Somewhere, somehow, everyone has an inner goth. I'm serious: there is inevitably a time in everyone's life when dark, gloomy, post-punk synth is appealing. It's more often for some of us than others. Me? I haven't been comfortable in my own skin since 1988. Pass me some Dead Fame.

Having caught this Richmond, VA, group at MPMF 2012, I can testify that anyone with a serious jones for an after-hours Depeche Mode party or a midnight viewing of Donnie Darko is going to be satisfied. Their desperate, emotive lyrics are richly layered over urgent,  synaesthetic electronica. They are a throwback to be sure, but a welcome one.

Last year, Dead Fame's MidPoint showcase at Mainstay was so well-received, frontman Michael Means was inspired to write a song, "Protected by the Blood," which will be featured on their forthcoming EP. I don't particularly recall any free-flowing sanguinity — at least not in the Blade bloodrave sense — but then again, I was pretty hammered. Either way, Means reported, the group is eager to share the new track with the MidPoint crowds this year.

Dead Fame will play MPMF 2013 in advance of the release of their second EP, My Body, My Fool, in 2014. Give in to your dark side and check them out. The lead single is now available for free download on Soundcloud and as expected, it brings the blissful nihilism.

Who needs ethos when you have a Roland?

WHO: Dead Fame (Richmond, VA)
WHEN: Friday, September 27, 2013, 11:15 pm
WHERE: MidPoint Music Festival - Below Zero Lounge (opening for Leopold and His Fiction)
TICKETS: $15 day of show, or MPMF festival pass