Last Tracks post of the year, folks, and oh god is this December release schedule slaughtering us. We’ll spare you the blow by blow, but suffice it to say that the spate of major releases hitting shelves virtual or otherwise isn’t just prompting us to jam our already cramped Year End notes to the breaking point, but that we’ve had to rip up and rework at least three rigorously scheduled plans for what we’ll be covering in this, our last week of regular coverage. You didn’t come here to read us kvetch about the life we chose, though, so let’s get you primed for Year End coverage with our last set of heaters.
JG Thirlwell, in Gore Vidal Grande Dame mode.
Foetus, “Succulence”
We knew that Jimmy “Foetus” Thirlwell was working on new material under his most famous alias’ auspices, but that didn’t stop “Succulence”, the first track from the forthcoming Halt from slapping us across the face like a lace glove with a roll of quarters in it. If you haven’t been paying attention, Thirlwell has spent the last couple decades becoming a composer of note (which includes having done the music for our beloved Venture Brothers), and he brings all of that experience to bare here, embedding his famously maniacal vocal style into a massive orchestral blast of cynicism. Foetus was never gone, but folks, Foetus is back. Act accordingly.
Buzz Kull, “Just A Memory”
Aussie producer Buzz Kull’s star has risen exponentially ever since the Fascination LP was released in 2022, exposing a far broader range of dark club goers to the hazy blend of classic rave and modern body music Marc Dwyer’s known for. Despite a slew of touring and heavy club rotation, though, there’s been nary a peep of new original material from Buzz Kull in more than three years, making the forthcoming Deep Hate EP and this taster track the subject of heavy focus. Whether we’re making too much of the angular funk and quirky melody which finesse their way through the heavy beats, bringing the likes of Dead Husband or Multiple Man to mind, will remain a mystery until the rest of the EP drops in February.
Portion Control, “Possessed”
Oh fuck, Portion Control is coming, everybody look busy. Joke as we might, there’s no denying that the power of Portion Control remains undiminished by the project’s vintage; if anything the UK electro-industrial pioneers have gotten more sinewy, caustic and downright mean since their mid-2000s reactivation. The news that they’ve signed on with Artoffact to release new material and put their catalogue back into print is a good one, and leading off with a re-release of their excellent Seed 3 EP (now redubbed Seed 3.1) with a few new tracks is the perfect way to announce the news. “Possessed”, an ornery and thumping version of the already rowdy EBM-hitter “Possession” is a distillation of their ire, and their command of the style they helped birth.
Mortal Realm, “Rot (and Decompose)”
Adam Jones (ex-HAEX)’s Mortal Realm project has been working a modern, rock-touched version of electro-industrial since the project’s inception shortly after Jones’ move to the PNW. New single “Rot (and Decomopose)” is the most advanced version of that style yet, taking chunking guitars, samples, and Jones’ rapidly developing vocal delivery into hard-hitting territory. It’s a slow burning head-nodder, ready for the club or the pit, take your pick.
Ancient My Enemy, “Eruption!”
It’s been a long minute since we heard a read on anything deathrock related which felt legitimately fresh, but the air of druggy synthpunk (think Genders) and psych rock which flits about Ancient My Enemy’s second EP brings some new shades to the generally traditionalist genre. A combination of rhythmic drive and a willingness to embark upon longer compositions, plus a solid sense of build and release in terms of intensity (something sorely lacking in most neo-trad deathrock) pays off well on numbers like this on. Any goth-adjacent act who’ll put Neu and Bow Wow Wow alongside Alien Sex Fiend as chief influences has our attention.
Logic Lost, “Insurgents (ft. Rully Shabara)”
Tip of the hat to our pal Nick for pointing us to this release out of Jakarta, which borrows from a range of neighbouring genres while digging in on dark techno, but which has a couple of cuts like this one which end up re-arriving at a point very similar to that occupied by some of the most grandiose rhythmic industrial of decades past, namely Iszoloscope. Deeply menacing burbling rhythms and atmosphere, but building to something bordering on the sacred and transcendent.
