past self, Softwalls, Sunder
The Cellar On Treadwell
Hamden
April 25, 2026
Have you ever heard of k-goth music? If your answer is “no,” it won’t be after reading this piece about the Las Vegas-based band past self who brought their “Die, Cry, Hate” tour to The Cellar on Treadwell Saturday night.
They were joined by two more acts – the Connecticut-based darkwave sonic sounds of Softwalls and the dreamy indie pop trio Sunder from California. They also brought a bevy of goth fans to the Hamden below ground venue who were all decked out in their best black outfits and ready to dance to the band’s dark and delightful setlist.
According to past self’s website, they describe what they call k-goth as their blending of Korean and English lyrics along with “aesthetic cues from visual kei” and the musical influences of bands like The Cure, Asylum Party, and Cocteau Twins.
The night began with a six-song set from Softwalls, an “audio concept created and curated by Allison Tracz” according to her Bandcamp page. Accompanied on this evening by Jack Vibert, Tracz’s haunting vocals intermingled with tingling and tantalizing synth beats set the tone for the rest of the show. Songs like “Blip” and “Shadowdance” got the crowd warmed up for even more dancing later on, and even when she got quieter and more reflective on her set closer, “Circles” – this reporter’s new needs to be on repeat obsession – it was still near impossible to not want to move along. Add Softwalls to any playlist where you could use the kind of music that makes you feel less alone. You can thank me later.
Steven Esquibel of Sunder gestured to the audience to move up closer to the stage as he began that band’s set solo on vocals and guitar, joined after that first song by Jameson Meays and Joey Lopez for a seven-song set that got even more people moving to their catchy and cool songs about love and loss. A particular favorite was “I Guess I’ll See You in the Movies” – which if you know this reporter’s penchant for the cinema could quite possibly be her new theme song. The songs all had a breeziness and warmth to them that felt very West Coast. Sunder songs would be an important addition to those warmer weather playlists where the goal is to feel like you’re on vacation, or at least somewhere where summer can last as long as you like.
The stage was set for Past Self with low lights, a candelabra, and a bright red old- fashioned telephone. Sung (vocals/guitar), Aether (keys/vocals), and Spektor (bass/vocals) arrived wearing, black, white, lace, and red sashes across their eyes. From note one they had the crowd, which had moved up even closer, under their spell dancing, swaying, and screaming for more. Their twelve-song set was a fluid intermingling of darkness and light, heavy on synth and strings in the most heavenly gothic ways. With songs like “Die, Cry, Hate” and “Between The Marquees” both lyrically and musically haunting, the entire set was ethereal yet grounded in the thoughts that plague us when we are alone and questioning the world around us. Don’t simply add Past Self to your playlist: buy their whole damn discography.
Bonus: even when their lyrics take you deep within your feelings, past self makes you want to dance. Each and every song was highly infectious. People were swaying alone, couples were swirling and twirling each other around, and black lipstick framed smiles abounded. Goth music, for all of its perceived doom and gloom by outsiders, is a genre that brings people together. That darkness has its way of leading many of us to the light.
And that red phone? Aether picked it up and sang into the receiver during one song as she made her way off the stage and through the front of the crowd. Talk about making a connection.
“We had so much fun,” said Sung before the final song of the night. “Come talk to us at the merch table.” Fans talked, posed for pictures, and kept right on smiling. I’m still smiling as I type this.
