In the shadowed corners of the artistic underground, where aesthetics of decay and introspection flourish, an album announcement is rarely just a press release. It is a signal, a summoning, a new chapter in a public grimoire. So it is with Amulet, the Washington D.C.-based darkwave duo, whose forthcoming EP, ‘Purification,’ arrives not as a mere assortment of tracks but as the second act in a profound and deliberate ritual of psychological alchemy.
Set for release on November 28 via the venerable industrial outpost Dist0rtion Productions, the EP is a direct response to, and evolution from, their sprawling 2024 full-length, ‘Katharsis.’ In that single, deliberate sequence of titles lies a narrative of profound artistic and personal transformation—a journey from the chaotic expulsion of pain to the focused, crystalline clarity that follows.
The promise of ‘Purification’ is rooted in the exhaustive exorcism of ‘Katharsis.’ That album, a colossal 19-track, 74-minute opus written over three years and across multiple countries, was aptly named. It was a plunge into what the band themselves describe as the “emotional abyss,” a ride through the “dark side of the human experience.”
It was a work of maximalism, a necessary and messy outpouring of repressed emotion, designed to be experienced with “swishing bell sleeves, stompy dance boots, a box of tissues, and your little black book at hand.” Catharsis, in its classical sense, is a purging, a violent release that brings relief. ‘Katharsis,’ the album, was the sonic equivalent of this process: sprawling, emotionally raw, and intentionally overwhelming.
‘Purification,’ by contrast, implies a different, more refined process. It is the act of cleansing what remains, of removing contaminants to achieve a state of purity. This transition is not merely thematic; it is a statement of artistic intent and a map of a creative process laid bare.
Where ‘Katharsis’ was the scream, ‘Purification’ promises to be the focused, resonant hum that follows. It suggests a move from the sprawling confession to the concise, potent mantra. Amulet, a creative partnership between the mesmerizing vocalist Stephanie Stryker and the multi-instrumentalist architect MJ Phoenix, is not just releasing new music; they are documenting a journey from a state of emotional chaos toward a hard-won state of self-knowledge and control.
The Phoenix from the Embers: ‘So Cold’
The most potent evidence of this alchemical transformation is delivered in the EP’s lead single, a re-envisioned version of the ‘Katharsis’ track ‘So Cold.’ The new iteration, tellingly subtitled ‘(Frozen Phoenix),’ is a microcosm of the entire project’s thesis. It is a deliberate, symbolic act of sonic rebirth, showcasing a band not just in control of their sound, but in command of its very essence, capable of melting it down and recasting it into a new and gleaming form.
The original ‘So Cold,’ nestled within the dark rock fabric of its parent album, was a creature of the shadows.1 The new version, however, is a creature of the strobing, neon-drenched dancefloor. The transformation, helmed by the band’s own musical core, MJ Phoenix, is absolute. The press release describes it not as a remix, but as a fundamental re-imagining: a “pulsing retro anthem with shimmering hooks and irresistible drive.”
The tempo is faster, the vocals soar with a newfound urgency, and the sound is dominated by “lush analogue-style synths” that channel the spirit of classic United Kingdom synth-pop while maintaining a distinctly modern edge.2 It is, in a word, “danceable”—a descriptor that carries immense weight in the often-somber world of darkwave.
The subtitle, ‘(Frozen Phoenix),’ is no mere flourish. It is the mission statement. It signals a conscious decision to rise from the ashes of one genre expression and be reborn in another. This is more than just an aesthetic choice; it is a profoundly strategic one. The goth and industrial scenes are not monolithic; they are archipelagos of distinct subcultures.3
The original track, with its rock-oriented structure, would have found a home with one tribe. The ‘Frozen Phoenix’ version, with its synth-pop heart, is a direct appeal to another—the denizens of the club night, the audience that moves to the relentless pulse of electronic beats. The press release makes this ambition explicit, noting the track is “perfect for the synth-pop or electronic rising playlists.”
This is a calculated and intelligent move to bridge subcultural divides, demonstrating a versatility that is crucial for survival and relevance in a genre-fluid, playlist-driven era.
Equally significant is the fact that this radical reinvention was an inside job. By tasking MJ Phoenix—the credited force behind Amulet’s writing, composition, and instrumentation—with this transformation, the band asserts its creative autonomy. This is not the work of an outside producer hired to inject commercial appeal; it is an organic, self-directed evolution. It reinforces a narrative of authenticity that is paramount in underground music.
Amulet’s metamorphosis is not being imposed upon them; it is being willed into existence from within. ‘So Cold (Frozen Phoenix)” is therefore both a dangerously catchy anthem and a declaration of independence. It proves that the band’s emotional core is strong enough to be translated across sonic languages, and that they alone are the masters of that translation.
A Crucible of ‘Purification’
Rather than a collection of new material, the ‘Purification’ EP reveals itself as a crucible of reinvention—a focused exploration of their existing work through the lens of remix and reinterpretation. The release is a curated collection of alternate versions that deconstructs and rebuilds key tracks, showcasing the versatility of Amulet’s songwriting and their deep connections within the electronic music scene.
The EP is anchored by two distinct takes on its lead single, offering both the dance-floor ready ‘So Cold (Rising Phoenix)’ and a new, icier ‘So Cold (Frozen Phoenix)’ mix. This is followed by a series of aggressive, club-focused remixes from respected peers. Batboy delivers a driving, rhythmic take on ‘Dirty Hard Beats,’ while Tragic Impulse and The Synthetic Dream Foundation each offer their unique, hard-hitting interpretations of ‘Tear Me Apart.’
The EP closes with a powerful reimagining of ‘The Hope That Kills You’ by industrial stalwart Interface. This deliberate choice to release a remix-heavy EP serves as a powerful statement: for Amulet, purification is not about creating something from nothing, but about stripping songs to their core and seeing what new forms they can take—a collaborative alchemy that transforms the familiar into something thrillingly new.
The Promise of a Clearer Sky
What, then, does ‘Purification’ ultimately signify? On its surface, it is a new EP from a rising force in the North American darkwave scene. But its true importance lies in the trajectory it represents.
The journey from the sprawling, emotionally turbulent ‘Katharsis’ to the focused, refined promise of ‘Purification’ is a powerful narrative of artistic maturation. It suggests a move away from raw, maximalist expression toward a potent and confident essentialism.
The former was a 74-minute epic, an exhaustive document of an emotional state. The latter is an EP, a format that demands conciseness, and its lead single is built on the immediacy of “shimmering hooks and irresistible drive.” After the great outpouring, Amulet seems to have discovered exactly what they need to say and the most direct, powerful way to say it.
This evolution mirrors a broader shift in the darkwave genre itself. The contemporary revival, as documented in a recent wave of critical reappraisals, is characterized by a do-it-yourself ethos, where artists traverse borders and build massive followings from bedroom productions, often finding an audience through the democratizing force of the internet.4 Amulet’s self-directed, internally powered evolution fits perfectly within this paradigm.
Their ability to blend “classic United Kingdom synth-pop with a modern edge” shows a masterful navigation of the genre’s central tension: how to honor the sacred texts of the past—the works of The Cure, Clan of Xymox, and their ilk—while pushing the sound into new, vital territory. They are not content to simply spin the same old records; they are writing new ones that feel both timeless and urgently contemporary.
Ultimately, the announcement of ‘Purification’ is more than just news; it is a promise. It is the promise of clarity after chaos, of focus after frenzy, of a danceable, defiant joy found in the very heart of darkness. Amulet is charting a course that feels deeply resonant in a world grappling with its own overwhelming sense of turmoil.
Their music offers a map—not for escaping the darkness, but for navigating it, for processing it, and for transforming it into something beautiful, powerful, and pure. The ritual is underway. The cleansing is about to begin.
References:
- van Elferen, Isabella. ‘Gothic Music: The Sounds of the Uncanny.’ University of Wales Press, 2012. ↩︎
- Reynolds, Simon. ‘Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984.’ Penguin Books, 2006. ↩︎
- Goodlad, Lauren M. E., and Michael Bibby, editors. ‘Goth: Undead Subculture.’ Duke University Press, 2007. ↩︎
- Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. ‘The body was the drums, the brain was the synthesiser’: darkwave, the gothic genre lighting up pop.’ The Guardian, 19 June 2024. ↩︎
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