The 13th Hour: Dark Wave Playlist
The 13th Hour
The 13th Hour is a collection of goth poetry from several volumes of books of shadows written by James Ross Spencer II written between 1980-the present, set to Darkwave, New Romantics, ambient, techno, trance and Goth rock music written and performed by James Spencer with noted studio musicians making up the Darkwave-Goth band The 13th Hour.
In 1985 while James was performing around the Southland of California as the keyboardist, co-composer and back-up singer of the New Wave band In Common Hours, James formed The 13th Hour, as composer-lyricist, lead singer, keyboardist and orchestrator. Performing for 3 years James disassembled the band to focus on his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice and keyboard performance graduating with highest honors from California State University (BM '92, MM '95)
After forming Spencer Artist Development, James assembled the choicest studio musicians of dark wave music from Southern California, New Orleans, Savannah, London and Edinburgh to re-record and re-master these mysterious, sensual, goth tracks for a modern audience, free of charge as a sacred gift to fans of Darkwave music and metaphysics.
Influences on James' dark wave style include: Clan of Xymox, Crüxshadow, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banchees, Book of Love, Dead Can Dance, Tears for Fears, Eurythmics, Thompson Twins, Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, Sisters of Mercy, Ministry, David Bowie, and Bauhaus.
Most of the tracks were mastered at:
Adamos Recordings: Westminster, CA
Théâtre des Vampyrs: New Orléans, LA
Stirling Masters: Edinburgh, Scotland
Chaeronea: London, England
The 13th Hour was named for the fact the original 4 members were all born on Friday the 13th.
James Spencer: (Feb 13) Composer-Lyricist, Lead Vocalist, Keyboardist, Orchestrator-Arranger
Devin Shadows: (Oct 13) Guitar, Lead Vocals, Violin, Flute
Marc-André Favrier: (July 13) Bass, Keyboards
Joel Krieg: (Jan 13): Drums, Back Vocals
The 13th Hour is a sacred initiation. So pour the absinthe, light the frankincense, dim the tiffany lamps, and step through the veil.
The Violet Hour (2026)
The Violet Hour is the second Darkwave release in The 13th Hour series by James Spencer, a cinematic journey into the hidden world of queer London at the close of the nineteenth century.
Blending atmospheric Dark Wave, Gothic synth textures, and the nostalgic spirit of 1980s New Romantic music, The Violet Hour explores a city illuminated by gaslight, haunted by secrecy, and alive with forbidden longing. Drawing inspiration from real Victorian history, the album wanders through absinthe houses, opium dens, private salons, occult gatherings, moonlit streets, and hidden circles of men seeking connection in a society that denied their existence.
Throughout fourteen interconnected songs, listeners encounter aristocrats, artists, footmen, mystics, dreamers, and lovers navigating desire, loneliness, beauty, and loss beneath London's fog-shrouded skies. Historical figures and events are woven into a rich tapestry of Gothic romance and queer memory, creating an immersive musical world where fact and legend blur together.
Musically, The Violet Hour combines deep bass vocals, analog synthesizers, hypnotic rhythms, lush strings, haunting cello passages, and atmospheric textures inspired by classic Darkwave and New Romantic recordings. The result is a sound that feels both timeless and nostalgic—at once Victorian and unmistakably retro.
Sensual, melancholic, romantic, and reflective, The Violet Hour is an album of hidden glances, unsent letters, secret gatherings, and fleeting moments of grace discovered in the shadows.
Content Advisory: This album contains mature themes relating to sexuality, historical persecution, and queer identity. Two tracks contain explicit lyrical content intended for adult audiences.
Program:
- Gaslight At Dusk
- The Violet Hour
- My Boy at 19 Cleveland Street
- Absinthe and Candle Smoke
- Black Wolf
- Letters Unsent
- The Butler Knows
- At the Stones
- Twin Snakes
- Reflections in the Mirror
- Lavender and Opium
- At Oscar's Table
- The Last Carriage Ride Home
- Dawn on the Thames
Escape From Usher Manor (2026)
A velvet curtain parts. A storm gathers at the windows. The manor breathes.
The 13th Hour unveils its newest apparition: Escape from Usher Manor (2026)
Fourteen original invocations in Darkwave, Goth, techno, and trance—each track a corridor of candlelit dread and ecstatic release. Gothic Victorian literature pulses through synthesizers and shadowed beats. Warlocks whisper. Witches rise. The paranormal presses its cool hand against the glass. The metaphysical becomes rhythm. The rhythm becomes ritual.
This is not merely an album.
It is a séance set to bass line.
A fever dream in corsetry and lightning.
Program
- Escape from Usher Manor
- Sir James & Sebastian
- Heaven's Eyes are Blind
- The Boy in the Bell Tower
- Shadows on the Wall
- My Friday the 13th
- Baron Samedi
- Tituba
- Jesse's Nightmare
- The Butler
- Who are You?
- Moonlit Devour
- The Rose's Thorn
- February Brings the Rain
Enter the manor.
Dance with the specters.
And when the final rain falls in February, decide—did you escape… or were you claimed?
The 13th Hour: Dark Wave Music written by James Spencer
James Spencer
The 13th Hour: a Book of Shadows of Gothic Victorian poetry written by James Ross Spencer II and set to dark wave music by James Spencer and the band The 13th Hour.
James Spencer
Promo Photo for The 13th Hour (The Roxy, LA, February 1986)