Glass Apple Bonzai
Brother Bones
Distortion Productions

Daniel Belasco’s Glass Apple Bonzai started life as a synthpop act, but the sound of new album Brother Bones is a culmination of the Canadian artist’s move towards a fuller, more band-oriented setup for the project. It’s a change that makes a lot of sense for Belasco; while he’s certainly a dab hand as a synth player and vocalist, he’s also a skilled multi-instrumentalist and a producer. With the heart of GAB’s material always being well-written hooky songs, it’s less a change in identity than an expansion of what the band has always been.

To that end, you’re gonna hear a lot more bass, guitar and live drums than on any preceding Glass Apple Bonzai record here. And that works; while a track like opener “Mysteries” definitely has a slick, new wave sheen laid over its straight-ahead rock rhythm, the synth arpeggios anchor the track to the sound GAB has been plying since their first self-titled release. Further into the album, tracks like “The Changes In Your Heart” and the mournful “As The Stars Fill an Empty Sky” are equally of a piece with what Belasco has been doing with since day one, building out his arrangements around his deceptively simple synthesizer hooks, and using his rich baritone to full effect on his choruses.

If anything, the uplifting, yet melancholic vibe that Glass Apple Bonzai has been pursuing for a few records is bolstered by the rock instrumentation. Where a cut like “Day After Day” would have worked fine as a purely electronic number, the addition of electric bass and tasteful guitar licks around its synth stabs give it the kind of rock radio feel, head-nodding and easily remembered after the first listen. It’s also an avenue for songs that wouldn’t have worked as well without that approach; the wha-oh wha-oh chorus of “Stepping Outside” is all the better for the guitar lines that go off behind it, with the use of dueling instrument solos perfectly leading to as catchy an outro as Belasco has ever written.

While listening to the record for the purposes of this review, my music app would immediately start playing “A Million Foolish Hands”, the side 1, track 1 of the first Glass Apple Bonzai album, upon completing a playthrough of Brother Bones. That contrast between what Belasco is doing with the band in 2024 versus his earliest GAB recordings only serves to drive home how much the instrumental changes haven’t altered the essence of the songcraft and performance at the heart of the catalogue. It’s about the songs, and those remain as catchy, touching and sneakily clever as always.

Buy it.

Brother Bones by Glass Apple Bonzai

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Hola friends and wellwishers. Now that April is underway, and the year has given us a few really solid albums to sink our teeth into comes the time where we start to speculate on broader emerging trends in the world of Our Thing. Still early of course, but between the ever rising tide of French darkwave and some intriguing new goth rock coming up in North America, it sure feels like that could be the story of 2024. Then again who even knows what might still transpire in the next 9 months. A full on Ant-Zen style powernoise movement revival? Electro-goth taking off again in the UK? Aggrotech but make it funky? Probably none of those things, but its fun to speculate. Tracks away!

Lovataraxx

V▲LH▲LL, “Nocturnal Eyes”
Been a few years since we last heard from our favourite Swedish ghost vikings V▲LH▲LL, and absence has only made the heart grow spookier. Rising up during the early 2010’s post-witchhouse movement, the band expanded their sound to include broader elements of synth, darkwave and folk sounds. “Noctural Eyes” continues that spirit of forward movement by bringing in some electropop synths and growled metal vocals, both of which fit into the duo’s sound perfectly. New album when?
Nocturnal Eyes by V▲LH▲LL
Nocturnal Eyes by V▲LH▲LL

Lovataraxx, “Träumen”
The second album from French duo Lovataraxx trades in a pure and classic style of European coldwave. But unlike so many other acts in the same field, Lovataraxx aren’t eschewing melody and production as a means of communicating an austere and icy atmosphere. In fact, they’re charging forward with immediate and downright bouncy hooks like this one with a maximalist zeal you just don’t find very often these days. Strong stuff which looks to be making waves; we’ll likely have a full review of Sophomore in the weeks ahead.
SOPHOMORE by LOVATARAXX

Bedless Bones, “Burying the Carnival”
It’s not unheard of for Kadri Sammel to go straight to the dancefloor as Bedless Bones – while her recent albums for that project (all of which we enjoy a great deal) always have a few cuts that will light up your finer darkwave DJ sets, its how the Estonian artist balances atmospherics and beats and her own distinctive voice that make it all so compulsively listenable. New single “Burying the Carnival” is as good a club track as Bedless Bones has yet released, just hit play to find out why.
Burying The Carnival by Bedless Bones

Flint Glass & Ah Cama-Sotz, “Odawaa”
We’re big fans of Flint Glass ’round these parts, and not just because of the French producer’s penchant for Lovecraft. In addition to a set of immaculately produced solo records in the downtempo/ambient industrial style, French producer Gwenn Trémorin’s collaborations with the likes of Empusae have yielded wonderful results, and so the prospect of Trémorin teaming up with Herman Klapholz of Ah Cama-Sotz is an intriguing one. The mix of deep and broad landscapes and soupy programming on this cut suggests that the Wakan Tanka will deliver on the collab’s potential.
wakan tanka by flint glass & ah cama-sotz

Synapscape, “Dress Code Red”
Keeping things on the Ant-Zen tip, we have not one but two paired EPs from rhythmic noise godfathers Synapscape to look forward to later on this month. Dekadenz is comprised of the more experimentally minded Dressur and the more straightforwardly aggressive Catwalk Massacre, from which this track is pulled, closely following in the traditions Philipp Münch and Tim Kniep helped to establish decades ago. Always great to have new stuff from some noise legends who haven’t lost a step over the years.
catwalk massacre by synapscape

Dream Hack, “Liquid Dreams”
Dream Hack is the new project from Sam Evans of the mighty Randolph & Mortimer sound system, favourites of ours in recent years. Where R&M is all about Evans’ industrial roots and making political body music of the type that his hometown Sheffield is known for, Dream Hack is all about that banging 90’s techno – more Underworld than Cabaret Voltaire if you follow. Turns out its just as fun and compulsively listenable as anything Evans has ever done in any form already, which is to say y’all should throw this on the stereo, turns the lights down low and throw on a Youtube loop of some circa 1996 rave visuals for maximum effect. Just lovely.
White Heat / Acid City by Dream Hack

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Poison Point
Wandering Echoes
Avant! Records

2022’s Poisoned Gloves was a reintroduction for French act Poison Point: the change from a duo to the solo act of Timothée Gainet was matched with a change in sound, as the minimal wave and post-punk influences of the preceding releases were integrated more fully into the project’s lush, sometimes manic, sometimes depressive darkwave. In contrast to how that record was informed by a new stylistic focus, 2024’s Wandering Echoes stretches out again, finding new sounds and ideas to inform its songs.

Notably, Gainet has grown as both a performer and songwriter, and put in the work establishing the identity of Poison Point as a quantity amongst many continental genre acts. That means when he does spread his wings, either vocally or in terms of what kinds of songs he writes, the changes feel confident and comfortable. The unmistakable body music that comes through in the stuttered samples and the syncopated bass and cymbal programming of “Flowers & Surrender” don’t overpower the track’s shadowy whole, still fitting neatly beside its more traditional dark disco neighbours. Similarly, the personality of the project can fully change how we hear some of these familiar sounds; the little bit of balaeric piano that weaves its way through the echoing corridors of the funky “Slow Kill, Fast Love” is transported from the beach to the death disco, recast from joyous to plaintive.

The record’s unity is partly a function of production and mood meshing well, but is also thanks to how Gainet has made himself a vocal touchstone in his songs. Sounding wounded and desperate are certainly not uncommon in trad European darkwave, but there’s a specific, reedy defiance in how he delivers his lyrics on “Blue Idol”, as if reaching out only to shrink away behind its echoing toms for protection. It’s a pose that can communicate both reluctance and longing (the crooned and chopped up syllables of “Mysteries in Fire” the mournful ballad “Les Meurtrières De L’Aube”), as Gainet fights to stay above the waves of reverb and delay, sometimes to be swept away entirely by a track’s end.

Identity is the key to the success of any given act working in modern darkwave, as more and more acts have emerged on both sides of the Atlantic in recent years. Timothée Gainet has figured out how to sound distinct and cohesive when working as Poison Point, a familiarity that hasn’t limited the scope of what he can do with the project on Wandering Echoes. It’s a fine follow-up to his solo arrival, and one that continues to deliver on its promise in alternately expected and surprising ways.

Buy it.

Wandering Echoes by Poison Point

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Pictureplane knows Enigma made sex jams.

The thorny issues of social media and general online presentation and how they shape our understanding of artists is the subject of this week’s podcasts. From gaining additional context about a record to seeing other sides of artists to the perils of parasocial delusion, we’re talking about the ins and outs of what we do and don’t see of artists online. All that, plus discussion of the allegations against Arnaud Rebotini and our experience at the HEALTH show. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, download directly, or listen through the widget down below. 

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Rosegarden Funeral Party
From The Ashes
Young And Cold Records

The book on Dallas’ Rosegarden Funeral Party has been out for a while, or at least since 2019’s Martyr put it up on the marquee in blood red Adler letters: classic goth with anthemic 80s hooks. Whether one wanted to cite The Pretenders, The Cult, Heart, or any other number of 80s hitmakers, there’s always been an extra bit of polished pop je ne sais quois in Leah Lane & co.’s work. Third LP From The Ashes doesn’t veer too far from that core fusion, but is a good deal more sombre in its delivery of it.

From the subdued, insomniac lament of “First To Cry” through “Love Like Goodbye”, with Lane connoting Red Shoes-era Kate Bush as she hypothesizes about an ex over rolling drum fills and downcast synths, even the most cursory of listens reveals From The Ashes to be much more melancholy than anything we’ve heard from the band thus far. That moodier tone suits the breakup theme which runs through the lyrics of the record, with senses of regret, reflection, and the licking of wounds holding over the record until the triumphant closing title track.

Despite its depressed tone, From The Ashes still brings the odd rousing anthem of the sort we’ve come to anticipate from the band – “Pillar Of Salt” and the aforementioned storming “From The Ashes” stand out all the more because of their more sedate cohort – but more impressively the actual range of influences the band’s always drawn upon are still intact. The band still feel like a meeting between your preferred uber goth band (no posers allowed) and any number of peppy new wave acts classic or current, no easy feat when you’re trading in downtempo torch songs. And don’t let the moody ballads fool you – when sax is brought to bear it’s still delivered in raw and rough deathrock fashion, rather than in the 80s AM power ballad mold (much more Skeletal Family than INXS in that regard).

Given the current wave of “but, like, what even is goth?” online discourse, Rosegarden Funeral Party’s sidestepping of that shitstorm is not only graceful, but reframes its terms. It’s impossible to listen to “Doorway Ghost” or “Almost Heaven” and not hear classic goth by even the most strident of definitions, but as From The Ashes reminds us, that isn’t all the band is or is interested in. Even in moments of loss and heartache, Rosegarden Funeral Party get to have their snakebite and black and drink it, too.

Buy it.

From the Ashes by Rosegarden Funeral Party

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With one third of the year under our belts, we’re nowhere near ready to start eyeing up a potential year-end list (though there have been some very strong records thus far), but we’re always keen to start reading the tea leaves of broader sounds and trends. One that we’ve noticed is an interest in broader styles of darkwave. Sure, the club-focused, programming-heavy sound popularized by Boy Harsher is still a major force, but in recent months we’ve been noticing more and acts and records gaining attention which draw upon the more traditionally goth side of the genre. But, as with the baseball season, we’re still working with small sample sizes. On with this week’s tracks!

C Z A R I N A

Black Asteroid feat. Louisahhh, “Love”
Of all of the various collaborations announced for Black Asteroid’s forthcoming LP on Artoffact, Bryan Black teaming up with Louisahhh seemed the most natural. A combo of noise-driven techno and electro-rock rave-ups, it deftly skims across the past few decades of darker club sounds, while keeping the undeniable charisma Louisahhh has lent to all of her recent releases squarely in focus. Black has the resume to handle all of the various contributors to Infinite Darkness; we’ll see how the whole LP delivers on its promise in a month’s time.
Infinite Darkness by Black Asteroid

Run Level Zero, “Manifest”
The sun-skimming synth brightness which kicks off the latest single from Sweden’s Run Level Zero isn’t what immediately comes to mind when we think of their existing catalog, but comeback LP Swaerm indicated that the group wasn’t interested in simply reconstituting their North American electro-industrial influences. The thumping programming beneath its zippy fanfare shows that RLZ are still very much connected to their roots, though; here’s hoping we’ll have more material soon with which to fill out the picture of the band’s current outlook.
Manifest by Run Level Zero

Wants, “To Surface”
We’ve enjoyed the material thus far from Calgary wave act Wants, but new single “To Surface” definitely feels like a level up. Despite working a sound adjacent to the eighties mining end of synthwave, the project has managed to avoid the trap of aesthetics of over substance thanks in no small part of their grasp of songwriting and arrangement. This cut has that classic feel without being a direct homage or ripoff, certainly the best yet from these up and comers.
To Surface (Single) by Wants

Torch, “Atiit”
Dutch trio Torch gave us one of last year’s most classically gloomy releases, with Leaving Me Behind linking guitar and synth-focused strains of darkwave, yielding a morbid and atmospheric listen. New track “Atiit” picks up exactly where that record left off, threading a moody bassline with Hammer horror synths and getting Torch’s unblinking flair for the gothic across.
Atiit by TORCH

Hem Netjer, “Anubis (Echo)”
We’ve been longtime fans of Hem Netjer, and have been pleased to watch their evolution as both a live and recording act as their integration of industrial, world instrumentation and darkwave sounds have taken shape. The new version of “Anubis” linked below shows some of that growth as the original is leaned down and built outwards, suggesting vaster spaces and deeper wells of sound than the original = much of it thanks to added guitar and percussion that has expanded their live show. As always we’re keen to hear what comes next.
Anubis (Echo) by Hem Netjer

C Z A R I N A, “Exoskeleto”
We got hipped to C Z A R I N A via our friend Chris at Synthpop Fanatic (a website you should really be following), and immediately put our tabs of the Spain-based American act. The specific kind of regal, classic darkwave of the project is shot through with some millennial club sounds and puts us in mind of classic acts like Diva Destruction and Battery as well as modern purveyors like Ghost Twin Have a listen to new single “Exoskeleto” for a taste.
Exoskeleto by C Z A R I N A

The post Tracks: April 2nd, 2024 appeared first on I Die: You Die.

Crystal Castles – Not in Love (ft Robert Smith)
Assemblage 23 – Disappoint
Wumpscut – Deliverance
40 Octaves Below – Death Control
Combichrist – Blut Royale
E Nomine – Das Tier in Mir
Black Nail Cabaret – Black Lava
Depeche Mode – Dream Mode
Dead or Alive – Spin Me Right Round
Blur – Boys & Girls
RAD – Send me an Angel
Echo & the Bunnyman – Killing Moon
Siouxsie & the Banshees – Cities in the Dust
Solar Fake – The Pain That Kills You Too
VNV Nation – Epicentre
Mesh – Firefly
Neuroticfish – Waving Hands
Muse – Uprising
Felix da Housecat – Money, Success, Fame, Glamour
Inner Party System – American Trash
Faderhead – Electrosluts Extraordinaire
Daft Punk – Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Alien Sex Fiend – I Walk the Line
Skinny Puppy – Pro-Test
Nitzer Ebb – Join in the Chant
Bloodhound Gang – Hold Your Head Up High
Richard Cheese – People Equals Shit

The post DJ Surreal – March 31, 2024 appeared first on Vancouver Descent.

Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s Sam Rosenthal – the young artist as a portraitist.

Some numeric jiggery-pokery? From us? To do with the chronology of We Have A Technical? Never. On this episode we’re looking at records from Black Tape For A Blue Girl and Black Strobe, plus running down news related to Nitzer Ebb, and the Cold Waves ans Terminus festivals. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, download directly, or listen through the widget down below. 

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Spectres
Presence
Artoffact Records

The aesthetic changes made by Vancouver’s Spectres have been slow and incremental, and likely less immediately noticeable to hometown listeners like ourselves who’ve been seeing the pastel shades of reflective new wave added in increments to the band’s initially deathrock tinted style of post-punk, one show at a time. That transformation, which perhaps begin with 2016’s Utopia, now feels fully realized on their fifth LP Presence. But regardless of how closely the listener has or hasn’t been tracking that change, Presence feels like the brighter, melodic version of the band fully coming into their own identity.

Spotting the direct New Order parallels that started with several tracks on 2020’s Nostalgia (or even comparing the band’s overall shift to that made by Blitz) has been easy enough over recent years. With Presence it feels like the wistful yet sun-soaked moods Spectres have been basking in have simmered and settled to an even keel, with the band’s unchanging strengths now standing on their own in this new incarnation. Sure, you could take a microscope to individual tracks like “Justice And The Cross” and “One Day” and try to identify strands of DNA from The Wake or Comsat Angels (“Homeless Club Kids”, by turn of the millennium indie darlings My Favorite is knowingly quoted on “Real World”), but that’s not what shines through on multiple listens or after the record’s finished; the clarion choruses, subtle hooks, and Brian Gustavson’s vocal charisma do.

More than its precursors, Presence finds a balance between those strengths and the band’s poppier ambitions. The triumph and melancholy which flow in equal parts through “Falling Down” are the result of years of the band field testing their interests, but comes across effortlessly, as does the rhythmic flurry which drives “Dominion” but leaves enough space in the mix for ameliorating bass and vocal harmonies. Even more ambitious is the rhapsody of closing track “Start Again”, which begins with the sort of cold and bracing post-punk which first drew us to Spectres but shifts into a half-time elegy which owes more to doo-wop than any punk act.

There are exceptions to this motif – the minor key but still anthemic street punkof “Chain Reaction” feels like a conscious callback to “Remote Viewing” from Nothing To Nowhere, their now twelve year old sophomore LP – but on the whole Presence feels like a statement of arrival. That’s maybe an odd thing to say about a band of their tenure, and certainly Utopia felt like the culmination of the band’s sound at the time. But they haven’t stayed pat since then, and their drive to explore more melodic and plaintive sounds has brought them here, to a new vista they’ve discovered of their own accord. Recommended.

Buy it.

Presence by SPECTRES

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Dancing Plague
Elogium
AVANT! Records

There’s a tendency to sort variations of darkwave by region, partially due to differing interpretations of what constitutes the genre, but also thanks to some pretty distinct stylistic markers. With that in mind, there’s something distinctly European in the way Portland-based Conor Knowles approaches making icy electronic darkwave as Dancing Plague on new LP Elogium, eschewing the last several years of sounds that were in vogue in the wake of Boy Harsher’s success, leaning towards the stark, sorrowful sound of classic acts like The Frozen Autumn, or more contemporary producers like Sydney Valette and Poison Point.

It’s an impression that’s easy to get from the opening moments of opener “Dreamless”, its dense arrangement of 16th note bass, clear leads and straightahead drum programming serving as a backdrop for Knowles’ deep-voiced singing style, a low growl on the verse, an anxious but controlled howl on the chorus. It’s a style of delivery that is distinctive and gives the material a lot of personality but is also going to be deal-breaker for listeners who may be unaccustomed to hearing such naked melodrama; whether on the metallic percussion touched thud of “Rot With Me” or on the brightly toned “Cold Fire”, a song that would almost feel uplifting thanks to its catchy synth hook, if not for the anguished fashion Knowles delivers its chorus holding onto notes with a mix of grave determination and distress.

Leaning in on that kind of mournfulness can is a tricky proposition; if there’s even a hint of insincerity or mawkishness the whole thing can come crashing down. To wit, you need to commit to pull off this kind of theatre of misery. Thankfully Dancing Plague doesn’t waver for a moment, whether on the grief-stricken “Fading Forms” or the strident closer “Echoes of the Void” (the latter song bringing hints of self-excoriating anger that distinguishes it from the preceding numbers) Knowles doesn’t blink or waver. It helps that the instrumentals are constructed with energy and movement in mind, tempos are kept within dancefloor ranges and track times kept to what the actual compositions can handle. The fact that the vocals are so immediately the spotlight on these songs can distract from their efficient workmanlike execution, doing exactly what they need to do, no more and no less.

Without wishing to belabour the point, Elogium is the kind of record whose audience will self-select based on how accustomed or open to its vocal gravitas they are. If you can hang with Dancing Plague’s lamentation, there should be no problem in engaging with its forceful style of woe.

Buy it.

Elogium by Dancing Plague

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Delays as we approach the 500th episode of We Have a Technical. We’re hoping it’ll happen this week, but if not it’ll be another fill-in of some kind as we try to make this schedule work, but we assure you, it’s gonna be something special when it does drop. In the meantime, we’re looking forward to the HEALTH show (with Pixel Grip opening!) this week in Vancouver, and for the long weekend affording us some time to catch up on all these new-releases. Have a listen to some of this week’s selections and let us know what you’re feeling in the comments.

Give My Remains To Broadway

ACTORS, “In Real Life”
Hometown heroes ACTORS return with the first single for their forthcoming 2024 album, and man is it smooth. The post-punk quartet have dabbled in these sorts of airy synth-driven tracks in the past, but there’s a rare power in the way “In Real Life” channels melancholy via Joason Corbett’s vocal delivery, production and arrangement to give us something snappy and emotional in equal measure. Always a pleasure to get new music from these cats, and to know it won’t be long before we get to see them perform a good new tune on stage.
In Real Life by ACTORS

Einstürzende Neubauten, “Ist Ist”
You’re just going about your day, minding your own business and god damn Einstürzende Neubauten comes around and puts out a new song. “Ist Ist” (not to be confused with the similarly titled “Was Ist Ist” from a ways back) is an interesting cut in a lot of ways – it feels very classic Neubauten in terms of its use of cacophonous metallic percussion, Blixa’s vocalizations and that characteristic uncoiled bass sound, but it also has the earmarks of the bands mellow latter years in the mix, reminding us of the fusion of sounds and ideas we got circa Perpetuum Mobile. Never a bad time with these legends. A North American tour wouldn’t be unwelcome fellas.

Edgecase Development Corporation, “Euphrosyne”
Edgecase Development Corporation is the techno project of Eric Oehler, who you’re likely familiar with via Null Device and Klack. In the case of new EP
ECEP II: Belt Objects, it’s an outlet for Oehler to indulge his interest in global music and instrumental electronics and do kind of a Juno Reactor thing, albeit with his own production sensibility at its heart; you get some very cool use of sampled instruments and voices melded with the programmed drums and synths in ways that make a very organic kind of sense. Well executed stuff from an artist who just consistently hits with us.
ECEP II: Belt Objects by Edgecase Development Corporation

Zalvox, “Zalmoxis”
Longtime Haujobb associate Rinaldo Bite, whose work folks will know from Liebknecht and DSTR, has a new project on the go. The first track from Zalvox draws a line between the cold, motorik-influenced approach to electro we’d expect from Bite, and some icy current darkwave via vocalist Dorain a la Black Nail Cabaret or recent X Marks. Gotta dig those little Predator-styled creaks in the corners. Sounds like a debut EP is in the hopper.
zalmoxis by zalvox

Analytica, “Anyone We Know”
Look, the rest of Canada gives Toronto a lot of stick for imagining itself to be the sum total of the country, but if there’s one thing those of us in Vancouver hold in solidarity with Hogtown, it’s everyone short of hedge fund shitheads being priced out of their neighbourhoods. The “utopian” construction of a city beyond the reach of its own inhabitants is a theme befitting the roots synthpop of Analytica, which links Neu!-esque kosmische daydreams with the Ballardesque alienation of early Mute.
Strategy Of Tension by Analytica

Give My Remains To Broadway, “Rend My Flesh”
Lastly, let’s stay in Toronto for some weighty and monochrome goth/post-punk from Give My Remains To Broadway. In addition to a legitimately witty name, they’re bringing lots of atmosphere and a decent balance between hooks and sheer misery which is a bit beyond their years. Should appeal if you like Fearing or MOLT.
Rend My Flesh by Give My Remains to Broadway

The post Tracks: March 25th, 2024 appeared first on I Die: You Die.

Our special two-part We Have A Commentary concludes with the second disc of the Gothic Rock compilation. While there are still some cuts by foundational acts to work through, we’re also looking at some refinements and elaborations on original templates through a handful of second wave acts, some ten years after the genre first coalesced. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, download directly, or listen through the widget down below. 

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Quick refresher on this semi-regular feature here at I Die: You Die; A Game Called Echo is the thing where we recommend a more recent album you might enjoy if you’re a fan of a classic record. That’s it, basic as it gets.

Bel Canto’s Birds of Passage (1995), and Hada’s In The Heart Of An Endless Winter (2022)

Bel Canto’s sophomore record is a masterpiece which straddles many genres, darkwave amongst them. Its blend of tasteful acoustics, immediate yet atmospheric synths, and elegant vocals can easily be claimed as dream pop, ethereal, and possibly even new age, but those same elements combine to form top shelf darkwave on Birds Of Passage as well, be it the sober and fateful bombast of “Dewy Fields” or the slow-burn perfection of “A Shoulder To The Wheel”, its ever building synth strings and harmonics making it an enduring classic on goth dancefloors, perfect for your own version of the “I’m a shrub/I’m a tree” or “picking the apple” dances. Birds Of Passage‘s power comes as much from its understatement as its hooks, with pieces like “Intravenous” and “Time Without End” lighting their own little candles and waiting for passers-by to be drawn in by their grace, and that’s often the mark of maturity many darkwave also-rans miss out on, separating those who overplay their hand with garish programming from those capable of leaving something left unsaid, or at least nestling it mysteriously in the mix.

An interest in chilly atmospheres is certainly something Greek duo Hada have in common with Bel Canto, and at least in terms of titling with their debut White Out Conditions. But In The Heart Of An Endless Winter feels closer to Birds Of Passage‘s mix of pop melody and ambient minimalism than the latter’s folktronic experimentation. From the hammered strings of opener “White Sister” through the almost sacred piano of “Mon Ami de la Planète Bleue”, that sense of a gracious and inviting space from which to mull over the passing of seasons and mortality is created, but with hooks to boot. The speedy ease with which post-punk guitars skate along ice on “Neurons” has a laid back charm, and the kosmische arpegios of “Ascent Of The Blessed” are quite similar to the worldbeat pulse of “Birds Of Passage”. But as with Bel Canto, it’s in knowing when to lay back in the cut and allow the world that they’ve designed to turn of its own accord that In The Heart Of An Endless Winter truly excels.

In The Heart Of An Endless Winter by Hada

Information Society’s self-titled (1988), and Klack’s Catching Up With Klack (2020)

Information Society’s self-titled debut LP is an important touchstone in the transition from eighties synthpop to broader worlds of electronic music. While the record is largely remembered for the damnably funky singalong “”What’s on Your Mind (Pure Energy)” and it’s distincting use of Star Trek vocal samples, the nearly 8 minute long “Running” was already a hit in New York dance clubs before the album’s release, a track that can be read as classic electro, new wave, or freestyle depedning on context. The secret to the album’s Gold sales at a time when synthpop was broadly on the decline was that while it maintained the genre’s focus on big melodies, it integrated b-boyisms, nods to house and techno (presaging the sounds that would rocket EMF and Jesus Jones to chart success), and the classic electro-pop of Kraftwerk, the sweat of DAF, and Art of Noise’s mix of humour and the avant-garde. The album doesn’t sound particularly dated despite being squarely planted at its exact moment of release simply because it kept danceability and good-old fashioned songcraft at its heart.

Madison Wisconsin’s Klack started off as a fun one-off by friends Eric Oehler and Matt Fanale of Null Device and Caustic respectively, an avenue for them to explore an interest in New Beat and body music sounds that didn’t necessarily fit into the synthpop and industrial of their respective main projects. A listen to 2020’s Catching up with Klack, a collection of basically everything they had released up til that point, should allow anyone to draw the line from Insoc to their work; early cuts like “DMF” have the same mix of samples and body-moving rhythm programming, while a number like “With Precision” gets across their knack of instantly hummable hooks that don’t skimp on dancefloor appeal. Listen to how “The Games We Play” weaves Oehler’s voice with touches of acid and disembodied voices from classic education videos, or how “Time 1.1” works its message of unity against an arrangement of swelling synths and rolling kicks – no matter the cut, Klack keep their focus on keeping songs easy and fun on the first listen to the fiftieth. Like Information Society they touch on any number of now-retro genres (check the classic house piano on “Check the Spreadsheet” and the NRG fit for a mastermix that flows through “Synthesizer (v2​.​0)”), but it’s the songs that matter.
Catching Up With Klack by klack

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We have a special two-part version of We Have A Commentary for you this week, as we’re tackling both discs of the Mick Mercer-curated Gothic Rock compilation, a companion record to Mercer’s book of the same name. In the first instalment, we’re discussing some absolutely foundational tracks by the likes of Bauhaus, X-Mal Deutschland, Virgin Prunes, and plenty of others, noting both the variety of sounds and the emergence of unifying tropes across the genre’s early years. Stay tuned for our discussion of the second disc this weekend! As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, download directly, or listen through the widget down below. 

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B. West
Ex-Fantasy
self-released

The music on B. West’s debut solo LP is distinct from anything we’ve heard from the Vancouver ex-pat in any previous musical incarnation. While the music on Ex-Fantasy is not entirely removed from the sound of West’s work in techno-body project Sigsaly, it’s still a distinct musical entity unto itself, and a still further cry from the material put out as part of dark punk trio lié or the darkwave of Koban. Still, the attitudes and ideas of those projects work their way into the banging synthpunk LP in ways that provide grit and dimension that takes it beyond the dancefloor.

Unlike some of the latter Sigsaly material, the songs on Ex-Fantasy are vocally driven, the manic high-speed synth and drum programming arranged around West’s commanding vocal presence. There’s almost a fast-forward house feeling the bubbly synths and kick-clap percussion of “Cakes”, but once you hear the half-sneering, half-defiant delivery of the song’s climax it becomes something far more foreboding and visceral, the spotlight on West’s voice presaging a messy spray of sharp-edged synths that take over the song in its final third. Alternately, the far-off approach taken with the vocals on opener “Beginnings” are surgical, puncturing the mix in ways that allow its charging bassline and chattering lead to guide the track to its inevitable feeling conclusion, where stereo splash cymbals go off like fireworks.

The rough and ready production and arrangements of the album are good and effective in providing a platform for West’s considerable charisma and personality; rarely anything less than strident, the producer and performer leans in hard and carves out space for their voice in the kind of chaos that might have overwhelmed lesser voices. The title track has such dense interplay between synth and percussion that West’s short punky ad libs and big ‘whooaas’ feel extra powerful for having the presence to punch through them. If you’re familiar with West’s previous work you can hear that history brought to bear as the poised venom of lié comes through on the chewed-off syllables of the anxiety inducing “HEDONE”, and the regal bearing of Koban in how chorus of “Dance It Off” is delivered, splitting the difference between its bouncy bass and its icy melody.

Inasmuch as our experience with Ex-Fantasy is shaped by familiarity with the catalogue that preceded it, the record is a lot more than just drawing the lines between it and West’s extant catalogue. There’s a pure and visceral quality to cuts like “Slices”, informed by modern techno, but stripped down and hammered into forms that emphasize impact from first beat to last. It’s not what we were expecting, but is undeniably a better experience for its livewire energy and unrelenting momentum.

Buy it.

Ex-Fantasy by B. WEST

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Lustmord
Much Unseen Is Also Here
Pelagic Records

As we discussed on a recent podcast on the subject of dark ambient, it’s tough to think of a more foundational figure in the emergence and codification of that genre, not to mention someone with a stronger catalog within it forty years on than Brian Williams of Lustmord. A slew of recent live, collaborative, and archival releases have served as a reminder of how far Williams has taken the moods and atmospheres he pioneered from their often willfully obscure origins and into the realms of video game and film soundtracking, as well as into a degree of critical acceptance far beyond the reach of even the most ambitious initiates who followed the trail he blazed. That recent work schedule has also occluded the fact that, depending on one’s definition of the format, Much Unseen Is Also Here could be taken as the first standalone LP of original, solo Lustmord work since 2016’s Dark Matter. It feels like a sojourn into the caves and abysses only Lustmord can map is long overdue, then, though as Much Unseen Is Also Here reminds us, Lustmord is an entity which operates on its own scope and scale.

Clocking in at a full 80 minutes, Much Unseen certainly isn’t cutting corners in giving each of its eight pieces as much time and space as is needed to unfurl. Yet, even by the already minimalist standards of the genre and the artist, it’s a decidedly stripped-down affair from a compositional standpoint. Opener “Behold A Voice As Thunder” communicates the aesthetic in immediate fashion (well, as immediate as a ten minute piece with no discernible rhythm can be), with deep drones, string pads so low as to be indistinct from choral ones, winter wind, and the occasional swell of brass or beat of some stygian timpani. However, no more than two of those elements are ever truly present in the mix for more than a few seconds, with each slowly cycling in and out of the speakers, not only putting the razor sharp command of sound design which has been Williams’ calling card in the spotlight, but also his ability to hold each moment and sound for all its worth.

The cornets on “Invocation Of The Nameless One” don’t break from this minimalism, but also show how Williams’ foray into soundtracking has been a two way street; it would be easy to take the piece for part of a Jóhann Jóhannsson or Jocelyn Pook score were it to be heard free of context. More difficult to place are the strings which guide “Hence Shall They Be Devoured All Of Them”, recorded with so much echo and space around them that their timbre almost curves into a brass sound. This isn’t just about the links between Lustmord and film, which were noted long before Williams actually started scoring, but also about Williams’ abilities with neo-classical instrumentation. Album centrepiece “An Angel Dissected” is a rare exception to the aforementioned minimalism, with its recurring piano refrain suggesting puzzled unease more than abject misery or the pure dread and terror associated with early Lustmord works (the latter is left to a slowly encroaching string section).

When we saw Lustmord’s fantastic set at Cold Waves in 2015, a fight nearly broke out in the crowd with one inebriated member of the audience taking umbrage at some perceived slight and insisting that he was a bigger Lustmord fan than any of the rest of us. In addition to being an irritation (though thankfully a momentary one), the petty outburst was at odds with the entire space and spirit Lustmord was invoking. The painting used as Much Unseen‘s cover art, demonic fantasy artist Wayne Barlowe’s “Sargatanas Before The Behemoths”, is indicative of this – rather than brash and noisome arrogance of needless confrontation, Lustmord holds to a lumbering and impassive malevolence which achieves its inscrutable ends on its own ponderous timeline. Recommended.

Buy it.

Much Unseen Is Also Here by Lustmord

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We’re coming in fast and furious on the quincentenary mark on the podcast (yes, we had to look that one up – most of those anniversary terms haven’t been immortalized in a Strong Bad e-mail). Are we maybe going to be playing a little fast and loose with the numbering to make sure the timing’s just right? No, we’d never do such a thing, but one way or the other we can tell you that we think folks are gonna dig the audio we’ll have for you this Thursday. On with Tracks!

Arabian Panther on the rise

CIERŃ, “Disposable”
Berlin quartet CIERŃ’s take on dark post-punk works in a range of formats. The sharp hooks and vocal yelps which introduced them on their debut EP got them over quickly, but on their 2022 full-length the earthy and organic delivery of their sound got them over the finish line. Their new Flawless EP’ll be out in a couple of weeks, and this teaser gets both that immediacy and that more subtle atmosphere across.
Flawless by CIERŃ

Mind|Matter – Les Trompettes De L’enfer
It feels as though Parisian producer Mind|Matter has been laying low for the past couple of years, at least in comparison to the release schedule he was on with the likes of Detriti and Area Z a couple of years back. One way or the other, this cut from a forthcoming Intervision comp is a nice reminder of what first drew us towards his work: tight, rubbery beats with solid industrial bolstering and a goodly hazy of heavy, foreboding atmospherics.
REGARDE LE MONDE BRÛLER vol.1 by Mind I Matter

Arabian Panther, “Hafla for our Dead”
We’ve enjoyed the previous EPs from Arabian Panther a great deal; the French-Lebanese producer’s material integrates EBM, italo, and traditional Middle Eastern instrumentation and musical modes to body moving effect. The first taste of new EP Death of the Panther is “Hafla for Our Dead”, a cut dripping with big dancefloor potential, relying on both vocal samples and anthemic synth leads to convey the warrior spirit the defines the project.
The Death Of The Panther by Arabian Panther

Zanias, “Lovelife (Skelesys Remix)”
Last month saw the release of the chill, new age-styled follow-up to last year’s incredible Chrysalis LP from Zanias, but that doesn’t mean the latter isn’t still paying dividends. A pair of club-focused mixes of “Lovelife” from that record just dropped, with the whispers of classic trance and Balearic beat in the original brought right to the fore on this immediate but still moody version.
Lovelife Remixes by Zanias

Unmut, “Hammer and Anvil”
Okay so Detriti has put out a lot of different kinds of music over the years, but we can’t recall them doing the sort of ambient, blackened death industrial type sound found on Unmut’s Flesh-Imprisoned Spirit. Feels weird to call something as bleak, harsh and nihilistic as this ‘a pleasant surprise’, but that is kind of the story here – this hits a lot of sounds we’re into, and they come together into a pretty all-encompassing whole.
UNMUT – Flesh-Imprisoned Spirit by Detriti Records

Alien Skin, “Come and See Me When I’m In My Head Alone”
There’s definitely a lot of fun choices on the new single from long-running Australian darkwave act Alien Skin; the trippy synth horns that pop up way through, the glammy vocals that get some glitchy manipulation, and the warbly bass programming all serve to set the track apart from many more standard issue cuts in the genre, and also give it a very singular and intriguingly unique charm.
Come And See Me When I'm In My Head Alone by Alien Skin

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Prodigy – Firestarter
Frontline Assembly – Headhunter
MSI – Faggot
Repo! The Genetic Opera – Zydrate Anatomy
Rob Zombie – Living Dead Girl
Razed in Black – I Worship You
Die Form – Nature Destruction
Royskopp – What Else is There?
Eurthymics – Here Comes the Rain Again
Depeche Mode – People are People
Stacey Q – Two of Hearts
Scissor Sisters – Filthy/Gorgeous
VNV Nation – Honour
Faderhead – Dirtygrrls Dirtybois

The post DJ Surreal – March 17, 2024 appeared first on Vancouver Descent.

Isaac Howlett – House of Cards
Spahn Ranch – Vortex
Urban Heat – Right Time of Night
Ultra Sunn – Broken Monsters
Alex Braun – Der Gedankensammler
Rotersand – 16 Devils
Ringfinger – Chamber of Roses (Joey Chaos Remix)
Revolting Cocks – No Devotion
Severed Heads – Dead Eyes Opened
Logic & Olivia – I Wish
Solitary Experiments – The Great Unknown feat. Elena Fossi
*Electric Callboy – Tekkno Train
*Echo & The Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
*Goldfrapp – Strict Machine

The post DJ MissBDeath – March 17, 2024 appeared first on Vancouver Descent.

Joshy Neurotic – Masters and Servants
3Teeth – Blackout
Front 242 – Until Death (us do part)
Gary Neuman – Voix
Concrete Blonde – True to this
Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
Skinny Puppy – Glass Houses
Cellar Graves – Omen
Aesthetic Perfection – Save Myself
Bigod 20 – The Bog
Blaqk Audio – Boys and Girls
Combichrist – Slave to Machine
Rob Zombie – Dragula (Matrix OST)
I’m Just Ken

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