else.
The usual ear-worms “Friday I’m In Love” and “Just Like Heaven” clung to my memory immediately. Over time, though, “In Between Days” and “Close to Me” grasped my hand and guided me to my favorite Cure album The Head On the Door and beyond. They’re an absolute favorite for me to this day.
London After Midnight – Selected Scenes from the End of the World
London After Midnight was a deep dive for a kid who grew up on heavy metal and classic rock in a rural-ish area. Sean Brennan and his project entered my life thanks to an internet stranger I shouldn’t have been talking to. (The MSN/Windows Live Messenger and AIM days were crazy.) While that was a mistake, finding this album was not.
“Sacrifice” haunted me immediately. I pictured myself in a flowing Elvira or Morticia Addams gown, more darkly ethereal and mysterious than I ever was in real life. I radiated confidence and was everything I wanted, and it only continued listening through the rest of the album.
London After Midnight is my favorite goth band, so you know I got quite familiar with the rest of their discography right after.
LYLAH – New Religion
Said internet stranger above also introduced me to one of my early favorite artists Norman Matthew. Before Murder FM there was LYLAH, and I still play this album and love it. The album’s mix gently grasped you into dark peace with lyrics equally haunting. No one does The Cure’s “Love Song” like Robert Smith for his wife, but LYLAH’s cover was an interesting interpretation focused with dreamy synths carrying the atmosphere.
(Fun fact: Norman Matthew was one of my first music journalism interviews; surreal was an understatement for it.)
Bella Morte – Beautiful Death
The first tune I heard from Bella Morte in 2007 was their cover of The Penguins’ “Earth Angel”. I thought it a cool cover, and this newest album came out around the same time. The opening number “Find Forever Gone” mixes power and eeriness pervading throughout the album. (I’m especially a fan of the final instrumental track “Nine Hours”.)
The Soft Sea Witch 
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