There’s something gloriously strange about Black Bordello. The London five-piece have built a sound that sits somewhere between gothic rock, psychedelic theatre and post-punk, with trip-hop haze and industrial grit thrown into the mix. On ‘Midheaven Tempest’, that eccentricity feels more fully realised, creating an EP that is dark, dramatic and unpredictable, while still packed with moments that feel instantly familiar.
Opening track ‘Fugue’ immediately sets the scene, bringing a strange circus-like feel before dropping into bouncy indie instrumentation and a spooky organ undertone. There’s a clear Siouxsie and the Banshees quality to it, but Black Bordello push the sound somewhere more theatrical and psychedelic, with the track constantly shifting between gothic tension and playful looseness.
‘Numb-Lock’ is another standout, feeling like Luvcat meets Kate Bush. The track moves through swelling strings, romantic piano, fuzzy guitars and scattered percussion, creating an almost Bond-like sense of drama before veering off somewhere much stranger. Sienna Bordello’s vocals are equally unpredictable, moving between theatrical vulnerability and something far more feral.
Elsewhere, ‘Daddy’ leans further into the band’s psychedelic side, embracing the theatricality without losing the darker edge running through the EP. There’s a sense throughout ‘Midheaven Tempest’ that Black Bordello are less interested in following conventional song structures than seeing how far they can stretch a mood before pulling it somewhere completely unexpected.
That approach reaches its biggest moment on closer ‘Mechanical Dancer’. Epic and slightly chaotic, it brings together the EP’s gothic textures, industrial touches and theatrical instincts for a finale that feels appropriately excessive. Rather than neatly resolving the strange world the band have created, it feels more like the curtain falling on something you’re not entirely sure you understood.
Across ‘Midheaven Tempest’, Black Bordello have created something deliberately difficult to pin down. Gothic rock, post-punk, psychedelia, trip-hop and theatrical songwriting all appear, but the EP never settles comfortably into any one of them. At its best, that unpredictability is exactly what makes the record so engaging.
Dark, eccentric and theatrical without taking itself too seriously, ‘Midheaven Tempest’ finds Black Bordello building a world that feels equal parts glamorous, unsettling and completely strange.
