The Senior Staff is still recuperating from a weekend jam-packed with pro wrestling, capped off by AEW’s Dynasty PPV here in Vancouver. As we hinted at on the podcast last week, there’ll be some wrestling talk on this month’s episode of Bombers, with John from HEALTH sticking around after our actual on-topic interview with him to talk shop about some of our shared interests: wrestling, Souls games, D&D, anime, and all of the geeky shit we invariably end up talking about on our bonus podcast. Normally that’s behind the Patreon paywall but we’ll be putting this month’s episode with the talk from John up for free. But for now, it’s time to jump into this week’s new tracks!
Saint Ony the First
Ony Godfrey, “Saint of the Starving”
We’re getting close to the release of Ony Godfrey’s debut album, following on from the material the Chinese-Indonesian singer released as a member of goth-pop act Camlann. The turn Godfrey’s solo material is fascinating, drawing deeply from the goth-tinged edges of visual kei, as evidenced by the chamber pop by way of Tokyo single “Saint of the Starving”. As always, Godfrey’s explicitly leftist politics are strikingly evident, along with some tasteful and accomplished musicianship. Very keen to hear the new record and see where Ony has landed in 2026.
Absolute Form, “Repetition”
If you dig a little bit of vintage NY electro in your EBM you’ll likely get a kick out of this cut from the debut release by Indianapolis’ Absolute Form. Marrying the sort of tight and snappy bass programming the likes of Alen Skanner have been using to bridge North American and European club trends with some orch hits and general chaos which feel straight out of PTP’s “Show Me Your Spine”, there’s a lot of fun and funk in this which gives a sense of the personality Absolute Form is bringing to some familiar sounds on the Form & Function EP.
The Rorschach Garden, “Noble Blessings”
Few people have as inscrutable a discography as Philipp Münch. One half of foundational rhythmic noise act Synapscape, he’s also released some of the most wilfully nostalgic synthpop we’ve encountered since starting this site. His amorphous Rorschach Garden project, sometimes a solo project, sometimes collaborative shifts back and forth across that broad expanse, with new LP Trust The Process tailing into sombre, contemplative synth territory like this processional and mysterious cut.
antipole & Pedro Code, “The Expanse”
We have to admit, we’re not overly familiar with the work of Pedro Code, but we do enjoy the works of antipole. The two artists teamed up last year with “Echoes”, a track that apparently birthed a whole LP, the forthcoming Future Echoes, which continues on with the wistfulness and dreamy guitar we’ve come to associate with Karl Morten Dahl. “The Expanse” is low-key lovely, just the kind of chill, non-club oriented darkwave we could do with a bit more of these days, making the full record something we’ll be keeping an eye on.
Orange Sector, “Der Totmacher (Chrome Corps remix)”
It’s that good old-fashioned EBM sound, as rendered by Chrome Corps’s Michael Pinch on this remix for scene vets Orange Sector. OS were an unlikely recipient of a Tik Tok viral boost a few years back, which while unexpected did a lot to raise the general profile of their brand of old-school body music, a sound they’ve plied for more than three decades. This is just a fine example of two generations coming together in a way that works, from hard-hitting drums, to the funky rhythmic bassline, to those growly vocals.
Nullmaschine, “Nullmaschine One”
For more than 30 years Hands Productions has lorded over the junkyard wastelands of rhythmic noise, both offering a home base to foundational artists in that genre and helping newcomers find their feet via endeavours like the Form Of Hands compilation series, which is about to release its 25th instalment. In addition to familiar names like Monolith and Mono No Aware, it also has debuts like this cut from Nullmaschine, a collaboration between Nullvektor and Maschinenkrieger KR52. We’re enjoying the way this cut links the classic, heavily sampled twang of endzeit electro with something of an American machine rock groove.
