Rakta’s “Flor da Pele” is a psychedelic goth nightmare

There’s been an almost overwhelming amount of darkwave spilling out of various corners of the world in recent years to the point that it feels like revisionist history. Most of it is perfectly serviceable, even downright decent, but after a handful of tracks it blurs together into a druggy goth haze. Which is why a group like Rakta feels all the more necessary. The Brazilian band’s take on post-punk is even darker, druggier and farther out—it’s a psychedelic nightmare of stunning proportions, an uneasy plod through a house of mirrors fraught with disembodied screams and piercing shrapnel. At the heart of “Flor da Pele,” the first track released from their upcoming album Falha Comum, there’s a thumping goth-rock bassline acting as an anchor beneath the chaos of effects-treated screams and shrieking, toxic clouds of guitar. Rakta seem to place as much emphasis on the demented fuzz trips of Comets on Fire as they do The Cure, and they’re all the more vital a band for it.

From Falha Comum, out April 11 via Iron Lung.