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Music

The Brooklyn Witches in Serpentskirt Conjure Apocalyptic Riot Grrrl Vibes on 'Spirit Race'

If you and your girls are looking for something to throw on in the background while you watch the world burn, Serpentskirt's got you covered.

The name Serpentskirt may sound familiar to Cocteau Twins aficionados, and the Brooklyn duo that bears it do wear some of that influence on their spangled sleeves (most noticeably in the gloomy atmosphere and ghostly harmonized vocals they magick up). "Magick" is an operative word here; as they warn in their bio, "We read tarot cards and write spells into our songs. We are not afraid to get fast and dark. We are not afraid of anything." Clearly, Serpentskirt like to keep it witchy—and are not to be crossed..

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This still-new band draws quite a lot of inspiration from other spirits, too—riot grrrl, doom, and oodles and oodles of goth. Make no mistake, though: Serpentskirt is OG goth—they have a soft spot Chelsea Wolfe, but are obviously way, way more in love with the Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Dead Can Dance. I've described them before as "apocalyptic riot grrrl," and I think that pointy shoe still fits; using only baritone guitar, drums, and two sets of vocal chords, Candace Miller and Devlin Goldberg weave a sonic spell that's at once sweet and strange, heavy and heavenly, quiet and creepy.

Their video for the new track "Little Poison" finds them gamboling through the woods in flowing monochrome dresses, eyeing the camera from beneath blood, silver, and leaves. The whole thing was shot and edited on an iPhone by director Julian Z, and serves up some serious occult vibes. If you and your girls are looking for something to throw on in the background while you watch the world burn, Serpentskirt's got you covered.

Stream Spirit Race below, and if you're in town later this week, head down to Troost in Greenpoint to catch their EP release show on Friday, 2/12.

Kim Kelly is hexing Twitter.