Sacramento, California’s Harsh Symmetry, the dreamy darkwave endeavour of musician Julian Sharwarko, courts nostalgia and revivalism with his intriguing flavour of old-school electronic music gloom. Bringing to mind Dave Gahan, Cinder (This Mortal Coil, Cocteau Twins, Cindytalk), Julian Cope, and Human League’s Phil Oakey, Sharwarko’s mournful vocals take center stage in the sinister new single, “Blind.”
The song’s hypnotic dance beat drives the listener through a haze of dystopia and eerie atmosphere, a ghostly wail hovering over a buzzy synth bass line and industrial elements. “Blind” exists in the same sphere as John Foxx here, a retrofuturism fully grasping the anxiety of the 21st century. Sharwarko fully embodies the oeuvre of his sonic ancestors; one could almost imagine his photo plastered in Andie’s locker in Pretty In Pink. It’s difficult to really pinpoint this time bender’s era – his bedrock of nostalgic sound is full of fresh foliage and creative ideas that can only be created in modern times.
The single’s b-side, “Ashes,” is a formidable crystalline groove, evoking a cinematic 80s horror flair with the seduction of early to mid-80s Cabaret Voltaire via songs like “Just Fascination.”
Listen to “Blind”, and its B-side “Ashes,” below:
and listen on Spotify here.
This is the first release from Harsh Symmetry, following up on his 2022 album Display Model.
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