When the groovy go-go ghoul-dance to “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps in Tim Burton’s Wednesday went viral, it wasn’t just another mindless TikTok trend. The meme-worthy 2022 Netflix moment was vindication for dark music’s power to move and amuse the masses, even decades after it first made an impact.
Psychobilly, dark new wave, industrial, death rock, and gloomy post-punk are all sonically different, but they share similarly moody aesthetics that never seem to die—in spite of the deathly references. And while music placement in film and streaming has become a new mode of discovery for what many these days generalize as “goth,” a new generation is connecting with it in organic ways too.
Based in Los Angeles, Cleopatra Records has been a major player and promoter of the subculture since 1992, releasing merch, books, and music from the darkside for a consistently enthused, evolving consumer base.
Founder Brian Perera has come a long way, too. From selling licensed band tees and club wear to releasing and licensing albums from legends like Motörhead, Rozz Williams (Christian Death), and Andi Sex Gang (Sex Gang Children), as well as later era doomers like Nosferatu, Rosetta Stone, Leæther Strip, and The Electric Hellfire Club.
His latest signee, Warfield—the new project from She Wants Revenge singer Justin Warfield—feels like a natural fit and it’s set to bridge the gothic gap, referencing unexpected genres in the process.
Rooted in the dramatic output of L.A.’s early death rock scene, Warfield the band brings the past into the present. If SWR were inspired by '80s U.K. dark wave, heavy on synthetic beats and dance floor seductions, the new project has more fleshed out alternative rock proclivities. Still, the singer, who’s released two videos and a couple of EPs under the name Deathrock Devotionals, Vol. 1 with Cleopatra this year, says it’s coming from the same enigmatic place.
“I think what's interesting about dark music is the differentiating that happens,” Warfield says. “I went down a kind of K-hole last night on TikTok, looking at some creators who were talking about the gatekeeping of goth versus dark wave… But when you're of a certain age there is no delineation between being into Clan of Xymox or X-Mal Deutschland, or you know, B-Movie. For me, I was a club kid and if I heard Marc Almond singing ‘Sex Dwarf,’ I was just as turned on by that as I was transgressive, super progressive, funky, and weird songs like ‘Two Tribes’ and ‘Relax’ by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, or even ‘How Soon is Now?’ by The Smiths or ‘A Forest’ by The Cure."
“Bands like Duran Duran were the gateway drugs that led me to something harder and darker,” Warfield continues. “I heard ‘Girls on Film,’ and I heard ‘The Chauffeur,’ and I became obsessed with the lyricism, the romanticism, the wish fulfillment, the synthesizers. They were life-changing and essential for me. And there's 100 bands in between, whether it be Berlin or Missing Persons. I connected the dots to the sounds I was hearing coming out of the U.K. Later I would learn about Daniel Miller and The Normal and Kraftwerk. We don't always start with the deepest, darkest, coolest, most indie shit.”
Today, goth fans can start anywhere in their listening journeys. It’s almost hard to remember, but pre-internet, music discovery only occurred via friends or family, in the clubs, on radio, on MTV (many of us will never forget 120 Minutes), and via journalists in magazines like this one. It was an exciting, word of mouth musical existence where the true tastemakers made a difference not only in record stores, but in how we dressed and what posters we put on our walls. Perera and Cleopatra were in the thick of it.
“In the beginning I was really into Motörhead and The Damned,” Perera, who got his start selling stickers outside of concerts, shares. “There’s always been a thrill and an attraction to dark stuff. The chilling and kind of scary imagery complemented the sounds. In the beginning, upside down crosses, pentagrams, witchcraft, horror… even if you never delved into that stuff, it was intriguing.”
Many point to U.K. punkers The Damned as early inspirations. Incorporating spooky cinematic atmospherics into their '80s output, they served to open up the floodgates that David Bowie and Bauhaus cracked with charismatic personas like Ziggy Stardust and haunting tunes like the 1979 classic, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” respectively. Lead singer Dave Vanian once told me that his love of Old Hollywood movies like Dracula was a big influence on him, but the grandeur soon evolved into gloom and angst, expressed in a mesmerizing new way by seminal acts like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy and Death Cult.
Cleopatra built an avid following with fans of the above, releasing back catalogs, compilations, tributes, and new music by all of them from the beginning. The Damned’s 1996 comeback album, Not of This Earth, was a Cleopatra release.
“Dark music never really saturated the mainstream,” Perera says. “It's always been a side piece of culture and music. It's always there, but it's not like it's everywhere. And I think that's what keeps it special. We love working with old and new projects, like Justin’s… I think he definitely nails it and it sounds really authentic. It takes you back to that early sound, when you first heard those chilling Siouxsie songs or Christian Death, but with a modern, uplifting production that hits you in the face.”
The Cruel World Festival, which takes place at Pasadena, California’s Rose Bowl in May, has been attracting fans of dark music for the past four years, proving its enduring multi-generational popularity. Bauhaus and Morrisey headlined the first fest in 2022, followed by Siouxsie and Iggy Pop in 2023, Duran Duran and Ministry in 2024, and New Order and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds earlier this year.
The anti-Coachella, as some dub it, is sort of like Cleopatra’s catalog come to life, serving to solidify the styles and sounds that captivated so many in the '80s and '90s and prove that it’s more than a novelty. There have been many memorable moments at the fest over the last four years, from Bauhaus performing under a “Blood Moon” to lightning strikes before Siouxsie’s set, forcing her to reschedule the headlining performance the next evening, which was magnificent.
When Ministry revisited music from their Wax Trax! era—which leader Al Jourgensen had previously vowed to never perform—at the festival in 2024, it was pivotal. As Perera tells it, there’s more to come for fans. Cleopatra Records has owned the rights to the Wax Trax! recordings from 1980-1997 since 2014, and in October of last year, he signed a new deal with Jourgensen for what is being touted as the band’s final album ever. So far, it seems like the industrial icon is open to exploring all of his musical incarnations.
Similarly, Warfield isn’t closing the door on She Wants Revenge as he tries something new. SWR played this year’s Cruel World for an adoring crowd and even played some new material. But the native Angeleno seems excited to move forward, too. After touring Europe and the U.K. this past Summer, he’s writing new songs for the November release. If the singles “All the Fun (Kiss Kiss Kiss)” and “Jet Plane” are any indication of his new direction, expect infectious instrumentation and high energy delivery that organically pushes his sound, which is nothing new for the musician.
Starting out as a hip-hop artist, Warfield released a well-received solo debut, My Field Trip to Planet 9, via Reprise/Warner Bros. records in 1993, evolving into the Justin Warfield Supernaut, also via Reprise, two years later. He was always a fan of hip-hop just as much as new wave and rock, but he looks back at that period of experimentation, “like you look at pimply middle school photos in your old yearbook.”
His next project, One Inch Punch, incorporated new elements, but it wasn’t until he joined Tape (featuring members of his favorite L.A. rock band at the time called Plexi) that he started to flesh out his diverse inspirations into something evocative and somewhat dark. That path continued with collaborator Adam Bravin.
“When Adam and I sat down to make music together, we didn't say, let's start a band,” Warfield says. “At first it was just songs for other people, like hip-hop producers, and then he did a track for our friend, Kenna, and I was like, ‘this is great. I want to do something like this.’ I said, ‘I want it.’”
Kenna, who later worked with Chad Hugo of the Neptunes and toured with Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan, recognized the alchemy the pair were creating and offered his support for what would become She Wants Revenge.
Two decades later, Warfield is reflective as he moves toward more riff-driven L.A. death rock styles, nodding to innovators like Christian Death and Wall of Voodoo, a perfect fit for Cleopatra. In addition to back catalog acquisitions, compilations, and publishing books—including a new Bauhaus book featuring rare photos from photographer Brian Shanley and words by bassist David J Haskins—Perera is always on the hunt for the next generation of music-makers in all genres, though he does seem to gravitate towards more menacing aesthetics.
He points to new Cleopatra artists Kap Bambino (French electro duo Orion Bouvier and Caroline Martial) as examples of younger creators who make compelling sounds while conjuring creepy vibes, with “very synthy yet punk music and dark lyrics.”
Perera has also gone back to his old formula of inviting new artists to be on tribute records. Bambino opens up his recent release, Spellbound - A Tribute to Siouxsie and the Banshees, with a unique cover of the classic “Hong Kong Garden.” The album comes in purple vinyl and it’s a treasure for collectors.
While the music industry continues to evolve, and frankly struggles to keep its footing in a world dominated by streaming services and social media, Perera’s long-held attention to detail and whimsical packaging continue to be appreciated, especially by the goth community. His beautiful box sets grace bookshelves and coffee tables still to this day, and though CDs are nearly obsolete, filling the niche with special features and art continues to help his company thrive.
Warfield’s upcoming full-length, expected in November, is primed to be a huge part of the catalog. Just as The Cramps saw a sudden surge in listens and downloads after Burton’s Addams Family offshoot, so did She Wants Revenge when Ryan Murphy not only named an episode after the band, but featured their hit, “Tear You Apart,” in Lady Gaga’s opening scene as a voracious vampire in his hit anthology American Horror Story.
The only question now is, who will be the first to use Warfield’s “All the Fun” in a movie or show that makes kids want to Shazam it and dive in? Technology isn’t the death knell for underground dark music, it’s what will keep it alive. The discovery and the devices might be different, but Perera and Warfield know that its innate appeal is not.
“It’s the same reason that John Hughes movies still resonate so much—everybody remembers your first love, your first crush, your first heartbreak… Dark music, new wave, and goth is much easier to connect to for this reason. When I think about bands like Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Smiths, Placebo, Depeche Mode and later Boy Harsher, Drab Majesty, Twin Tribes, Light Asylum—groups on the undercard at Cruel World, we're all just following a trajectory, communicating honest emotions, whether it's sadness, anger, rage, longing, or lust. There's always people who have these feelings inside and need to express them on the outside, whether it be with clothes and makeup, dance, or music. That's why goth is forever.”
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