Black Doldrums

Information

Pop Mutations & Freakender present:
Black Doldrums

• Special Guests
  Friday 5th March
  The Old Hairdresser's
  18+

London-based gothic post-punk trio Black Doldrums have established themselves as one of the most distinctive voices in modern dark alternative music. Blending driving rhythms, cascading guitar textures and cinematic atmospheres with themes of psychology, identity and human connection, the band create a sound that draws from gothic post-punk, darkwave and synth-pop while remaining unmistakably their own.

At the core of Black Doldrums are Kevin Gibbard and Sophie Landers, whose creative partnership has shaped the band’s immersive and emotionally charged sound. Their latest album, ‘Repetition Compulsion’, completes the ambitious “State of Mind Trilogy”, following 2022’s ‘Dead Awake’ and 2024’s ‘In Limerence’. Inspired by the psychoanalytic concept of repeating unconscious emotional patterns, the album explores inherited behaviours, destructive cycles and the forces that quietly shape our lives.

Released through Fuzz Club Records, ‘Dead Awake’ received acclaim from Rolling Stone, Uncut and Sonic Seducer, establishing Black Doldrums as one of the genre’s most exciting emerging acts. They followed with ‘In Limerence’, described by Louder Than War as “lush yet glacial… swelling with bursts of energy before dissolving into ethereal depths,” before taking their powerful live show across Europe supporting Archive on their 2025 arena tour.

Renowned for performances that are both hypnotic and intense, Black Doldrums fuse primal drumming, melodic bass lines and atmospheric guitars into immersive live experiences that balance menace with beauty. As they complete their trilogy with ‘Repetition Compulsion’, the band continue to push the boundaries of contemporary gothic post-punk, forging a sound that is cinematic, uncompromising and entirely their own.

“A mix of gothic-rock and shoegaze sounds to die for” Rolling Stone

“A fierce combination of post-punk, reverb, drone and melody” Uncut

“Awe -inspiring…Black Doldrums create transient and euphoric dark post-punk” Louder Than War