Chicago-based alternative post-punk outfit The Bellwether Syndicate ring in this new dark year with the release of ‘Beacons’. Debuting at #4 in the DAC/German Alternative Charts, this is the second single from their ‘Vestige & Vigil’ album, slated for spring release via Nexilis Records / Schubert Music Europe and Sett Records in North America.
The Bellwether Syndicate is made up of William Faith (vox, guitars), Sarah Rose Faith (vox, guitars), Philly Peroxide (keyboards, percussion), Stevyn Grey (drums) and Corey Gorey (guitars). Formerly of seminal goth acts Christian Death, Mephisto Walz and Shadow Project and co-founder of Faith & The Muse, William Faith moved from his native Los Angeles to Chicago in 2010, forming The Bellwether Syndicate with his wife, Sarah Rose Faith a.k.a. Scary Lady Sarah, one of the scene’s most eminent DJs and club promoters and host of Nocturna, the longest-running goth event in North America.
‘Beacons’ exerts its nautical feel in both tone and verse, with the ‘set adrift’ narrative supported by liquid, chorused guitars and distress-signal bass and synth, before the whole thing kicks into a full steam ahead chorus, with chiming, glorious guitars chasing the pulsing beat and soaring vocal all the way home.
“‘Beacons’ is simply a love song to our family: our people — our fans. We’d be truly lost at sea without them, and every time we get ready to play a live gig, they really are the beacons that guide us home, to that moment where we’re together in a safe harbor and everything is possible. That moment is everything to us, and it’s what we live for,” says William Faith.
Earlier, the band released the lead track ‘Dystopian Mirror’, which reached #11 in the German Alternative Charts (DAC). This glam-noir single wields a relentless assault of hard-edged guitars, buzzsaw synths and tribal beats set the stage for a guided tour through the realm of the unwell, spat out with sardonic conviction by the voices in your head.
Six years in the making, the ‘Vestige & Vigil’ LP was produced by William Faith, whose credits include Jarboe, Clan of Xymox, Bootblacks and Autumn, and Chad Blinman (Face To Face, Faith and The Muse, Jarboe). Recorded by William Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago, it was mixed by Blinman at The Eye Socket. This album comes 9 years after debuting with ‘The Night Watch’ EP and four years since their latest single, ‘Republik’.
‘Beacons’ is out now, available from all fine digital outlets, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp, where ‘Dystopian Mirror’ can also be found. The full ‘Vestige & Vigil’ album will be released in April 2023.
