We’ll likely chat a bit about it on this week’s podcast, but one of our highlights of the last week was being able to see local martial industrial collective Norillag perform for the second time, which is no small endeavour to stage when the sheer number of bodies and percussive metallic gear involved in a Norillag show is considered. It was the sort of show which isn’t just impressive or creative or entertaining, but which makes you feel proud to be part of a community which produces and nurtures such projects…even if that comes with the bittersweet awareness that the folks behind Norillag will be departing for Montreal shortly. The takeaway here is to not take the acts which make your city or scene unique for granted, and if you’re so inclined check out Norillag’s recent record, our thoughts on it, or this awesome video of their debut performance, before moving on to this week’s Tracks.
The darkest Chisme
Klack, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Before today, we had never wondered if it was possible to do a new beat cover of Gordon Lightfoot’s classic bit of Canadiana, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, and yet Klack have delivered an answer to that unasked question. Turns out that yes, Wisconsin’s finest have proven it not only possible to make Lightfoot’s folk standard into a dancefloor heater, but to do it in a way tasteful enough to make it worthwhile to release it on the anniversary of the titular shipwreck. It’s actually kind of alarming how well it translates stylistically, especially with Eric Oehler and Matt Fanale trading off lines with the appropriate gusto. Fellas, it’s been good to know ya.
Dark Chisme, “Desire My Soul”
We hope that most of our readership needs no first introduction to Dark Chisme at this point; the Seattle duo’s sharp rise since their sudden emergence owes everything to the strength of the darkwave club burners found on their self-titled debut LP as well as engrossing live sets, but they’ve quickly followed that work up with a trio of singles this year. The latest is on the lighter side of Dark Chisme’s style, with a fair amount of electropop elan and restraint being used to put Christine’s vocals in the spotlight, but as always, the chorus delivers.
Psykkle, “Hackerstate”
It’s been a minute since we’ve heard from Psykkle, the underground Canadian industrial project helmed by Evan Collingwood, so the unexpected release of new 3 track EP is certainly something for us to take notice of. Come to find that guitarist about town Elijah Hennig, who has been a live and recording member of many of our recent fave acts has joined the fold, providing both production and instrumentation as you can hear on the kick off track “Hackerstate”; a marriage of some of the project’s hard post-industrial sounds, with some slick atmospherics and softer passages. Definitely not something we knew was coming, but also not something we’re unhappy to have now that it’s here.
Involucija & Zarkoff, “idi odavde (get out of here)”
Releases from Involucija haven’t been the most high-profile over the past few years despite members’ links to well-established projects/production (Sneak Thief, Sixth June, Le Chocolat Noir), but DJs in the know have been able to reap the benefits of the projects weighty and decidedly industrial approach to TBM. New LP I poslije linije – linija finds a new vector for their grimy and angry style by tapping Saša Rajković (AKA Zarkoff) of Sumerian Fleet to lend vocals rife with rage and historical regret to stormers like this cut, which drags modern techno production through the sludge and slag of decades fallow factory ruins.
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The Foreign Resort, “Endurance”
We’ve long admired the energy, weight, and sheer noise that emanates from stages when Danish act The Foreign Resort are playing, even if the band’s records to date haven’t quite found a way of rendering that raw live volume. The hooky, earnest, and downright poppy elements of this lead single from their forthcoming fourth LP is something different trio, with its run-time breezing right by. It’ll be interesting to see if a tune like this is representative of a larger change for the band overall.
Razorback Hollow, “One Day I’ll Stop Doing Things For Others and Do Something For Myself. Today is Not That Day”
Razorback Hollow is the industrial alter-ego of Daniel Belasco of Glass Apple Bonzai fame, and has been an outlet for the weirder, more harsh and aggressive sounds that the Ontario artist has had a yen for. Where GAB has gone further towards a crossover new wave sound in recent years, the recent So Long to this Wretched Form has made a proportionate move into less structured and more abstract sounds. The 3 very long tracks on the EP are a potent combination of dub, drone, noise, mangled samples and a healthy dose of rugged textural manipulation that manages to be both emotional and hypnotically dissociative.
