Morning, gang! Guess the big ID:UD to do from the weekend was the senior staff and half a dozen friends checking out the new Trek flick. General opinions ranged from “decent” to “pretty good”, with Alex enjoying it a bit more than I did. Caveat: I’m a TNG/Picard die-hard, born and raised, while Alex skews much more to TOS/Kirk. I like that Kirk’s flaws were called out a bit more this time (there’s an absolutely boilerplate “you’re a loose cannon!” speech), even if there were no consequences for his grab-assery. Scotty gets way more play this time which is nice, Benedict Cumberbatch is great (if perhaps underexplored), and with the way it played out I’m actually fine with the studio keeping mum on who his character is. It’s high on action, low on actual sf (not even the pretense of a tech maguffin like last outing’s red matter), but serviceable popcorn fare. On with this week’s tracks!
I remain convinced that this 'man' is actually part of an elaborate British plot to retake the colonies via charmingly foppish thespian androids.
Kirlian Camera, “Materia Obscura/Dark Matter”
Oh, hell yes! Our slavish devotion to Kirlian Camera has been well documented on these pages, and we’re tickled pink to get our first taste of what’s to come on Black Summer Choirs. Starting out somewhere between “The Desert Inside” and a James Bond theme and ending with some middle eastern strings, this brings together many of the sounds and moods we’ve come to love from KC over the years.
Distorted Memory, “Lose Control”
Since being bowled over by last year’s Temple Of The Black Star release, we’ve spent no small amount of time around the HQ positing where Jeremy Pillipow might take Distorted Memory next. While Jeremy told us that Black Star wasn’t necessarily an indicator of the band’s future, we can hear the odd trace of that record’s forays into witch house and dark ambient being overlaid atop DM’s more traditionally aggressive mode on this tasty new tune. The track plus a classic stripped mix by the one and only Dejan Samardzic are available by donation while we wait for forthcoming (possibly Nietzschean-themed) LP The Eternal Return.
Solitary Experiments, “Trial And Error”
There’s never been anything especially showy about Germany’s Solitary Experiments, but their combo of futurepop and electro always seems to hit the spot. Any of the various versions of “Glory & Honour” and “Seele Bricht” remain club catnip to me. It’s been about four years since their last proper LP, so it’ll be interesting to see what (if anything) has changed when Phenomena is released. Bit more VNV on the vocals than we usually get from SE, but that’s fine.
Nagamatzu, “Malaria”
The always excellent Systems Of Romance tipped me off to overlooked English 80s darkwave act a few years ago, and now it seems that the band themselves are reissuing key points of their back catalog via their own Motorcade Records label, with some distro help from the fine folks at Dark Entries. Ranging from sample/beat heavy numbers like this to more gloomy fare, Nagamatzu kicked thirty kinds of ass, and I’m pleased as punch that their work will be reentering circulation.
Zex Model, “Dominate DNA”
Paul Von Aphid, of Russia’s Modern Howl, unveils a new old school project. While a little underdeveloped structurally, there are some fun gurgling noises on the First Mutation EP. Hearing the same love for old-time Mentall that By Any Means Necessary drops on this track.
