Human Culture (Night People/Adagio 830)

Core Terror Bird members Nikki Never and Jeremiah Haywood also play together in the postpunk outfit Modern Creatures, a band that pummels listeners with blistering drums and dual fuzz bass. The pair’s work with Terror Bird, however, simmers with eerie atmosphere and slow-burning minimalism. The 13 tracks on Human Culture eschew fiery fretboard workouts in favour of plunky keyboard figures and subtle synth strings, which are backed by gratifyingly straightforward beats and doused in hazy reverb.

The melodies are catchy and the rhythms infectious, but what really sets Terror Bird apart from other like-minded goth acts are Never’s chilling vocals. Her dead-eyed delivery is the perfect complement to the gloomy lyrics, and she sounds practically ghoulish when she promises “I’ll join you in misery,” on the closing “Who’s Sorry Now?”. And when she sings “I’d die for him” on “Married Women”, it’s more morbid than romantic.

Sullen as these lyrics are, Never has plenty of sass, and the album is full of wickedly biting romantic rebuffs. On the buzzy and upbeat “We Were Monsters”, she dismisses an ex-lover by deciding “I’m so glad that you’re not mine.” The sneering “Human Life” is even more venomous, as she threatens, “I will run away / Hit you in the face.” It’s the same dark wit that served Morrissey so well in the ’80s, and this feisty approach to mope-pop helps to make Human Culture an awesomely addictive new-wave throwback.