A short time ago, Portland-based Goth-dance/spooky disco outfit Dead Coyote released their four-track EP, APPARITIONATA, along with a 4-part music video.
Made up of Zach Retzl (piano, guitar, vocals), Jonathan Ventrella (drums, vocals), Izabella Weiss (bass, vocals), and Adrian Retzl (synthesizer), Dead Coyote began in South Dakota, put together by Zach and Jonathan. Then both spent four years in the USMC, followed by re-forming in Portland, in 2015.
Dead Coyote’s first release was xYx, a brash, furious album. At that point, Dead Coyote decided they needed a new sound – dancier. They added Izabella on bass, followed by releasing Feed the Raven. As they started writing new songs, they realized they needed a synth to round out the sound. So, Adrian Retzl, Zach’s brother, joined the lineup.
Because of the pandemic, like every other band, Dead Coyote couldn’t perform live shows. So they went to work on APPARITIONATA.
APPARITIONATA begins with “Prelude,” opening on ghostly piano notes topped by eerie-inflected voices, and then flows into an unnerving, tension-filled melody.
“…I am feeling / Dramatical / When will it end? / I am dealing / With transactional / Fair weather friends.”
“Prelude” transitions seamlessly into “Leave Me in the Ground,” riding a piano-driven melody chock-full of thrumming, thumping energy as rococo vocals travel over the music, imbuing it with surging dark textures, like something from a baroque version of Frankenstein.
“Lazy Ghost” features tinny, gleaming piano tones, a crunching rhythmic flow, and Queen-like voices, infusing the lyrics with over-the-top Gothic hues.
“I’m shaking in my boots / And when I get to shaking / There’s only one thing left to do / So come on / Dance / Awooo / Dance until you’re dead.”
“My Hiding Place” offers a disturbing piano intro, followed by spine-chilling textures from the synthesizer. Heaving dark coloration gives the melody trembling waves of supernatural energy. Gang-like vocals infuse the lyrics with resonant wicked hues.
On APPARITIONATA, Dead Coyote blends the best of horror-movie soundtracks with flamboyant spookiness and wonderfully ostentatious vocals.
