DARKSWOON
Darkswoon is an electronic shoegaze trio from the Pacific Northwest with a genre-defying sound. Their music combines elements of darkwave, post-punk and dream pop while paying homage to both old-school goth and electronic influences. Layered ethereal vocals, melodically-driven bass, atmospheric guitar over drum machines and synths create a distinctive style. Darkswoon is Jana Cushman (vocals, guitar), Rachel Ellis (beats, synths) and Norah Lynn (bass). Their latest album, AntiVenom (2026, Viacombe), marks a significant evolution in their sound, showcasing Darkswoon at their most innovative and introspective. AntiVenom will be released on April 3, 2026.
Reviews of ‘Antivenom’ and ‘Thread’, single releases from upcoming album, AntiVenom:
“The darkly drawn cool and artful discomfort of "Thread" by Portland post-punk trio Darkswoon, and from their upcoming fourth album "Antivenom" (dropping April 3rd, 2026), soars in a way that feels at once nostalgic but as fresh and inspirational as a 'lightbulb' moment. I love the propulsive heart here, the synth glimmers like nervous kisses, Rachel Ellis’ tribal post punk beats, the drones like flashing memories, Norah Lynn’s driving bass lines, punk noir massive guitar lines and Jana Cushman's vocal countenance, wistful / fragile simmering in existential dread. This is the thing, even imagining this track played within the confines of an intimate venue with the volume turned up to 11, "Thread" with it's big dramatic pushes has a softness to it that I love. Overall, I guess, this softness, this embrace of emotional cores and emotions bubbling to the surface is what post punk is all about really.
Crafting post punk in these current times can sometimes feel like a bit of nostalgia fetishism but not here. Darkswoon's art feels to me as if painting with 90's post punk colors but creating pure creations incorporating shades of many genres and even shades of those shades recontextualized. I thought of many artists while listening to "Thread", artists like Radiohead, Savages, Iceage and DIIV come to my mind readily.” - Robb Donker Curtius, American Pancake
“Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teen, took their own life in 2024 after enduring severe bullying at school. Their loss, much like Matthew Shepard’s before it, made the world feel suddenly smaller and far more cruel.”...”Portland’s Darkswoon (Jana Cushman, Norah Lynn, and Rachel Ellis) felt that loss personally, and Antivenom carries the force of that feeling with unusual clarity. Written in response to Benedict’s death, the single channels anguish into something shared, purposeful, and protective. As a queer band, Darkswoon approaches the subject not as distant observers, but as people living within the same atmosphere of danger, tenderness, and vigilance. The song becomes a tribute, a vigil, and a warning all at once, a piece of music that gathers pain into form and then pushes it outward with grace and intent.
A steady compressed snare drives the track with a stern, almost ceremonial insistence, while synths spread in broad, beautiful sheets and bass holds everything to the earth. The arrangement carries darkwave muscle, post-punk tension, dream-pop drift, and shoegaze scale, yet the band never sounds trapped in a category. Instead, they shape a language suited to the occasion: music as memorial, music as shield, music as a place where rage can stand beside care without diminishing either.
The song imagines a spirit continuing beyond the visible frame, somewhere beyond the hard facts of loss, giving the track its emotional reach. Private grief becomes collective remembrance. The dead are held close, their truth protected, their unfinished time carried forward by those still here. When the guitar rises in the final stretch, it lands with the force of accumulated feeling, finally finding air, a release that feels earned because the song has spent its whole duration holding so much in suspension.” - post-punk.com
2022’s Best Darkwave Releases
LISTEN: BLOOM//DECAY
Of Bloom//Decay:
"It’s where we always find them, on that daunting emotional fulcrum, teasing out tension with a misson-like seriousness – Darkswoon do many things but fucking around isn’t one of them – all the while never swerving from their purpose as musicians, their songs, those songs’ melodies, forever luring us into the world to be swirled up in a mix of confusion, love, loss, fear, despair, hope and a version of joy touched by each of those. From that perspective, Bloom Decay isn’t just a success, it’s a revelation." (Dave Cantrell) #1 on Stereo Embers Best Of ‘22
"Bloom Decay makes a strong argument to be my favorite album of any style all year. Darkswoon offers a stunningly gorgeous combination of synthy, danceably pulsating dreampop, a mix of goth minimalism (The Cure variety) and touches of shoegaze in its guitars, and an absolutely entrancing vocal performance from primary songwriter Jana Cushman." #1 on Last Rites Best of ‘22
"This trio from Portland has all it takes to be appreciated by a varied audience, beyond its clear post-punk roots. Already with the previous "Bind" (2019), Darkswoon have in fact managed to mix in one fell swoop some more full-bodied and electric passages with others of a dreamy cut, in the wake of a certain modern and contaminated shoegaze (with electronics).
This balance of sounds and influences is also supported by the excellent performance of the vocalist Jana Cushman, whose powerful timbre can in some situations recall that of Annie Lennox, with less technique and exuberance but with a greater propensity for the sweetest melancholy." OndaRock, Italy
"The guitar playing inject this nostalgic 80s sound to the work. It creates an elevating effect at the opening title song while my favorite one is “Under Glass”. This song is progressively built up reaching an uplifting apotheosis." Side-Line Magazine
"There’s a calm to “Bloom Decay,” reminiscent of The Cure’s ability to soothe us even as the lyrics rip holes into our barriers to demand vulnerability, but an Einstürzende Neubauten-esque percussion disturbs the mood in the most delightful way." Pat 626, Subculture Shock
"The Portland trio Darkswoon is aptly named, as their indie rock built around an electronic framework with intelligent choruses, carries that touch of intimate darkness…the heart of "Bloom Decay" itself, surely not a record to be missed this year." Bertrand Hamonou, Prémonition
“Year of the Rat” addresses karmic cycles and finding a way to break away from that cosmic hamster wheel. Vocalist Jana Cushman’s strong yet dreamlike voice, reminiscent of Annie Lennox, anchors us in these whirling, flashing wormhole journeys – resulting in one of the most compelling videos and songs of 2022.” Alice Teeple, Post-Punk.com
"This new Darkswoon album is really a success and we feel that with such a release, the trio is set to become a reference group in its specific genre. The Dreampop, Goth, Darkwave and electronic elements are all perfectly mastered and combine perfectly." Jeu D'Ombre
“Superbly produced and, altogether, extremely evocative…” Destroy/Exist
“Synthpop grace, coupled with shoegaze wisps and emotion filled vocals…” Onyx Music Reviews
“The potent driving beat (smashed and wonderfully distorted), the clean and dirty textures of synths, the dominant bass with subtle slippery shapes and Jana Cushman's vocal countenance, bruised and boldy passionate will put you in a dark headspace, ready to do combat. The blend of post punk artistry and heavy Goth pop adornments feel emotionally pushed and stirred with layers of industrial punk, post hardcore and shoegaze.” American Pancake
”Synthpop charm mixed with ethereal darkwave sounds, dreampop sensibilities and heartfelt vocals…” Darkenin Heart
OF ‘BIND’:
LISTEN: BIND
"The latest album from this Portland band led by Jana Cushman is a fine set of goth-tinged post-punk and dream-pop combining atmospheric guitars and haunting synths with ethereal vocals and hypnotic song hooks." - Don Yates, KEXP
“…one of the best sounds of 2019…sighs of genius, with a very fresh sound and many qualities to move.” - Void Music Magazine
“...a contagious album...rhythms and instrumental layers project us to a parallel reality...” - Sónia Felizardo, Threshold Magazine
“While in some quarters the sound in which Darkswoon trade has been dubbed electronic shoegaze, if a genre tag must be applied we prefer the one found next to their name on Discogs: elektrohaze, as what one hears here in terms of atmosphere isn’t so much in thrall to the late 20th C.’s glacial sheets of reverb but rather the moody dynamics of concerted songcraft as might have been expected from PJ Harvey had she emerged in 1982 instead of a decade later, the ‘elektro’ in which case speaking for itself, the ‘haze’ deriving from the pulsating, dark emotive textures echoing back across the channel from Berlin at the time. All speculative rhetoric aside, however (and anyway Darkswoon’s name basically is their genre), Bind, contemplative in the main but fully capable of convincing with force when necessary, is at the very least forty-three of the most immersive minutes you’re likely to spend under headphones this year.” - Dave Cantrell, Stereo Embers Magazine
‘BIND’ takes the #2 spot on the top 30 albums of 2019 (Dave Cantrell, Out From The Shadows Festival promoter, Stereo Embers Magazine, Songs From Under The Floorboard)
"The album channels both fierce electronic prowess and shoegaze-inspired guitar textures, centered by vocalist Jana Cushman’s croon, Rachel Ellis’ evocative synth lines, and Andrew Michael Potter’s pulsing bass. As such, the band channels both the detached chill of early Fever Ray and Eurythmics as well as the churning menace of Modern English."
"...both incredibly powerful and irresistibly catchy at once." -- Frank Deserto, Post-Punk.com
"The range of moods and styles expressed on BIND‘s eight tracks is impressive, as each represents a distinct direction and set of influences but manage a consistent voice that’s uniquely Darkswoon. Equally suited for late night headphone sessions and dancing in the fog-drenched environs of your local goth club." Eric Sorenson, Igloo Magazine
“Darkswoon’s latest full length, ‘Bind’, represents a quantum leap in their sound. Fans of austere electronic acts like The Knife, Austra and Eurythmics will find the mechanical precision of their synth leads and drum grooves addicting while followers of blissed-out guitar pop are sure to be delighted with the ambience Cushman invokes with her ethereal vocals and blurry guitar lines.” Pete Cottell, Willamette Week
“Excellent album proche des oeuvres de Fever Ray ou Austra, aucun morceau médiocre / top album near Fever Ray's or Austra's works, and no poor tracks on it..” (of BIND) FredLem/Bandcamp fan
”From 2008 through 2013, School of Seven Bells was one of the most creative, enthralling bands in my library. I cried when I heard that Benjamin Curtis passed away, and it still chokes me up to think about it. Darkswoon has captured the essence of SVIIB so beautifully and added their own creative flair. I can't tell you how much it warms my soul to hear this sparking sweet music.” Lawrence Zeller/Bandcamp fan
