Today, some pop and some electroclash.
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Category: Record
Listen, mate, life has surface noise.
Reviews: Diversant:13, La Vogue vol. 1, Ambrasive, DrawnSword (2016).
’90s style industrial, early ’70s style songwriting, two dance non-reviews.
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Gary Clail’s Tackhead Sound System: Tackhead Tape Time (1987).
“Hard Left” remains chilling and apposite. The fascists and quasi-fascists haven’t changed in thirty years.
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Links: High-resolution consumer audio, London for music sales, the worst Beach Boys album.
Audio snake oil, London still the centre of the universe, Summer in Paradise.
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Clock DVA: Resistance (1983).
But love, like life, will always stay.
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Cabaret Voltaire: Fool’s Game (Sluggin’ Fer Jesus part 3)/Gut Level (1983).
It’s been a busy day working on the book. So here’s some relaxing early ’80s Crépuscule industrial.
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Links: Floor-sweepings editions, Paul is Still Dead, Imogen Heap’s $133.20, a good industry report.
Fifty year old records, fifty year old conspiracy theories, one hundred and thirty-three twenty and an actually non-stupid music industry report.
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Synthpop: Mlale, Clintongore, Digital Logic (2016).
Some super-accessible pop, some more experimentally-leaning synthpop and more Digital Logic vaporwave.
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Nórdika: Blut; El Mundo que Creamos (2016).
A Mexican EBM-industrial synthpop artist with his album from earlier this year and his new single.
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Industrial and post-punk reviews: Siva Six, Sirus, Holygram, Rendez-Vous (2016).
EBM and synthpop, plus guitar-based post-punk revival.
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Links: The Pop Group, the Birthday Party, Plastic Bertrand, Düsseldorf.
A new Pop Group album (and it’s good!), the last Birthday Party record, the truth about Plastic Bertrand and a book about Düsseldorf.
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Blue Plutos: Moon Language (2016).
The sort of guitar jangle pop that was our bread and butter in the late ’80s.
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Reviews: Nápoles, Damsel in the Dollhouse, Digital Logic (2016).
So I use the Bandcamp new arrivals as a radio, so what, so should you. Jangly guitar indie, goth-industrial dance and some straight-up vaporwave.
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Reviews: The Royal They, Unity One, Graveyard Love (2016).
Pre-grunge-style indie rock, EBM synthpop and disorienting synthesizer-guitar landscapes.
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Reviews: Crack Cloud, Night Trap, Ivy Fae (2016).
Angular post-punk, synthpop and witch house with songs.
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“Oh, I already wrote the greatest pop song of the 21st century. Did that in 2006.” The National Pep.
Andrew Hickey reminisces on “Jaded” by The National Pep, from the EP Love Punks Want To Make You Cry.
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Rosebud: Discoballs: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (1977).
Thanks to Paul Haesler for tipping me off to this inspiring work after he saw the Polka Floyd video yesterday.
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Reviews: Frustration, Logic + Olivia, Beborn Beton, Disjecta Membra (2016).
Back to the goth, industrial and punky post-punk, latest works from bands who’ve been around a while.
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Deerful: Home (2016).
The vocal on “Moon Maps” is so gorgeous, and the chiptune actually makes this even clearer than on the excellent original. The first chiptune record I’ve ever had a minute for, let alone three.
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Reviews: Black Arcade, Atlantic A.M., Bootblacks (2016).
Minimal synth darkwave with a fondness for Gary Numan, punky new-wave power pop and melodic post-punk with high bass.
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Reviews: Magana, Night Club, Cybercide, Brandenburg (2006, 2016).
Acoustic songwriter guitar rock, new wave disco, pounding futurepop EBM and Russian post-punk revival.
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Reviews: Möss, Ladylike Lily, Faderhead (2016).
Soundscapes with songs, indie pop with synth and guitar, and industrial gone synthpop. Three excellent finds today.
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Spray: Living In Neon (reissue) (2002, 2016).
Spray’s first album Living In Neon from 2002, with a disc of new tracks, additional remixes, alternate versions and compilation appearances. What Abba would have done had they been just that bit crankier.
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Reviews: French Concession, Novie, Golden Graves, The Decliner (2016).
Dreampop, shoegaze, synth landscapes … and in-your-face rap.
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Reviews: Növö, District 13, Adhere to Form, Seattle Fix (2016).
Industrial atmospherics, EBM synthpop, ’80s old synth work and dreampop on real instruments.
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The overwhelming historical importance of the Beatles, and why Live At The Hollywood Bowl is revelatory.
The trouble with the Beatles is not that they aren’t mindbogglingly important (they are) or indeed actually good (they are), it’s that you can’t get away from them even in 2016. They are actually so famous and so important that it’s almost impossible in the present day to understand how and why.
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Industrial reviews: Aesthetische, Mari Kattman, Cyanotic, Syntec (2016).
Selections from the industrial/EBM/synthpop axis.
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Synthpop: Crystal, Vile Electrodes, Hante (2016).
Synthwave with vocals, English synthpop scene and the darkwave end.
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Synthpop: Syntec, Torul (2016), Curxes (2015).
Industrial mellows out to EBM, and synthpop goes the other way.
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Christian Fitness: like a western Mark Smith.
Christian Fitness is the one-man band of Andrew “Falco” Falkous of Cardiff post-hardcore (so, punk) band Future of the Left, and formerly of Mclusky. Focused and apposite punk ranting, sarcastic and angry, backed by a bloody racket with good tunes and at least half way decent recording.
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