Let’s go to the goth beach

Bizou might be somewhat new for many, but taking one look at their Facebook bio, some familiar names flash up. The band is formed by members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Wax Idols and Light FM. They just released their newest EP Stilllifeburning. Even though Bizou has been around since 2018, they haven’t released a full-length album yet. The band also describe themselves as “Beach Goth.” And as soon as you listen to the EP, you will realize that’s actually a pretty good summary of their sound. Suckers for darkwave can find a new home in Bizou and their melancholic synth sounds.

The EP starts with “Crashing Sky,” and from the start, it feels like being in a darkwave/goth club in the ’80s. Close your eyes, you might just see yourself there. The synth is so capturing, and it won’t let the audience go any time soon. With “Burn Your Name,” the audience gets a note of Joy Divison. If someone cuts out the vocals, this might just be an unreleased Joy Divison song. It almost makes one nostalgic. The passion and need in the vocals are just so real, it feels like they are coming from deep within.

This is also the case in “Kiss The Stars.” The song has a sense of some kind of longing that hits the audience just when they listen to it the very first time, this makes the song almost magical and hypnotizing. While the other songs might be good for the club, this one seems almost too intimate for it. The EP ends with “Trapdoor,” and what an end it is. The last line, “are you lonely now?” hangs in the air while the audience realizes, this is it. The EP is over, and it feels kinda lonely.

The only negative about Stilllifeburning is that it only has four tracks. Bizou puts a spell on their listener with the first track that won’t lose its power till the very last note on the EP hits.