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Nov 27, 2024 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Kyle Ormsby

Fauxcils is the goth pop project of Canadian musicians Dunstan Topp and Jenn Herd. The pair make a chilly and gothic style of darkwave, art rock, and synth pop, evoking ‘80s influences like New Order or Kratwerk and modern experimental touchstones like Xiu Xiu. Topp and Herd formed Fauxcils in 2018 after working together on various local punk and noise projects over the years. They debuted last year with their first EP and have been at work on their forthcoming debut album, due out next year. Today, they’re sharing the first single from the project, “Heavy Harvest,” out everywhere now.

“Heavy Harvest” encapsulates the band’s glowering, synth-laden style, marrying the intricate rippling layers of Topp’s instrumentals with Herd’s airy vocal delivery. Topp manages to capture the spacious and chilly feel of ‘80s synth pop, retaining plenty of negative space within the instrumental while weaving its layers together in a captivating tapestry of programmed beats and moody synth textures. Meanwhile, Herd’s vocal melodies drift above the rhythms, feeling cool and detached. Herd’s lyrics imagine herself as a reflective grim reaper meditating on the fate of humanity: “Greetings from the face of death / You already know / I must pass the reaping / The ending set in stone / I can’t take the way / The world has often shown / As I’ve learned I yearn / To break the toxic cycle.”

Herd states, “I chose to explore a storyline of a grim reaper-like character, wishing to retire and pass on their position of reaping souls while reckoning with the fate of its successor. A strong yearning to break the destructive cycles of society hangs overhead as undesired outcomes spiral further from any sense of control.”

Check out the song and video below, out everywhere now.