You took my hand and took my pain
This kind of chance, it has no name
Into the night
The shadows become truth
Corlyx’s Sweeter Than Blood, the first single from the band’s forthcoming twelve-track record, takes vampire romance seriously, though not so seriously that one cannot hear a faint bat-wing rustle of theatrical pleasure. The song lives in the Gothic bargain between appetite and devotion, where the lover may be rescuer, risk, or both. Its title suggests intimacy as a force stronger than hunger, which is a useful proposition for anyone trying to date a mysterious count from the ‘Old Country.’ Guitars cut cleanly through the mix, the drums give the track a firmer physical spine, and Caitlin Stokes sings as though desire has led her into a room where every promise arrives with paperwork and possibly a puncture wound.
The release marks another turn in Corlyx’s ongoing transformation. What began as a darkwave duo has grown through a post-punk trio phase into a full-band lineup, now sharpened by the arrival of British drummer Flow Toulman. The result, by the band’s own account, leans toward an alternative rock-meets-classic 80s post-punk synthesis, with goth and deathrock moving to the forefront, while the electronic club DNA remains alive beneath the surface. One can hear kinship with Strange Boutique, The March Violets, Octavian Winters, Feyleux, and Anne Bennett, though Corlyx’s current approach has more bite than polish. There are fangs in the catchy-as-hell hook, but thankfully, no one is making a meal of it.
“This song was inspired by Dracula’s deep enchantment for his beloved Mina, how his love was sweeter than his bloodlust,” says Stokes. “I drew parallels from this idea with my own life experiences in having walls up, guarding my heart, and finally meeting the person who showed me what love could be.”
Sweeter Than Blood follows a nocturnal encounter in which love feels restorative and suspect at once. A cold pull leads the speaker away from ordinary daylight and toward someone who can remove pain, offer protection, and possibly open a wound of another kind. Romance is a threshold: one person stepping toward another while still remembering what abandonment taught them. The heart may be guarded, but the lock has begun to crumble into love dust.
Stokes has also framed Corlyx’s new material as part of a broader return to instruments, bodies, and visible musicianship. “Bands more than ever now need to separate from machines, the listener needs to know right away that a human musician(S) made the song,” Stokes insists. “Just another puzzle piece that pushed us in this direction, but in a subconscious way, it certainly wasn’t deliberate when we started making this next record. It just sort of turned out this way naturally.”
Brandon Ashley describes the shift in similarly practical terms. “We started writing the demos for our next album by having our new drummer track first, this brought a lot new energy, and the guitar sounds we normally use needed more variety,” he explains. “We still have all our classic post-punk sounds, some of them being very unique to us, but as the songs developed we realised things were sounding altogether more Rock.”
The video, directed and edited by Stokes, extends that transformation into image. She also handled the set design and band styling, hand-making many parts of the outfits, with Jason Kahl partially shooting the clip. In it, Stokes appears in a striking white vampire cape, wandering through halls with goblets, severe glances, and ceremonial poise. Around the band performance, the imagery suggests old blood, guarded hearts, and the glamour of surrender. Corlyx enters its next era with a song that treats love as fever, a bargain, and a cure…with just enough fang to leave an imprint in the skin.
Watch the video for Sweeter Than Blood below:
Listen to Sweeter Than Blood below and order the single here.
Follow Corlyx:
Or via: