As we alluded to on last week’s podcast, there’s activity from the Terminus Festival camp, and a little bit more info has trickled out since then. Fragment looks to be a two-day iteration of our beloved festival home away from home, happening in February. Flights are crazy cheap right now and we have it on good authority that the festival itself is going to be markedly cheaper than usual, so brave the Calgary winter to come out in a few months, why not? Of course, we’ll be discussing the line-up itself once that’s announced. On with this week’s tracks!

Menthüll in their natural habitat presumably

Menthüll, “Je Cours (Sur le Dance Floor)”
Gatineau, Quebec’s Menthüll have shown a lot of variety in their 2021 singles – synth and electropop, darkwave and minimal sounds have all been touched on in the duo’s recent output. New one “Je Cours (Sur le Dance Floor)” (that’s “I Run (On the Dance Floor)” for you anglos) is certainly leaning towards the darker end of that spectrum, invoking a slightly more propulsive and mysterious arrangement of sounds, allowing the groove of the track to take the lead over the mysterious melody. Another solid one from an emerging Canadian act to keep your eye on.

Black Light Odyssey, “Assume Kontrol”
Just a couple of months after their previous EP, LA’s Black Light Odyssey are back with another solid and immediate EP. Numbers like this one are deceptively hooky, and do such a nice job of moving between figures and phrases it’s easy to overlook the razor-sharp production and mixing underlining every moment. Play this one for synthwave goons you’re trying to win over to EBM.

Lebanon Hanover, “Living On The Edge (Ellen Allien Mix)”
Lebanon Hanover have been a going concern in the wave scene for a decade at this point, inhabiting the place where minimal and darkwave sounds meet and intermingle with that certain je ne sais quoi. A collab with Berlin electro legend Ellen Allien might not be the first idea that springs to mind, but the recently released three track remix single has a lot of appeal; LH brings the fatalistic melancholia and in her versions of “Living on the Edge” and “Invite Me To Your Country” Allien brings the 4 am dancefloor menace.

Damascus Knives, “Sick Mind”
Cool new stuff from Cervello Elettronico’s David Christian’s other going concern, Damascus Knives. On a split with W.A.S.T.E. side-project Ratio Strain, Damascus Knives’ half takes MK Ultra lore as the inspiration for the project’s new suite of acid, EBM, and general dark synth hybridization. As with previous DK releases, the ease and fluidity with which numbers like this roll on by has a hypnotic allure.

The Marquis, “The Blacksmiths Hands”
Hardcore and industrial don’t cross over nearly as much as one might expect (especially given how awash with mediocre industrial metal the world remains). Sure, there are acts like Harsh R and Uniform here and there, but there’s still enough uncharted territory which holds plenty of promise. End of the Line: Corroded and Broken by The Marquis does a handy job of combining hardcore sounds and sensibilities with modern TBM and classic electro-industrial.

Years of Denial, “Done and Dusted”
Hard to even pick a track from Veyl’s new mammoth 50 track compilation Utopia Vanished: From Enslavement to Reiteration given the lineup. We went with this bouncy techno-touched number by the always reliable Years of Denial for the embed, but we just as easily could have picked a track by (*deep breath*) Arnaud Rebotini, Blind Delon, Cardopusher, Filmmaker, Autumns, Harlem, TV.OUT or Maenad Veyl just to name a few. At 19 euros for the digital release it’s a bit of a steep one, but if you’re interested in cutting edge underground dark dance electronics you could do far worse than to invest some time in the vision of this Milanese label. Did we mention it comes as a Swiss Army Knife?