Dame Area, “Toda La Verdad Sobre Dame Area”

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Dame Area
Toda La Verdad Sobre Dame Area
Mannequin Records

Silvia Konstance and Viktor L. Crux’s 2022 Dame Area LP was titled Toda La Mentira Sobre Dame Area, or “All the Lies About Dame Area”, perhaps an attempt to wryly acknowledge the softer and more melodic focus of that record in opposition to the clamor of the Catalan duo’s preceding synthpunk and post-industrial albums. 2024’s Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area (“The Whole Truth about Dame Area”) returns to their noisier sound, bringing some of the lessons of its predecessor with it in terms of design and production, while upping the intensity by a considerable margin. Still using a toolset made up primarily of metallic and electronic percussion, minimal synth arrangements and the powerful voice of Silvia Konstance, Dame Area have never sounded this big, or this dangerous.

That sense of menace pervades every aspect of the LP, in both its most unhinged and quietest moments. A cut like “Esto es nuestro ruido” comes out of the gate swinging with distorted kicks and a repeating two note synth sequence that grows more manic with each passing moment, the track crescendoing when Konstance’s yelled chants are subsumed by waves of sculpted static and rhythmic-noise like drum patterns. Conversely “Vengo dall’aldilà” uses ominous, soundtracky bells and synth strings to create an atmosphere of peril around its organic drum sounds, its vocals kept in a sneering, far more dismissive than threatening and somehow more unnerving for it. The rhythm programming is dense and fast-moving, frequently switching between synthetic and organic hits in ways that keep things musically engaging. That variation gives a track like “Urlo di guerra” dimensionality; the change-ups between screeching sirens, thudding drum machine sounds and sampled clanks preventing monotony or exhaustion.

The other key to the record’s appeal is in how Dame Area find ways to make their mechanized sound feel organic. Yes, the arrangement of drum sounds on “Devoci​ó​n” is tightly quantized with engine-like precision, and yet the track never feels like it’s out of step with the screamed vocals, keeping them aloft instead of dragging them under. Similarly the bassline that pushes “Tú me hiciste creer” feels like it’s reinforcing the song’s shrieks and squeals, eventually leading to a rough landing on a field of coarse synth pads that almost feel like massive distorted sighs of relief.

And really that’s the most remarkable thing about Toda La Verdad Sobre Dame Area; it’s a record that feels relentless and ferocious, but never taxing. The production and mix really allow the listener inside the tracks, making them an active part of its pummeling, thudding attack instead of the subject. Certainly their best statement to date, Dame Area set out to tell truths that are all the more bracing and invigorating for their intensity. Recommended.

Buy it.

MNQ 166 Dame Area – Toda La Verdad Sobre Dame Area LP by Dame Area

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Sixth June, “Stay!”

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Sixth June - Stay!

Sixth June
Stay!
Young & Cold Records

Berlin-based duo Sixth June have spent the last few years roaming further afield from the deeply atmospheric style of darkwave which Laslo Antal and Lidija Andonovhad on lock from their earliest releases. One-off singles, soundtracking, side projects, and even an ambitious 41 minute single track LP all found them making sorties into neighbouring acoustic and electropop terrain. New LP Stay! is a declarative return to a style which has only risen in prominence since the band’s excellent exercise in it, 2017’s Virgo Rising.

If you’re familiar with Sixth June’s back catalog, the apparent ease with which Stay! circles back to the band’s familiar strengths will feel immediately comforting; if this is your first point of contact with Sixth June, their ability to make relatively stripped down synth programming feel timbrally and harmonically rich will impress. Folks like myself will often hold Sixth June up using terms like “evocative” and “cinematic”, and I regret to inform you that Stay! is no exception in prompting that sort of verbiage, with an enveloping but tastefully restrained bed of synths framing many tracks in a visual light, from the Mann-like pulse of opener “Dance With Me” to the more reflective, Japanese kitchen-sink drama of “Sanjam”.

While generally feeling like the archetypal ‘return to form’ record, hints of Sixth June’s soundtracking and the Diesein side project can be traced out here and there. “Stay” sounds like a souvenir of their journeys well outside of darkwave they’ve brought back home, part REM-styled alt-country, part Lee & Nancy on lean. Regardless of origin or inspiration, there’s an odd counterpoint between the warm blanket of synths which makes up the body of “Wake Up” in the style of “Plainsong” or Julee Cruise and the staccato beat which kicks the track along.

By the time Stay! winds to a close even on a first playthrough its style will be palpable to existing fans and newcomers, yet a certain je ne sais quois always remains about the band. Andonov’s knowing, bittersweet tone on closer “Collapse” cinches the tonal tension which sits at the heart of so much of the band’s best work, pointing to a deeply warm and human interior while maintaining an austere and icy edifice. While uncannily familiar, there’s no one else who rides that sort of dynamic the way Sixth June do, and it’s great to hear them holding to that form. Recommended.

Buy it.

Stay! by SIXTH JUNE

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Tracks: September 22nd, 2024

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There’s a lot of recently released records that we still have to catch up on at the HQ, and while that remains our current focus, we did want to draw your attention to the 525th episode of our podcast We Have a Technical last week. We’ve debated and discussed the topic of what constitutes “goth music” a lot over the years, and in many ways we felt like this conversation was the culmination of our various exchanges on the topic; it’s not quite an argument since we agree upon some pretty fundamental ideas about the subculture and music’s place in it, but it does get a bit spicy in ways that we hope were fun to listen to. Give it a download if you’re so inclined, and hey, we’ve even got some new tracks below for you to check out as well.

Carrellee

Carrellee

Sleek Teeth, “Operating”
It’s not often we get this invested in an act with so little material released, but Sleek Teeth have our rapt attention. The notification that the LA-based melodic EBM/electro act had released a third (!) song on Bandcamp was certainly good news, and as with their previous cuts, “Operating” finds a very happy medium between classic body music sounds and sweet synthpop style vocals and probably their strongest chorus to date. We’re wondering when we’ll get some kind of EP or LP to really sink our (not so sleek) teeth into, but this cut will get plenty of spins in the interim.
Operating by Sleek Teeth

Beborn Beton, “American Girls”
The reactivation of Beborn Beton for 2015’s A Worthy Compensation has had us (and plenty of other North American listeners) reconsidering the larger legacy and discography of the German synthpop outfit. A line from one of The Cure’s most depressing and decadent tracks and a Beach Boys reference aren’t what we might have expected to inspire the first single from the forthcoming To The Stars – consisting of a handful of new tracks plus a swath of remixes of material from last year’s Darkness Falls Again – but here we are.
To The Stars by Beborn Beton

Ortotrasce, “External World”
Man, it’s been a real good couple of years for American synth act Ortotrasce. If you enjoyed the material on the excellent Dispatches from Solitude earlier this year, then you should be pretty pleased with the sound of new cut “External World”; the pure classic Kraftwerkian-electropop that the project has been mining for a minute is extremely strong here, enhanced by clean, classy production and a lovely bit of vocoder action that gives the tune a little something extra.
External World by Ortrotasce

Carrellee, “Like A Ghost”
The almost folky approach to melodic darkwave brought by Carrellee was a left-field surprise to us at last year’s Verboden Festival, but since then the Madison-based artist’s honed in on the sound and scene, collaborating with Total Chroma and now set with an LP featuring the likes of Matia Simovich and Josh Bonati behind the boards. Production aside, Carrellee does well by her own strengths on this lead single, imbuing it with a spirit that’s half breathless wonder, half pensive concern.
Like A Ghost by Carrellee

Duophonic Noise Construction, “Always”
We’ve been closely tracking latter-era X-Marks The Pedwalk’s charting of a course through alternately lush and austere electro/darkwave which has shown a very different side of Sevren Ni-Arb’s work than the pioneering high-def dark electro and electro-industrial the project’s name was built upon. While conceptually out of left field, the first material from Duophonic Noise Construction, a collaboration between Ni-Arb and his son who’s been releasing electro under the LMX moniker for the past few years, sounds exactly what you might expect from the father/son duo given the breadth of both members’ entire catalogs. With a bit more punch than recent X-Marks but still holding the icy and smooth production we’d expect, it’s a promising start.
Always by Duophonic Noise Construction

Lana Del Rabies, “Paranoid”
Our album of the year 2023 honoree Lana Del Rabies has released a cover of Garbage’s “I Think I’m Paranoid” and god damn. While not necessarily as fraught or shiver inducing as the material that made Strega Beata such a powerhouse of a record, there’s something pretty bracing in hearing the slick alt-rock crossover sound of the original buried under noise, dark reverbs and churning, spitting guitars, half-noise rock and half power electronics. If you’ve never heard Del Rabies before this should serve as a good introduction to the ugly catharsis of their work.
Paranoid by Lana Del Rabies

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dj sURREAL – sEPTEMBER 22, 2024

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Black Nail Cabaret – No Gold
Covenant – I Am
Royskopp – What Else is There?
Melotron – Kein Problem
Solar Fake – Pain That Kills You Too
The Knife – Like a Pen
Tragic Error – Tanzen
Suicide Commando – God is in the Rain
Amduscia – Profano tu Cruz
Aesthetic Perfection – Gods & Gold
Front 242 – Headhunter (Frontline Mix)
KMFDM – Juke Joint Jezebel
Thou Shalt Not – If I Only Were a Goth

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Observer: Magnum Opus & Hex Wolves

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Magnum Opus - Area Zero
Magnum Opus
Area Zero
Mosaique Records
South America’s (and specifically Columbia’s) EBM scene hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down since it began making waves well outside of its native climes several years ago. With releases on and collabs with familiar names like Pildoras Tapes and Ravetop, respectively, Bogotá’s Felipe Novoa, AKA Magnum Opus, has the sort of pedigree that should be prompting savvy DJs to be mining new EP Area Zero. They’ll be served well with four tracks tingle with a hint of psychedelic atmosphere while also delivering heavy techno kicks, as on “Ascension”. The specific execution of Area Zero‘s production touches both on modern finesse as well as the rougher and sleazier charm of vintage EBM. Never sounding forcibly old-school nor uncannily smoothed over, there’s a no-frills approach to the whole affair. That does lend to a little bit of repetition and sameness in both BPM and structure which is a bit surprising for a release this short, but no one of the tracks really feels weaker in comparison to any of its fellows. As mentioned, this sort of release is aimed for DJ listening and play, and body music selectors should have some fun sourcing whichever one or two of these cuts gets them itching to mix.
Area Zero by Magnum Opus


Hex Wolves
Bad Actor
Valley Electroniks
Santa Cruz producer Hex Wolves has been making industrialized techno since before the sound had its recent spurt of popularity, digging deep into the noisier, grittier sounds of the style with nary a care for mass appeal or courting playlist popularity. Yeah, the songs on Bad Actor have that shadowy, basement club feel to them, both hypnotic as on the chattering phaser driven synthlines of “Lack of Evidence” or punishing, as on the atonal bad trip inducing “Field of Flesh” where pitched up vocal samples and shuffling drums create intensely anxious vibes that never let up. The remixes of the latter track by FOTISMO and Spheric take the track and respectively more manic and laid-back-but-sinister directions, but it’s the closer “Temporary Sleeve” that wins the prize for most unsettling; the busy cymbal work and blocky bass are almost funky, until the waves of plonky metallic keys and typewriter percussion that clatter into the track at its midway point suddenly recast the track in a nastier light, as in the one lurching down the tracks towards you from the other end of the tunnel. This EP is never nasty for its own sake, but its no less unnerving for that.
Bad Actor by Hex Wolves

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We Have A Technical 525: Clod Man

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Rosetta Stone

“You must own at least nine Rosetta Stone bootlegs to get into the club. I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

We like to mark every 25th episode of the podcast with some sort of special theme or format, and so on this episode we’re taking up the hefty topic of to what degree goth is a subculture tied to music. Grab your snakebite and Aquanet and expect gatekeeping, gateletting, takes spicy and mild, and no small amount of cattiness. We’re also talking about the passing of Roli Mossiman, the news of North American And One dates, and a Devours gig. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or listen through the widget down below. 

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Run Level Zero, “A Strange New Pain”

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Run Level Zero - A Strange New Pain

Run Level Zero
A Strange New Pain
self-released

Possessed by both the spirit of Vancouver-school electro-industrial and at times a downright Romantic sensibility, Sweden’s Run Level Zero have been charting a course which finds them standing astride industrial’s roots and a more florid, production-focused approach to European electro since their debut LP Symbol Of Submission was released nearly a quarter of a century ago. While the aforementioned binary in RLZ’s work found an even equanimity in 2019’s Swaerm, new record A Strange New Pain finds the different aesthetics of founder Hans Åkerman shooting out across the breadth of a spacious but at times aggressive record.

From the outset of Strange New Pain, Run Level Zero tie crunchy, layered industrial and EBM programming to more melodic styles with “The Message”. The loping stomp of the beat in tandem with emergent harmonies yields the sort of engrossing (if never showy or excessive) effect which made their Arctic Noise one of the most underrated LPs of its era and style. But much of the record opts to separate those component elements and push theme to their thematic extremes. On the heavier side, the manic pogo of “Cross Over The Line” would feel right at home at Familientreffen, while the dreamy swim of “You Are My Temple” and the bucolic synthpop of “The City And The Sword” (connoting the softer side of Claus Larsen’s work) couldn’t be further removed from such aggression.

Sometimes that split remains even in the course of one single song: “We Are Strong” has a squared off EBM rumble on its verses which is spitting distance away from the likes of Spetsnaz, but blooms into the sort of bright chorus that futurepop acts used to try to zero in on (the distinction between the two styles also lends some extra ambiguity to the aspirational lyrics linking an individual relationship to society-wide manifestos). Whether across a pair of songs or within one, though, RLZ continue to thread the needle in terms of hooks, production, and Åkerman’s vocal approach. This sort of balancing act has always been part of their playbook, it just feels as though the band is getting a bit more restless or ambitious in terms of casting back and forth between their various poles this time out.

It’s tough to say from the outside what role some recent line-up changes might play in these slight adjustments to RLZ’s approach; longtime member Ville Hising is out of the fold for this record, and recent addition Oskar Lygner (previously of synthpop act Backlash) looks to be taking a more pronounced role. Regardless of reason, these changes to the band feel like minor course adjustments rather than seismic shifts, and the care and depth they’ve always brought to their work remains unchanged.

Buy it.

A Strange New Pain by Run Level Zero

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Sacred Skin, “Born in Fire”

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Sacred Skin
Born in Fire
Artoffact Records

If you take any time to read reviews of Sacred Skin’s material you’ll notice how often the Los Angeles band is often described in filmic terms, a function of how effortlessly the duo of Brian DaMert and Brian Tarney have invoked the stylish cool of eighties Michael Mann and Ridley Scott through their brand of synth-laden rock. Their songs are widescreen, hinging on DaMert’s emotional vocal delivery and the smooth production that brings the best out of them. New album Born in Fire goes all in on the things that have defined Sacred Skin up ’til this point in climactic and sometimes dizzying fashion.

That description might leave you thinking the record is non-stop bombast, and while it has its share of big moments, the band are smart enough to arrange the album with valleys around those peaks. Opener “Waiting”‘s synth bass and chorused guitar riffs complement a more laidback delivery on the first verses and choruses, slowly building in intensity as DaMert gradually deploys his full range, the song becoming a new wave rave-up by its conclusion. Those kinds of feints are the record’s bread and butter, from the way that the romantic mid-tempo groove of “Show You Love” explodes midway through with a flurry of guitar licks, to pivots into the light and funky (duet “Call It Off”) and the darker, more anxious post-punk sounds (“Paranoid”).

Of course one of the not-so-secret keys to the band’s appeal has always been that their songs are well-crafted, with distinct choruses and arrangement ideas. Indeed, for a band who obviously put an emphasis on style, they’ve clearly got an understanding of their own strengths and how to use them to get the material across. “The Lights” is a fine enough tune from a writing standpoint, but what sells it is the way it floats its vocals ever higher above the synth toms and pads, a perfect feeling of culmination for a penultimate track, especially where it allows closer “Static Blue” to help the record go out on a sincere and melancholic note. Similarly, “Surrender” has a killer chorus, but its the transitions between sections that really allow it to shine.

Born in Fire is a proper record in the classic sense, constructed so that its songs buttressing one another so the height and breadth of the material is never in danger of collapsing in on itself. There’s no phoniness or irony here, and that sincerity is critical in keeping the feeling of exhilaration from becoming exhausting as it progresses from peak to peak. Sacred Skin have made a record that trades in grandeur without ever losing its grounding, and tops even their previous highs with cool confidence. Recommended.

Buy it.

Born in Fire by Sacred Skin

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Tracks: September 16th, 2024

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It looks like 2024 is going to be a back-loaded year, folks. We just did some accounting behind the scenes and beyond the coverage you’ll find on the site this week we have at least a dozen high profile releases by projects we expect great things from coming in the next month or two. We’ll do our level best to not get caught in the weeds here, but we’d suggest keeping your heads on a swivel for your own sake over the next while if you’re at all interested in staying abreast of good new shit…which we have to assume you are, given that you’re reading this week’s Tracks post.

How can 5 guys be Solitary, experiment or not? The answer may surprise you!

Camlann, “Numb and Hollow”
It’s the return of our favourite Indonesian socialist goth-pop duo Camlann, and new single “Numb and Hollow” displays the exact reason we found their last LP Dismantle! so compelling. The group’s pop instincts and strong melodies remain, and are if anything stronger than before, but with a noticeably improved sense of production. All of this is without compromising their slightly off-kilter, genre-hopping style, which Nick Octopus on our Slack compared to modern Ashbury Heights, a compliment as far as we’re concerned.
Numb and Hollow by Camlann

Kurs, “Omen”
The debut LP from Italy’s Kurs a few years back impressed through its approaches to electro-industrial and dark electro which placed an emphasis on subtlety and atmosphere, though Muter had plenty of substance once you were drawn into its noir cyberpunk style. Follow-up LP Dreamer looks to be doing right by that precedent based on previous singles, and this just released taster has all manner of majestic and eerie sweep to go along with a foundation of classic programming. Really good slow-burn stuff which bodes well for one of the year’s sleeper LPs.
Dreamer by Kurs

Wingtips feat. Tim Capello, “The Verdict”
Another new Wingtips cut, and one that while unexpected 100% makes sense. Sax-goth has been bubbling under the radar for a few years now, an aesthetic that certainly has some nostalgic charm but needs genuine songwriting chops and production to get over. Who better than the Chicago duo, who never fail when it comes to making songs with that wistful, melancholic vibe, and never stoop to regurgitating the past when they can be pushing themselves forward. Check how much of this track builds around the elements introduced early, so when sexy-Sax man Tim Capello (yes, the Lost Boys guy) busts out his solo it feels like a massive climax, just as it should.
The Verdict (feat. Tim Cappello) by WINGTIPS

Perdí La Luz, “Blue Car”
You shouldn’t need us to talk up Andi Harriman’s curatorial skills at this point. In addition to her own productions, her talents as a selector and boutique label honcho are impeccable, and that’s why any new joint on Synthicide gets our attention. There’s a nice mix of the softer side of EBM (think Forces or Brixx) and some classic house (and maybe a hint of freestyle?) on this number by Seattle’s Perdí La Luz. The beat here is immediate, but it’s the experience of being snowed in by increasingly chilly waves of pads which cinches this track.
Rusty Nail by Perdí La Luz

Black Light Smoke, “CRIMES 1”
In contrast to the above, there’s sure as hell nothing subtle or understated about the new single from Rochester producer Black Light Smoke. Made up of some of the most rubbery programming you’re likely to hear this year, the kicks and pacing on this number hearken back to a pre-TBM era of crossover body music (yes, think Fixmer/McCarthy) in which electro’s moment in the sun was filtering into even the grimiest and darkest of EBM. There’s a whole lot of gallop in this which has us earmarking it for end of the night play.
CRIMES 1 by Black Light Smoke

Solitary Experiments, “The Great Unknown (Steril remix)”
German electro-industrial/EBM act Solitary Experiments are the sort of act that makes up the fundament of every scene; long-running, reliable and while never a top act, they reliably put out a few tracks every album that can be used for club play or mix purposes. That might sound like faint praise, but we have a lot of affection for SE, and are especially impressed with their 30th Anniversary compilation, featuring a bevy of remixes from across their whole catalogue. Check it; you’ve got Neuroticfish, Encephalon, Xotox, Mildreda, INVA//ID and plenty more, including this one from our faves Steril. Congrats on 30 years lads, keep playing it loud.
The 30th Anniversary Compilation by Solitary Experiments

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