We’re getting into the dog days of summer, even out here on the temperate west coast, but that also means the time’s just about nigh for our annual trip over the Rockies to enjoy Terminus Festival, a tradition that’s become as integral to this site as our Year End coverage. As always, we’re looking forward to hanging with festival fam old and new – come say hi if you’re also making the pilgrimage! On with this week’s tracks…
S Y Z Y G Y X
Lebanon Hanover, “Torture Rack”
Between Pixel Grip and now veteran darkwave duo Lebanon Hanouver, we’ve had two prominent bands drop full LPs without much (if any) pre-release hype. Is this a new trend, directly countering the waterfall strategy we’ve seen over the past few years? In any case, a quick skim of Asylum Lullabies points to a sludgier and less polished side of Larissa Iceglass and William Maybelline’s work, suggesting dalliances with no wave and the likes of Lycia and mid-period Swans.
Comaduster, “The Less You Know (feat. Seeming)”
What if we were to tell you that two of our favourite acts, both of whom have forthcoming LPs this year did a track together? And that it’s a nice distillation of both of their styles, in a way that contrasts and highlights each of their strengths? Well, we’d obviously be talking about “The Less You Know”, the companion track to Comaduster’s recent single “Way With Me”, featuring none other than Alex Reed, aka Seeming. From the former you get the broken beat, hyper-detailed sound design and arrangement, the latter brings the beautiful lyricism and clarion vocal style, all of which comes together with a lovely sense of offbeat melodics that suits them both well. Check that rocking climax!
Fractions, “Light”
A slight turn away from the purely monochrome vision of techno showcased on the last few releases we heard from them, this new single from Fractions is far more colourful, while still holding to the same exacting, granular production style which made the Czech duo’s work so immediately appealing on their 2018 debut with Fleisch. Picking up on some cyber-themed sounds in current techno, while also calling back to the use of those sounds on industrial floors of decades past, and even peppering in some post-punk guitar, there’s a lot of dimension in this jumpy cut.
Die Sexual, “Desire”
Die Sexual have kept a steady stream of new material coming basically since their first tracks were released back in 2023. Hot on the heels of “Magic Never Dies” comes “Desire”, taken from a three track EP of the same name and it does exactly what the husband and wife Los Angeles duo have always been good at: it’s club-ready, sits nicely at the nexus of modern EBM and darkwave, and has strong sexual elements that are fun and not excessively cartoonish. We’re getting to see them next week here in Vancouver, and are looking forward to catching their live show which we’ve heard good stuff about.
INVA//ID, “Dogma”
The particular sub-style of heated and compressed Wax Trax industrial which LA’s INVA//ID have honed in on of late continues to pay dividends. We’ve heard the group shift through a whole slew of iterations of industrial metal across their career, but their solid cover of “Show Me Your Spine” seems to have foresaged a plunge into furious and expertly abraded fusions of synthesis and heavily processed and sampled guitar, like this one from new EP The Path.
S Y Z Y G Y X, “Stranger”
We dropped the ball not catching S Y Z Y G Y X’s two spring singles “Climax” and “Sylph”, both of which are part of a very slick style of modern club music that draws from modern club sounds, hyperpop, darkwave and body music in equal measure. The Washington D.C. based artist has a new record Sinner coming August 1st, and we’re def feeling the aforementioned songs, as well as the slightly murkier and more opaque sound of “Stranger”. Adding this to the review-on-release queue immediately.
