A Haunted Romance — Swiss-American Post-Punk Duo Crying Vessel Debut Video for “Falling In Love With a Ghost”

They turn and twist and then start taking shape

A sinister dance with a terrible fate

My heart races because I can’t escape

This nightmare has become all of my faith

Chasing the ghosts of a failed romance is like wandering through a fog-choked alley, searching for something you lost in the mist, knowing full well it’s gone. It’s a twisted dance with shadows that never solidify, always slipping through your fingers like smoke. The memories, blurred and bittersweet, pull you into their grip, promising warmth – but delivering only the cold bite of reality. You find yourself tracing old paths, revisiting the scenes of past passions, hoping to rekindle a fire that’s long since burned out. But the ghosts remain just that—phantoms of a love that once was, now only echoes in the corridors of your mind. It’s a futile chase, a film noir scene playing on a loop, where the ending never changes, and the heartbreak is always the same. The only thing left to do is to let the ghosts go, before they pull you under for good.

This is the impetus behind Falling In Love With A Ghost, the new single from Swiss-American post-punk duo Crying Vessel, who has returned from the void with a new sound, setting the stage for the full experience of their staggering twenty, count-em, twenty-new songs. Sepulchers: The Servant and Sepulchers: The Maiden reveal the duality of the band’s musical essence. Falling In Love With A Ghost is on the former.

The song sketches a haunting love affair with something intangible—a ghost, perhaps, that lingers just out of reach. The speaker is drawn to this ethereal presence, a love that feels achingly real yet remains ever elusive. The romance drags them into a nightmare of obsession, haunted by the specter wherever they go. Melancholy wraps around every line, with despair seeping through each word.

In the music video, Oberli crafts a chilling tale of two souls—one very much alive, the other a shadow, a whisper of what once was. The dancers twist and turn in a bittersweet ballet, their movements echoing a tragic love, where one partner might not even be there anymore, just a phantom of the past.

Falling In Love With A Ghost is out via Cold Transmission Music. Watch the video below:

Since their inception in 2011, Crying Vessel has been a harbinger of the goth and post-punk resurgence, their sound haunting and cryptic, much like the name suggests. Led by Slade Templeton, whose evocative vocals and synth-laden compositions capture the essence of the genre, and Basil Oberli, whose percussive intensity provides the heartbeat to their dark rhythms, the band has carved out a distinct niche in the contemporary darkwave landscape.

Their music is a seamless blend of the old and the new, paying homage to the aesthetics of the 80s and 90s while injecting a modern sensibility that keeps them on the cutting edge. With influences ranging from gothic to synth-pop, Crying Vessel has crafted a sound that is both a tribute to the past and a bold step forward, echoing the legacies of genre-defining acts while remaining distinctly their own.

With six albums already behind them, the band is poised to release their seventh dual-disc album in 2025, further expanding their already impressive discography. Their work has earned them critical acclaim and a loyal following, with releases on labels such as Manic Depression Records, Cleopatra Records, and Cold Transmission Music. Their live performances are not to be missed—each one a visceral experience that lingers long after the final note has faded.

By weaving together intricate narratives with both visual and sonic elements, Crying Vessel continues to captivate, drawing listeners into a world that is as haunting as it is beautiful.

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