The song emerged from a nightmare, of being trapped in the final, dark moments before dawn, in a no-man’s land between the woods, the city, and the ocean. Writing in and out of this dreamlike state, New York City darkwave trio My Dear Mycroft disentangle night terrors, nocturnal monsters, and drifting apparitions on “By Passion Alone,” off the band’s debut album Heaven’s Entertainment, out Oct. 30.
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Following up previous EPs, 2012 Dinosaur and Wiiiild (2014), My Dear Mycroft, named after Sherlock Holmes’s more scrupulous older brother, are fueled by the romanticism of darker poetry, taking their cues from writers like William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
“I love these authors’ relationship with darkness and light, particularly that you need darkness to experience light,” says singer Joemca. “I’m interested in their exploration of nature and the dichotomy of its beauty and terror. Their writings on solitude and transformation also influence the feel of our sound.”
Entrancing and challenging, Joemca says he often gets lost in the words, and each read reveals something new. “I also love that while reading, it’s not always clear what’s happening,” she says, “but by the end I’ve been through an experience and taken away more than I was aware of at the time.”
Intricately threaded through previous Heaven’s Entertainment tracks “Psyche” and “The Ghost That Slows You Down,” My Dear Mycroft, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Joemca, Jess Luck on vocals and synth, and drummer Rob Heath, maneuver through moodier mischievous melodies and somnambulistic lyrics on “By Passion Alone.”
Piecing together the collection of songs on Heaven’s Entertainment was an introspective process, says Joemca. “The music usually comes first,” says Joemca. “After I’ve found the soul of the song, the lyrics come painstakingly slowly. I intentionally write with the instrumentation of the band and little else.”
Typically, all he needs to write is a guitar, synth and drum program. “I can’t write without the drums in mind,” he says. “It’s at the heart.” Once there’s a demo set the band will start piecing together the final instrumentation around each story.
“I love Rob’s feel so I try to write specifically to that,” says Joemca. “Jess is the litmus test for a song’s survival, and helps shape the lyrics, then I mix the songs myself and send it to mastering for a fresh perspective. I enjoy the writing process more than anything else.”
In all their shadowy storytelling, Joemca says My Dear Mycroft still have more tales to tell.
“I like to write about the unknown and my fears so there’s still a lot of material there, even though this album feels like a culmination,” says Joemca, who hopes to release and EP or two before the next album. “I’d be interested in trying to communicate with more minimal lyrics. I love this instrumentation, and this feel. I’m hoping we can find something new within this palette.”
