Oaths Under A Rock — Los Angeles Darkwaver Noble Savage Unfurls Noir Post-Punk Romance in “Black Noise / White Shadow”

Are these dead flowers?

Is it dead bait?

Are these sad lovers left to waste?

Carl Jung understood that the soul’s depth, much like a landscape at dusk, is revealed by the light that dances on its edges. In his view, our brightest, most vivid insights arise not from light alone, but from the shadows it shapes. To Jung, shadows are necessary truths, forged by the glow of consciousness casting light upon our hidden selves. He believed we must confront these dim reflections, the darker facets of our psyche, to understand our full humanity. Without light, there’s no shadow; without self-illumination, our hidden parts remain lost, unacknowledged yet always close at hand.

Los Angeles artist Noble Savage steps back into the light of the City of Angels, bringing with him echoes from Mexico City, where years spent south of the border seasoned his synth pop, dark wave, and post-punk revival with a vibrant edge. Noble Savage is the “faceless face,” a constant dance of reflection and transformation. Their sublogue carries the alchemical symbol of mercury, a nod to Paracelsus’s belief in mutation and metamorphosis. In each video, the project pulls us into a beautifully dark aesthetic, dreamscapes laced with shadow. Here, where electronic beats move us, we encounter our reflections—an invitation to dance with our own mysteries.

His latest LP, Black Noise/White Shadow, took two years to shape and solidify—a labor stretched and strengthened by the upheavals of the pandemic, feeding on every strange experience it encountered along the way. This record is a map of feeling, a plunge into the hidden chambers of longing, where listeners are invited to wrestle with lost loves, restless memories, and the stirrings of renewal.

Inspired by Carl Jung, Black Noise/White Shadow dares to dive into the heart of human duality, where light and darkness clash and converge. To know our true selves, Noble Savage suggests, we must step into this duality, face our shadows, and seek transformation. Each track is an invitation to journey inward, to catch glimpses of the self, fractured yet whole, and to see that light, fierce and unwavering, is what gives shape to the darkness within. A reminder flickers through each song: you need a strong light to cast a shadow.

With its pulsing beat, Postcards rolls in like a fog-drenched road, a meandering search through the indifferent maze of modern life. The melody with eerie and sparse post-punk strings carries a narrative that drifts through brittle connections, each an empty echo, a flicker of something more that never quite lands on the desired intimacy. It’s a ritual of repetition—moments shared, yet hollow, looping like a weary old reel. The world feels vast but vacant, where attempts at purpose fade as quickly as they come. Here, Peter Murphy and Depeche Mode’s restless souls linger, dark and electric.

Then, with a quick turn, Death and the Maiden shifts the mood with something bright, almost jaunty, yet hiding something deeper. It’s an inward journey, a grapple with the self, with a stranger within. There’s resistance at first, then release, a shedding of scars, an embrace of the unknown. Like Clan of Xymox, its rhythm twists and turns, vocals raw and resolute, pulling the listener through fragility and fire toward renewal, the soul opened wide.

With an arresting beat and deliberate synth melody and arrangement, Now ensnares the senses and casts a bittersweet picture of longing laced with regret, where memories drift like smoke from a burnt-out flame—fragrant with the ache of lost loves and the bitterness of old, worn habits. The present feels dimmed, its light obscured by unspoken sorrows and remnants of once-bright moments, now faded into fragments that linger, sharp and unyielding.

The next song, El Loop, opens with an infectious staccato melody, ushering in a synthwave romance that pulsates with emotion. The Spanish lyrics dive deep into a tumultuous internal struggle—a fierce battle against the masks worn for far too long and the traumas that linger unhealed. The charismatic protagonist is ensnared in an endless “loop” of false identities, yearning to break free from these repetitive patterns by confronting the truths hidden beneath the surface. This journey is a cathartic shedding, a step toward liberation, casting off the burdens of old scars. The video serves as a captivating ode to the sophisticated noir aesthetics of silent cinema auteur Fritz Lang, infusing the song with an enchanting atmosphere of spellbinding splendor.

Set against a backdrop of buoyant bass melody, the song War rises, its vocals smooth and panther-like, laced with a sharp Brelian wit that stands as a fierce act of rebellion. It delivers a scathing critique of the hollow promises that accompany power and wealth. In stark contrast to this brittle materialism, the song reveals a primal force—roots aglow beneath the city’s concrete, lights radiating an unyielding inner brilliance. This elemental power pledges to dismantle the illusion, rekindle lost meaning, and transform a world that has grown barren of purpose.

Another captivating Spanish offering, Hojas En Blanco, opens with a mechanical beat and sprawling synthwave atmosphere, like the throbbing of a motor as surreal vistas pass by. Feeling like a Rock Espanol Depeche Mode classic-era song, It portrays a powerful release from the past, as the vocals unfurl the romance of a soul shedding its former self, facing emptiness yet embracing a fresh start—a “blank page.” Attempts at change and calm have failed, but now, liberated, they dance defiantly through chaos and deceit. With illusions shattered, they reject restraints, ready to confront what lies beyond illusions and broken promises.

The album flows seamlessly into the vibrant synth of “Blue,” a captivating fusion of post-punk revival, alt-rock, and the infectious sounds of 80s new wave and Italo disco. This track embodies the spirit of two souls entwined in a shared wonder, where words dissolve into the ether, akin to stardust meandering across an infinite sky. They exchange silent poetry, sparking glimmers of “oceanic truths” and fleeting moments of unspoken joy. Their connection feels predestined, an irresistible force as ageless as the tides, drawing them together through cosmic glances and kaleidoscopic visions.

The evocatively titled post-punk ballad Poets dives into the bittersweet allure of those who have bared their souls on the page—figures like Plath, Sexton, and Teasdale, whose words pulse with longing and heartache. Bouncy iridescent synths and gothic guitars serve as light and shadow whose contrast illuminates the darkness, intertwining with their art, each a “sexy squatter” in our minds, haunting our reveries with fragments of their raw, enduring ache.

In the triumphant single Oaths Under A Rock, a powerful vocal delivery lets the nostalgia flood in—danceable beats, melodic guitars, and chiming synths carry forward a dynamic dream of a love long gone but never quite dead. Vows made “under a rock” drift back, bringing voices once cherished, now blurred by time. The promises, once vivid, fade into soft echoes, leaving only the shadow of something beautiful and irrevocably distant.

The album ends with the mournful Spanish silhouette of Nada, a song that sings a haunting ballad of transience. Frosty synths weave a baroque melody that dances with icy winds and withered blooms strewn across a memory-laden field—symbols of fervent passions and fleeting triumphs that slip like sand through our fingers. As leaves drift earthward, only soft whispers remain—a delicate echo of love shimmering amidst the embrace of inevitable decay.

Listen to Black Noise/White Shadow below.

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