Relatively quiet weekend around the HQ for once, which is good because we’ll need some energy for the upcoming deluge of new releases coming our way this spring. No major trends have yet manifested for 2019 as far as we can detect (we were hoping saxgoth would really take off, but thus far it seems like a sexy outlier), but that might actually be a good thing: the fragmentation of the club scene and the rapidly disintegrating barriers between silos within Our Thing means more music that can’t be strictly compartmentalized falling within the boundaries of Our Thing. Need examples? Check out what’s in this week’s Tracks below!

IT’S CALLED GOATWAVE, MOM. (The Devil & The Universe)

The Devil & The Universe, “Kali’s Tongue”
Vintage Dead Can Dance vibes abound on this first taster of the new The Devil & The Universe LP, :Endgame 69: due June 21 from aufnahme + wiedergabe. Vascilating wildly between cool, folk and world music inspired darkwave and bangin’ techno, TD&TU impressed us mightily on their last LP, reminding us of the sorts of genre-breaking composition you get on classic LPs by acts like In The Nursery. Dig the guitar and percussion on this jam a lot, looking forward to seeing just what this soon to break-out act has in store.

Die Sektor, “A Night So Long”
Truth be told, we couldn’t have told you if you’d asked what we expected from a new Die Sektor record some six years on since their last LP, but it likely wouldn’t have been anything like “A Night So Long”. Sure, there are nods to throwback dark electro which long predate the aggro sounds the band has taken as a departure point for their more experimental side, but there’s also a sense of gothic excess and drama to this tune which seems like a turning of the page as well. Will the rest of Death My Darling cleave to a similar path? We’ll keep you posted.

[:SITD:], “Sturmlicht”
Been a minute since we last checked in with widescreen EBM act [:SITD:], but new single “Sturmlicht” is reminding us why we always dug their stuff. Like their best singles the band know their way around an anthemic chorus, and have a nice thick production sound that makes them ideal for club play. Also, we can’t think of any other band that has gotten this much mileage out of big, emotive string pads, full-stop. New album seems like, but we might take this one out for a few spins while we wait.

Razorback Hollow, “Septicimea”
Originally positioned as the throwback industrial project of Glass Apple Bonzai’s Daniel X Belasco, Razorback Hollow has rapidly evolved, showing off both Belasco’s capacity for those classic sounds and the broader horizons that interest him. First LP A Temporary Solution For a Permanent Problem is due later this month via Bandcamp, and along with some newer versions of some of the songs we’ve already heard, the preview also features this slice of martial-flavoured nastiness, “Septicimea”. If the only thing you know about Belasco is his work as a sleek, neon-synthpopper, be prepared to have your wig blown back by these nasty-ass orch hits and grimy samples.

Blush Response, “Vortigaunt”
Here’s a huge heaping plate of slithering bass courtesy of Joey Gonzalez from the new Selection For Societal Sanity EP. As a project, Blush Response has flourished since Gonzalez’s move to Berlin, as can easily be tracked by the sheer volume of collaborative releases and projects which have occurred since then. But the sound of Gonzalez’s core solo work is developing as well, with a tune like this drawing a line between techno minimalism and the hi-def bass sculpting which speaks to Gonzalez’s talents in broader industrial-tinged areas. The Freeman honors us by his presence.

Minimal Violence, “New Hard Catch”
For all our talk about Vancouver’s Sigsaly, Brittany West ain’t the only member of the Lié camp breaking new dark electronic ground. Fellow Liér Ashlee Luk, along with Lida P, have been playing sets around town and releasing singles as Minimal Violence, and are now pushing their dark throwback techno to a new stage with their first LP, InDreams. Full of breaks, acid, and heavy heated pads, tunes like “New Hard Catch” don’t lose any drive for all of their stylistic shifts.