WATCH: Gvllow Unveils Music Video for “Nightmare”
WATCH: Gvllow Unveils Music Video for “Nightmare”
The track and its visuals represent Gvallow as an artist, especially their latest EP, ‘Spiritwalker’
Words by: Ysabela De Ocampo
Darkwave artist Gvllow shares the music video for his track, “Nightmare,” which comes off his haunting new EP, Spiritwalker — released March 24th. The music video for “Nightmare” completely embodies Gvllow as an artist, his unique sound and of course the overall the vibe of his latest EP.
“Nightmare” opens with a pensive bassline that pumps life into this dark, punk track. Gvllow’s booming and echoing vocals blend with the reverberated twang in the guitar riffs, and the song is mainly driven by the percussive jive that adds an electronic touch. Parts of the track feature a cutting and swirling guitar solo that give it that sinister goth-rock feel. Sonically, Gvllow is his own unique entity, while also being reminiscent of early works from artists like Bauhaus, Marilyn Manson and The Cure.
The video itself is haunting and trippy. With glitchy effects to cut from scene to scene and stimulating layers of visuals, some including Gvllow himself. Roses, death, crosses cemeteries, and black lipstick all take parts in this video. He has a distinct look that takes visually dark influences and embodies the crossover of post punk, eighties goth rock and electronic music that his sound is.
His highly anticipated EP, Spiritwalker expands on the eighty’s goth, post punk feel that “Nightmare” introduced in the video. On the record he shares, “This EP is full of 80s synthwave/post punk tracks paying tribute to some of my favorite bands.” Gvllow is keeping the genre alive while adding a modern twist to the music’s style. The 5 track EP is quite the journey — with songs like “Lost Without You” and “Nightmare” being on the gothic punk side, while “Fell In Love With a Ghost” being more experimental noise/goth rock. Songs like “Pray To God” and “Take My Hand” keep the energy high while emphasizing his larger-than-life sound. Over all it’s a stimulating mix of darkwave, punk, rock and even trap-beat songs.
Gvllow is a rapidly ascending solo artist — thriving as a multi-instrumentalist, DJ and producer who is able to use his sound to navigate the visual stylistic aspects of the dark genre, while creating a fresh and diverse combination of genres in his songs. Born and raised in Riverside, California, he grew up in the SoCal Punk scene. He started playing drums at age nine. In his youth he would go to The Showcase Theatre in Corona every weekend to watch bands such as The Adicts, TSOL and Subhumans. Gvllow started to DJ in the underground rap scene in 2015, even performing with the likes of Ghostmane and Lil Peep. His 2018 album’s Waste Away and Gvllow included features from Travis Barker, Brennan Savage and Jack Grisham (TSOL). Gvllow has amassed millions of streams and a loyal following on listeners on Spotify and Youtube and continues to cement his place in the alternative music scene.
