HTRK - Psychic 9-5 Club (Ghostly International, 2014)

So I'm a longtime fan of this band. I adore them. I can't praise them enough except to say that their new record exceeds my expectations. The aesthetic hasn't changed much but the drum programming and overall recording techniques have drastically improved. This is a seductive, sensual, and gnarly record of bass, synth, guitar and beats, mixed with equal parts heartache and longing. I absolutely love it.

You can read my review of a previous album as well as my in depth description of them HERE  and stream a playlist of this record here:

HTRK - Work (Ghostly International, 2011)

One of my favorite musical scenes was created by the Mancunian crew of the 90's in Bristol UK. "The Wild Bunch", consisting most importantly of Massive Attack and Tricky, were highly influential with their groovy 80 bpm breaks and blunted rock meets dub aesthetic. Tricky took things down an increasingly darker path with his albums 'Maxinquaye' and one of my favorite albums, 'Pre-Millenium Tension'. The vibe is so spliffed on the latter that paranoia gets the best of the protagonist. Hallucinations or even actual acts of aggression and fear ensue, charting territory that, given his particular musical production, was unparalleled in pitch black narrative.

HTRK is similar to Tricky in many ways. Their delivery system just happens to be narcotic in nature. The dub basslines are there, backed by tastefully subtle 808 beats, various synthesizers and swirling ambient guitar. The concept is an original pastiche of Lynchian imagery, proto-punk and post-industrial.

The now duo (bassist Sean Stewart having committed suicide in 2010), intentionally blur all lines. Jonnine Standish's vocals are subdued, to the point of lyrical irrelevance (which I admire). The music itself is an existential road to nowhere. There aren't even really songs, merely moods of doubt and doom, sensually shared by a deceptively charming junkie siren.

To be quite frank, albums don't matter here. Any place is a good place to start. Again, its all a seductive coldwave psychosis. I'd gladly follow her down into the sea.

Tropic of Cancer - Restless Idylls (Blackest Ever Black, 2013)

Each winter I seek out new records that fit that certain special mood. You know, dark and beautiful, foreboding yet hopeful, somber but bright. It looks like Camella Lobo's first release after going solo (Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant stepped down earlier in the year) is that record for me this season.

One characteristic my winner must have is that Faith / Pornography / 17 Seconds era Cure vibe. Well, the records starts off with just that. Sort of an 'All Cats are Grey' homage. From there it probably gets compared to Zola Jesus on the 'Stridulum' EP's most mellow and subtle cuts. One lovely aspect is how she uses her vocals as more of an instrument than an attempt to convey meaning. I prefer to think of this as an instrumental record because the music does stand alone. The slightly atonal guitar lines remind me of Blessure Grave, the bass is straight Simon Gallup, and the drum programming is just classic with a bit of tribal thrown in for good measure.

2013's good time goth platter.

German Army - Burushaski (Belaten, 2013, CS)

Besides the fact that its incredibly good, I'm having trouble describing this cassette. LA act, German Army makes noisey coldwave synth pop? No, that's not enough, it also feels like ritual music from a space tribe. Maybe those supposed aliens that purportedly visited earth thousands of years ago? Of course, this sounds like you're watching the music on vhs. A retro-futuristic cyber dub? Maybe the aliens' ship crash landed at a resort in the South Pacific? Now, they're stuck for eternity, drinking on the beach like the Corona commercials, only their analog synthesizer brain implants allow them to record tape loops while inebriated. Yeah, that's it, and then, twenty years ago, David Lynch and Phillip K. Dick remix it and put it in a time capsule, only they don't bury it because all of this is happening simultaneously...in Manchester...in 1978...when Cabaret Voltaire smoked meth with Ray Bradbury while watching Donnie Darko on laserdisc. Bumbaclot.

Veil of Light - S/T (Belaten, 2013)

The chill in the mountain air signifies an annual return to the dark side. Tis the season for a cold, numb, masochistic aesthetic. I'll still be reviewing many genres, just don't be surprised to see mostly melancholy and blackness up in here til around late March.

Veil of Light is a solo project from Switzerland. This cassette reveals no surprises, and it doesn't reinvent the wheel. He worships Faith / Pornography era Cure, nods to 13th Chime, and throws in some Death in June albeit without the questionable lyrical content. VOL is definitely in the same revival camp as Blessure Grave, with its self-pity and self-hatred right up there with the best black metal subject matter. Similarly to The Soft Moon, what distinguishes this act for me is the guitar. This guy really knows how to play. Sometimes the musical skill in this genre is forgiven when the vibe is delivered so well. Not so here. Nothing is sacrificed.



Incidentally, the Belaten  label is really cooking at the moment. Its run by ritual ambient / industrial artist Thomas Martin Ekelund. Check out his latest mix for Secret Thirteen:

Nagamatzu - Sacred Islands of the Mad (Dark Entries, 2011)

I've recently fallen in love with the Dark Entries label. They are re-issuing a ludicrous amount of early 80's synth-based acts that fell through the cracks. Limiting the LP's to 500 hand-numbered copies, they are creating a bit of hysteria. Here is a cassette release that is blowing my mind. By the time of this, their second album, Nagamatzu had moved from Ipswich to London, Stephen Jarvis (SETI, Legion, Terror Against Terror) & Andrew Lagowski (Pure Motorised Instinct, Terraform) were on a distinctive coldwave / post-punk / synthwave tip manifested by hollow-feeling drum machines, cheap synths, minimal guitars and sparsely placed vocals. The name is taken from J.G. Ballard's novel "Atrocity Exhibition" (seems to have been the most influential book of the coldwave scene) and sounds as dystopian as you would imagine.

This is some cold dark music for fans of "Faith" and "Seventeen Seconds". Get the LP fast!

Get It Here

Trisome 21 - Million Lights (1987)

Taking their name after the condition known as Down Syndrome (for reasons unknown to me), Brothers Phillipe and Herve eventually created this definitive French Coldwave classic. The first two records are also solid but this is the one I find most cohesive and accessible.

Meandering through dark Ambient synthesizer interludes and banging yet lush drum sequencing,, they accomplish an oddly romantic hybrid of Joy Division, Dead Can Dance and early EBM. This is a dreamy, quirky, cerebral and impressive record.

Get It Here