We were looking forward to being able to talk on the podcast this week about the Diavol Strain set we caught on Sunday, however that won’t be the case. After an apparently awful border crossing into the US the Chilean duo understandably opted not to cross into Canada, as doing so would of course necessitate another entry into the US. Us not getting to see the band behind arguably the year’s best goth record thus far is obviously a drop in the ocean in comparison to larger inconveniences, threats, and acts of violence and murder committed by the current US administration, but it’s a reminder that fascism wants to keep people apart, wants to deny us the opportunity to meet with and learn from those from other parts of the world. You don’t need us to say it, but fuck ICE, fuck white supremacy, fuck everything and everyone related to this atrocity of an American government.
Divider
Kontravoid, “Without”
Oh shit, new Kontravoid incoming. One of the hardest working (and at this point most influential) darkwave acts has been on a tear for a couple of years, with successive banger releases that border on harder industrial, pure synthpop and may other sounds. “Without” continues that trend, with Cam Findlay stretching himself vocally in ways we’ve not yet heard on the new cut, especially on the double-time chorus. Anthemic stuff, and a fine harbinger of what’s to come on October 2nd.
Dark Chisme, “Suffer Like Me”
Seattle’s darkwave duo Dark Chisme has been building their audience the old-fashioned way: by releasing good music, and kicking rich amounts of ass live every time the roll through town. It’s been a real pleasure to watch first hand, especially on their recent show opening up for Omar Doom here in Vancouver where they tore it up on all their established songs, and also tossed this new one “Suffer Like Me” into the mix, which unsurprisingly went over just as well as any other cut they played. Loving the little hints of NRG and freestyle making their way into their sound here, and very keen to hear them continue in this vein in the lead-up to their next album.
Synapscape, “Melting”
We’ve had a lot of fun tracking Philipp Münch as he’s dodged down ever odder alleyways over the last few years, from wilfully naive synthpop to oddball dark electro, but a reconvening with Tim Kniep for the project which first brought him international attention is always welcome. Plenty of familiar core elements from across Synapscape’s legacy of powernoise jump out on this teaser from The Future, but the polyrhythmic density which builds up and spirals outward beneath Münch’s restless yowl pushes the envelope quite pleasantly.
Divider, “Nought Point Zero (Portion Control Remix)”
Divider’s Zero has been one of the most enjoyable EBM releases of the year, showing how much can be wrought from a little bit of structural experimentation while still holding to no-frills and hard-hitting sound design. Sounds a little like modern day PorCon, no? It’s not surprising, then, to hear how easily a Portion Control bassline can be welded to the moonlit junkyard ambience of the original version of this cut from that record.
Silent EM, “Survive (Luminance Remix)”
Silent EM isn’t exactly striking while the iron’s hot with a remix LP coming out nearly two full years since the release of Real Life, but a list of contributors including Ortrotasce, Inhalt, Qual, Kontravoid, and Un Hombre Solo brings a lot of star power to this better late than never comp. In particular, the mix of dreamy ghostliness and precise electro pulses on this mix from Brussels-based Luminance is what’s really jumping off the page at us.
SØLVE, “Nothing Lasts”
As is tradition, Brant Showers has released a song on his Birthday as a pay what you want single on Bandcamp. In this case, the song in question is a cover of Matthew Sweet’s “Nothing Lasts”, a classic bit of pop-rock melancholia from the beloved by those who know Girlfriend LP. Far from taking the song into the territory of his usual post-witchhouse ritual dark ambience, Showers plays it straight, amping the spare original into a shoegazey alsice of orchestral pop. Unexpected and absolutely lovely.
