‘Stay Strange’ is a song included on ‘Trickery’, the magnificent seventh album by Swedish post-punk/goth trio Then Comes Silence.
Also home to the singles ‘Ride Or Die’ and ‘Like A Hammer’, plus several other future anthems, the record has been collecting accolades worldwide and seen the group favourably compared to late ‘70s/early ‘80s dark rock overlords such as Joy Division, Bauhaus and Killing Joke, as well as compatriots The Leather Nun.
“‘Stay Strange!’ is the call that Dusty Gannon of [US post-punk band] Vision Video shouts after every show,” explains TCS frontman Alex Svenson of the song’s chorus chant ‘Stay strange and pure at heart’. “When we returned home from our last tour with them, I began working on the song and made it a tribute to the post-punk/goth scene. It was also a natural choice to invite Dusty to sing the chorus.”
With drummer Jonas Fransson laying down an energetic backbeat and Hugo Zombie providing rhythmic guitar lines, the solid basslines and velvety croon of Svenson are enhanced on ‘Trickery’ by retro synth sounds for what is a stunning and superbly recorded collection.
Formed in 2012, TCS initially built a large audience in Germany via frequent touring, their fanbase widening as they began sharing stages with artists such as A Place To Bury Strangers, Chameleons and Fields Of The Nephilim, as well as performing at festivals throughout mainland Europe. Regularly releasing high quality new material, they have worked hard to promote it and are now recognised as a leading act in their genre. The videos for the two singles released in March just ahead of ‘Trickery’ have already racked up half a million views on YouTube.
Having played a sold out 229 Club show in London in January, TCS will return to the capital on 1st November to play The Camden Club TICKETS, as well as appearing the following day at Whitby Pavilion as part of the Tomorrow’s Ghosts Festival TICKETS. They will also play summer festivals shows in Germany, Belgium and will announce further mainland European dates imminently. They have just begun a US tour with Vision Video.