Hey-hey folks! Thanks for your patience over the last couple weeks. Between the senior staff’s individual vacations and our class field trip to Los Angeles (more about that amazingness later), we’ve had a spell where we’ve been posting less frequently then our usual M-F sched. With nothing that’ll take us out of town on the horizon for the next little while (okay, we’re talking about heading to Seattle for the Douglas McCarthy/Octavius show at the end of the month) a weekday shouldn’t go by without our usual blathering for a good long while.

Speaking of the Los Angeles trip, good god y’all, that was a packed three days. Between finally getting to check out and spin some tunes at the infamous Das Bunker, seeing the hotness that was the Dive/Blush Response/High-Functioning Flesh show at Complex, a brief stop-in at Part Time Punks, seeing the mind-boggling Lil’ Death event first hand and drinking practically half the craft beer in the county, our heads are still spinning. Huge ID:UD thanks to our pal Rev. John for showing us the town, and shouts out to all the awesome folks we met while there. Safe to say we’ll be back sooner rather than later!

Aesthetic Perfection, “Antibody”
To be perfectly honest friends, we weren’t sure how to feel about this single from the upcoming Aesthetic Perfection album when it hit Youtube the other week. Daniel Graves has been relentlessly pushing the sound of his project forward with each release, and we had to wonder if the song (which to me feels like a pared down, pop-oriented evolution of All Beauty Destroyed) wasn’t a direction we just weren’t super interested in. The fact that after a week of not hearing it we could still hum it says a lot though, and consequently we think it’s safe to say we’re feeling it. Be interesting to see in what ways this reflects the new album’s tone and texture when it sees the light of day.

Headman feat. Scott Fraser & Douglas McCarthy, “NOISE (Hardway Bros Axis Forces Dub)”
Something from a little outside our wheelhouse, but with definite appeal for those seeking some dark electro sounds that border on Our Thing. Headman has been producing originals and providing remixes for the likes of Franz Ferdinand and The Gossip since the turn of the millenium, this new single finding him in the company of DJ Scott Fraser and Douglas McCarthy. This remix by the Hardway Bros amps up the underlying darkness of the funky original cut with great results, check out the whole 12″ if this strikes your fancy, particularly the hard-edged mix by Daniel Molosco.

CONCLΔVE – Ocean Star (DR0WNED IN S0UND by V▲LH▲LL)
We love it when a remix has the alchemical quality of combining two known elements to produce something entirely different and cool. This remix of CONCLΔVE’s “Ocean Star” is marked by neither the gauzy melancholia of the original or the snow-covered nordic steelo of remixers V▲LH▲LL, referencing instead the plodding funk of early post-industrial with a hint of Martin Hannet style soundscaping on the finish. Nice stuff from two of our favourite players in the post-witchhouse game.

Animal Bodies, “Lies in Your Eyes (Snowy Red cover)”
We’ve been keeping an ear to the ground regarding the Weyrd Son label’s Snowy Red tribute for a few months now, and it’s finally up for pre-order. One of Vancouver’s best new acts offer up a smoking take on “Lies In Your Eyes”, preserving the gauzy melancholy of the original but giving some of their jangling coldwave flavour as well. Very excited to give this release a full listen.

Tearist, “Civillization (Draw Japan remix)”
Draw Japan’s a new name to us, but dude’s Soundcloud has erupted into a flurry of activity in the past week with promising originals, covers, and mixes of other new(ish) names (a clutch of which are collected on a free Bandcamp release). Here’s a cool take on a Tearist joint which gives Yasmine’s vocals a new, fuzzed-out landscape over which to roam and keen.