Not only does Ariel Maniki and the Black Halos prove that the gothic sound is not just the product of the chilled, European post-Cold War climate, working as they do in the tropical climes of today’s Costa Rica, they also show us exactly how you can add to that original vibe and still sound true to the genre’s dark heart.
“Witches,” their latest single, feels so in keeping with the formative sounds of that dark and delicious post-punk sonic coven that they sound like a band from those pioneering days who were overlooked at the time and are now ripe for reappraisal. If I told you that I watched them opening up for Bauhaus way back when, there would, I’m sure, be few who would question me.
They blend clinical beats and driving basslines, drench that sound with shimmering synths lines that ebb and flow, chime and chirp through the heart of the song, but what makes the band stand out is the seductive sax with which Ariel Maniki dances deftly over the music, at times feeling like a second voice replying to his own rich, baritone vocals.
So on the one hand they feel like the perfect first wave darkwave/goth band, but then the saxophone is a brilliant and perhaps unexpected new element, not so much pushing them down the obvious Phantasmagoria era of The Damned path, one which often bordered on cliche, but echoing bands from outside the genre such as Theatre of Hate and The Psychedelic Furs.
It’s a great sound, a fantastic song, and a reminder that the gothic scene was always an inclusive and creative place. And if that is true today, at least Ariel Maniki and his band of haloed music makers are prepared to keep pushing those dark demarcations and shadowed walls to create a perfect balance that keeps things wonderfully fresh and satisfyingly familiar.
