Real quick; we’re hitting up hella shows this week, with Leaether Strip last night and Cabaret Voltaire on Wednesday, but if you’re in the Greater Vancouver area and want to come say hi, the best opportunity will be at Coffin Club on May 17th at the fabulous Red Room, where we’ll be celebrating 15 years of ID:UD by spinning tunes and making the most of the long weekend. Classics and new jams will be heard, and we’d love to have a chat with y’all while we do it up in a small celebration of the decade and a half we’ve put into this affair. But for now, how about some Tracks!
Meldamor, more, more!
Horror Vacui, “Shadows Sanctuary”
It’s been a long six years since Horror Vacui’s Living For Nothing, the high watermark of the Italian deathrock vets’ career to date. The title track from their forthcoming fifth LP sounds as though they might be continuing on with some of the more ornate structures plotted out on that record, while retaining the claustrophobic dread that’s made them arguably the most important deathrock band of their generation. We’re eager to find out what the rest of Shadows Sanctuary has in store.
Bustié, “Lady Of Dread”
You’re not gonna find many people working in body music who are as handy with it yet also as unprecious about it as Angie Padilla. She’s long brought her yens for deathrock and latin freestyle into focus alongside EBM, making Bustié’s bids for dancefloor immediacy singular yet wholly addictive. Building off of last year’s excellent “Cruel Intentions”, this single from the forthcoming Throb LP delivers a mix of murky, processed beats and samples and acidic, catty slink.
Glyf, “Unbalance Of Nature”
Keeping up with Faunes Efe’s deluge of work as Filmmaker sometimes feels like a part-time job in and of itself, but the veteran Colombian producer has also been using his Body Musick label as a clearing house for a slew of side projects, including the Glyf handle which dates back to at least 2021. While it’s been used for a bass-focused take on techno in the past, there’s a real focus on fuzz and distortion in cuts like this one on Unbalance Of Nature, recalling the grime of early hardcore.
Love Spirals Downwards, “Dissasociate”
Confessionally, despite having a lot of affection for US ethereal darkwave act Love Spirals Downwards, we weren’t aware that the duo of Ryan and Anji Lum were putting out new singles in 2026. With that in mind, it’d be easy to take their latest, “Dissasociate” and think of it as a historical piece; the lush production, sweet and understated delivery and chill groove are all things that have defined the band’s output for the entire time we’ve been aware of them. With no fewer than 10 tracks released on their Bandcamp over the last 12 months, it looks like we have a lot to dig into, which we’ll be doing in short order.
Kurs, “Weapon”
Italian electro-industrial project Kurs has a new album on the immediate horizon, with their third missive Murder (P. 1) slated for release on the 30th of May. You can check 4 separate tracks on the official Bandcamp over at Swiss Dark Nights, but we’re focusing on “Weapon”, the official single and a cut that zeroes in on the atmosphere and dark, unnerving energy that Kurs has had on lock for the entirety of their career. Whirring, grinding synths and samples, thudding drums and growled vocals are the order of the day, all arranged with ugly, muscular precision. This should be a good one if the band’s history is anything to go by.
Meldamor, “Doomslayer”
Gang, Meldamor ain’t fuckin around. We’ve been very intrigued by the US duo’s departure from the standard darkwave template of recent years, bringing in a healthy dose of their punk and metal roots to the table, especially in their commanding, high energy live shows. “Doomslayer” does a fine job of summarizing their approach, with all the harsh shouted vocals, drum fills, and mosh worthy rhythms you’d expect. What’s more, it comes alongside their recent dungeon synth crossover LP As The Enemy Dies, something we’ll definitely be checking out when time allows.
