Brooklyn’s KABUKI LOVE have released “The Wolf Dance,” a dark new single blending garage rock, post-punk and goth atmosphere with a story about deception and power.

Led by guitarist and vocalist Rima N., KABUKI LOVE formed during the 2020 pandemic and draw from a wide range of punk and alternative sounds. “The Wolf Dance” continues that approach with a melodic but shadowy strain of rock ’n’ roll, landing somewhere between garage grit and the darker corners of new wave.

The song began, as much of Rima’s writing does, with its melody rather than its lyrics. After discovering a guitar progression and riff through improvisation, she recorded the idea on her phone under the spontaneous title “The Wolf Dance.” The wolf imagery carried over from another song, “Howling,” and eventually provided the foundation for the finished lyrics.

Rather than telling a literal story about wolves, the track uses the animal as a symbol for people who manipulate others through lies and power. Rima describes its meaning as deliberately open-ended, allowing the image of the “wolf dance” to represent an individual or group willing to exploit others to get ahead.

That darker interpretation does not extend to the animals themselves. Rima also points toward her admiration for real wolves and the importance of protecting them, separating centuries of ominous symbolism from the creatures that inspired it.

“The Wolf Dance” fits comfortably within KABUKI LOVE’s wider musical world, where goth, new wave, punk, grunge and post-punk regularly bleed into one another. Haunting guitar textures and vocals give the project its darker edge, while an emphasis on melody keeps the songs from disappearing entirely into the shadows.

With “The Wolf Dance,” that balance gives KABUKI LOVE a suitably eerie soundtrack for examining the people who bare their teeth behind a friendly face.