Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth

Cathi Unsworth
Nine Eight Books

I was never a goth but I have always been, let's call it, goth adjacent in my tastes and I have many, much played, goth records in my collection that sit very happily alongside the more industrial music that I love.  With this in mind when I saw this book on the shelf in the shop I couldn't resist the chance to delve deeper into the history of the genre and to see if I could find any new music for my shelves.

Covering what I shall glibly refer to as the golden years of goth, Cathi Unsworth takes us on an enjoyable and comprehensive journey through it's formative and chart years.  The focus here revolves inevitably around the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure but every good story needs a central spindle to revolve around and beyond them all of the expected characters are here - The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Joy Division, Killing Joke, The Gun Club, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Cramps - along with very many more with all the stories told in the light of the politically turbulent times in which they transpired.

I really enjoyed the light tone that Unsworth uses and the book is extremely readable. That she's obviously not a tedious purist is a joy and she's unafraid to jump genre fences and include some of those goth adjacent folks such as Coil, J.G. Thirlwell, Throbbing Gristle and Einsturzende Neubauten as well as antecedents such as Karen Dalton, The Velvet Underground, Johnny Cash, Can and Suicide.

There's been a few goth overviews appearing over the last year and I was unsure which to chose.  This one, I will admit, was the first that came to hand but proved to be a fine choice that filled in gaps in my knowledge, provided me with lots of new things to listen to and did it in an enjoyably relatable way and truthfully what more could anyone want.

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