Drab Majesty ‎- Completely Careless (2012-2015)

Completely Careless (2012–2015) is a comprehensive compilation album by the Los Angeles darkwave and dream-pop project Drab Majesty, helmed by the enigmatic, androgynous persona Deb Demure (Andrew Clinco). Released on 25 March 2016 via independent label Dais Records, the 18-track CD release serves as an essential anthology of the project's foundational years. The collection bridges the gap between bedroom experimentation and cult gothic status, aggregating the critically acclaimed 2015 debut studio album Careless alongside the rare 2012 Unarian Dances cassette EP, various out-of-print 7" singles, split-release tracks, and choice remixes.

Musically, the compilation showcases the evolution of Drab Majesty's signature "tragic wave" sound, an immersive aesthetic that blends melancholic 1980s post-punk with shimmering, ethereal dream pop. Driven by intricate, chorus-drenched guitar soundscapes, punchy drum machines, and distant, baritone vocals, tracks like "The Foyer" and "Unknown to the I" establish a deeply nostalgic yet futuristic sonic world. By anchoring obscure early cassette-only rarities alongside fully realized album cuts, the retrospective captures the precise trajectory of Clinco's artistic vision, making it both a perfect entry point for newcomers and a vital archive for long-time fans of modern darkwave.

Completely Careless (2012–2015) is a mesmerizing, sprawling document of a modern darkwave visionary assembling their identity from the ground up. Collecting the early output of Andrew Clinco’s alter-ego, Deb Demure, the anthology functions as both a sonic blueprint and a conceptual manifesto for what he terms "tragic wave." Rather than feeling like a disjointed patchwork of archival scraps, the compilation flows with a singular, ghostly purpose, charting a deliberate evolution from lo-fi, bedroom-born experimentation into a towering, widescreen gothic architecture. It is an immersive, 18-track descent into a world where 1980s nostalgia is not merely imitated, but weaponised to explore deeply modern anxieties regarding isolation and human disconnect.

The core of the compilation’s thematic weight rests in its preoccupation with alienation and the heavy burden of emotional detachment. Tracks like "The Foyer" and the title track "Careless" act as sonic monoliths of loneliness, utilizing icy, driving drum machine patterns and echoing, chorus-drenched guitars to build a wall of sound that feels both protective and claustrophobic. Deb Demure’s baritone vocals float above the mix like a disembodied spirit, offering deadpan, melancholic observations that refuse to grant the listener any easy catharsis. This thematic bleakness is brilliantly juxtaposed against the shimmering, ethereal beauty of the instrumentation, creating a tension where the music invites you to dance while the lyrics contemplate absolute emotional ruin.

Beyond personal isolation, the retrospective heavily engages with themes of mysticism, science fiction, and the surreal. Drawing immense inspiration from the Unarius Academy of Science—a California-based UFO eucharistic cult—the earliest tracks on the collection, pulled from the rare Unarian Dances tape, pulse with an eerie, intergalactic spirituality. Songs like "Pragmagick" and "Y.K.E.D.A." trade traditional gothic tropes for cosmic mythology, exploring the desire to transcend the limitations of the human body and escape into the ether. By framing the project through the lens of an androgynous, porcelain-masked alien entity, the compilation uses sci-fi imagery as a profound metaphor for the ultimate outsider experience.

Ultimately, Completely Careless stands as an essential, definitive archive of Drab Majesty's foundational era that proves how vital the project was from its very inception. The inclusion of rare outtakes, such as "Saturn Inc." and the haunting "Pole Position," alongside the core tracks of the Careless album, reveals a meticulous artist who never compromised their aesthetic or conceptual vision. By housing these disparate pieces under one roof, the compilation demonstrates that Drab Majesty's blend of dream-pop warmth and coldwave precision was never a gimmick, but a deeply felt, holistic artistic universe. It remains a landmark anthology that perfectly bridges the gap between old-school post-punk reverence and 21st-century cosmic dread.

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Drab Majesty; Completely Careless

1.      The Foyer

2.      Entrance And Exits

3.      Foreign Eye

4.      Everything Is Sentimental

5.      The Heiress

6.      Hallow

7.      Unknown To The I

8.      Careless

9.      Waiting Game

10.   The Foyer (Cold Showers Remix)

11.   Ultra Violet

12.   Saturn Inc.

13.   Pragmagick

14.   In A Hotel (Somewhere)

15.   Y.K.E.D.A.

16.   Wrecking Ball

17.   Pole Position

18.   Silhouette