The mad rush to cover as many critical releases as we can before the year closes out continues apace. Problem is, for every solid record we’re able to get to (like those by Odonis Odonis and Lana Del Rabies in last week’s coverage), another one lands on our radar for the first time. Really not sure how we’re going to jam all this in before Year End coverage begins, but as difficult and stressful as that might be on our end, we hope it leads to you finding some new music you love.
These Minds, they’re Absurd
NTRSN, “Meltdown”
Dutch/Belgian act NTRSN’s small catalog has proven to be one of the most underrated yet evergreen bodies of EBM work of this millennium, bringing classic sounds and influences into the present with an eye for complexity and experimentation while still holding to core grooves. Between lineup changes and on-again, off-again reboots it’s been tough to stay on top of what’s been happening with NTRSN over the past decade or so, but this new compilation of material recorded by sole remaining original member Pieter David is cause for excitement, featuring hard hitting and immediate but still deep cuts like this one.
Absurd Minds, “Confession (Project Pitchfork remix feat. Peter Spilles)”
Did we share this just so we could write the sentence “Yo dog, we heard you like Project Pitchfork, so we put Project Pitchfork in your Project Pitchfork”? Yes. Is it an extremely hacky thing to do? Also yes. But I feel like as folks who have generally recommended Absurd Minds on the basis of them doing the Project Pitchfork sound of a specific era very well indeed, it was too difficult to pass on this instance of inspiration inception. And yes, it sounds like Project Pitchfork, in a good way.
Alen Skanner, “The System”
Alen Skanner has made a name as a producer of hot, body-infused techno bangers in a genre we lovlingly refer to as “Mortal Kombat-kore”, in that listening to it gets you as hype as listening to “Tekno Syndrome” after drinking a high-test energy drink. The truth of things is that the Spanish producer knows the roots of that sound, as evidenced by new EP The System, where the new beat sounds of yesteryear meet with contemporary dark dancefloor production in most pleasing fashion. More dancefloor heaters from an artist who has basically served up nothing but in recent years.
David Galas, “You’re A Needle In My Vein”
We were just chatting on the podcast about Bleak, David Galas’ collaboration with fellow Lycia member Mike Vanportfleet from years back. But Galas has had a slew of his own solo releases to his credit, along with forthcoming LP The Nihilist. Breaking from the more elegeic and reflective tone of much of his catalog, teaser tracks like this one have a whole lot of swagger and muscle, offering pure and unremittingly dark goth rock.
Mellow Code, “Victory in Death”
We’re certainly fans of Mellow Code’s gritty, tweaked-up version of minimal and body music, as heard on the excellent 2023 release Objekt Reality. Still, their new single “Victory in Death” is a lot grittier than anything we’ve yet heard from them, bridging (as pointed out by friend Nick on our Slack) the sound of say, Absolute Body Control, with modern darkwave type sounds… just nastier.
Maris Anguis, “Pilgrimage Of Fire”
Chicago’s Ryo Utasato has released a slew of dark ambient records as Maris Anguis over the past few years, the most recent appearing on Dan Barrett’s recently formed Arcane Dirge label. Her approach to dark ambient breaks from most traditional styles in the genre, eschewing sustained tonality and most elements of traditional composition, placing the focus entirely on atmosphere and sound design. That said, it’s still busy and active stuff, never falling into lengthy drones or repetition, instead keeping up a fast moving cycle of voices, acoustics, and field recordings.
